Syrian journalist Abid Milham launched his first novelistic experience titled "The Train" in Damascus, relying on cumulative experience since 2009 in following Syrian affairs, and human experiences he lived or knew the details of during long years. Milham does not see writing fiction as a transition from journalism, but rather as an additional space that grants him broader freedom in imagination and expression, away from the strict professional controls governing journalistic work.
For his part, Milham clarified that the idea for the novel began, according to him, at a fleeting moment in Istanbul in 2017, when he looked out the window of his home overlooking a tram station, and remembered his childhood dream of becoming a train driver. The idea started with a post on Facebook, then turned into an article as the text expanded, before he decided to transfer it to a blank page and develop it as the nucleus of a long novel.
He pointed out that his journalistic experience was strongly present in building the novel, but it formed a double-edged sword; on the one hand, it allowed him to master language and have a grasp of events, and on the other hand, it almost pushed him to over-indulge in narrating historical facts and figures, at the expense of the requirements of novelistic structure, which necessitated multiple revisions of the text over the past eight years.
He added that the train represents a continuous symbol in the novel, not just an element present in the hero's childhood, saying: "The train cannot choose its path away from the tracks that lead it, and he sees this as an image of the condition of Syrians forced by circumstances to make decisions that were not purely of their own free will."
Milham considered that working in different journalistic genres has become a necessity for media workers, given the changing requirements of the profession, the acceleration of production tools, and the spread of artificial intelligence technologies. He pointed out that overcoming the legacy of loss of trust in media during the era of the fallen regime is a difficult task that requires doubled efforts, and working to consolidate accuracy, verification, and transparency in media practice.
In addition to journalism and the novel, Milham ventured into writing plays for children since 2007, through works that sought to transform some school materials into dramatic performances. He pointed out presenting four works within the framework of this experience, including "The Disappearance of Sibawayh" and "The Music Game."
Regarding his upcoming projects, Milham clarified that he continues his work at the Syrian Channel, which he joined its new experience a short while ago, expressing his hope that it will be able to achieve a strong presence in the media landscape. He pointed out that he has an idea for a new novel, but he sees that completing it is still far away at the present time, due to his continued engagement with media work.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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