Hani Fakhani and Sawsan Abou Zainedin

Currently based in London, Hani and Sawsan (pictured left) are the co-founders of Sakan, a social enterprise for affordable and recovery-driven housing in Syria. In the first few years of the revolution, they described themselves as activists.

Alessio: You recently wrote that the Syrian government has started appropriating neighbourhoods around the country. Does this mean that the post-war reconstruction of Syria has started before the war has even ended?

Hani: Absolutely. We don’t know for how many years the conflict will continue, but the regime has already set out a framework for reconstruction.

Bashar al-Assad is trying to promote the image that Syria is rebuilding because it’s a sign of victory – with