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    Commentary: In Syria, my fame became a curse. Now it helps give meaning to my journey as a refugee

    by Jay Abdo, Los Angeles Times Oct 10, 2022 3 minutes
    People assess the damage in the courtyard of a building in the Turkish-controlled city of al-Bab in Syria's northern Aleppo province on the border with Turkey on Feb. 2, 2022, following reported artillery shelling.

    In my homeland of Syria, I thought my fame would protect me. But after I received attention for seeming to speak out against the totalitarian and violent Assad regime, being famous suddenly became a curse. It sent me on a punishing journey I never would have chosen but which has had its own unexpected rewards.

    I knew everything was about to change when the head of a major Syrian movie studio ordered me to appear on television and apologize for something I would never have dared to say in public. An August 2011 front-page

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