Outlook

From a powerful Alawite family in Syria, Loubna Mrie trusted the Assad regime – until witnessing its violent crackdown led her to defy loyalty and secretly film the uprising.In 2011, 20‑year‑old Loubna Mrie was an English literature student from a high-profile Alawite family, the same minority sect as the Assads who had ruled Syria for decades. For most of her life, loyalty felt like survival. Loubna had grown up believing the Assad regime protected her community, and that dissent was unthinkable. But as the Arab Spring reached Syria, Loubna became curious and secretly went to an anti-government protest in Damascus. Unable even to chant against the president she’d been taught to revere, Loubna’s loyalties collapsed when security forces opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators. Narrowly escaping, Loubna’s decision to side with the uprising brought her into open conflict with her family – especially her father, whose wealth and power had defined her life. Yet with her mother’s encouragement, Loubna stepped into