Love Stories: Finding you in a warzone
About this episode
The episode tells the unexpected love story between journalist Janay Boulos and camera operator Abd Al-Kader Habak, who connected during the Syrian conflict.
In 2016 Janay was a journalist in London and needed footage of the conflict in Syria, so contacted camera operator Habak in Aleppo. What followed was a love story neither saw coming. When Lebanese journalist Janay Boulos first started messaging Abd Al-Kader Habak in the besieged city of Aleppo, one of her first questions was “are you okay?”. Janay needed images and footage for her reporting and Habak would film what he could, often in extremely dangerous situations. Janay, from the comfort of her news desk, began to worry about Habak’s safety. Their messages and voice notes became more personal, too. They began learning more about one another; what their families were like, and how they shared experiences of war and displacement. Quietly, they began falling for each other, but with no way of getting in and out of Syria they couldn't meet. Until Habak’s security situation took a sudden turn and he decided to flee Syria and was smuggled into Turkey. What followed was a romantic and professional partnership neither thought possible when they first began messaging while thousands of miles apart. They’re now married, living in London, and recently released a documentary called Birds…
More episodes of Lives Less Ordinary
- Love Stories: Told by you
- Love Stories: The matchmaker
- Love Stories: Our own romcom
- Love Stories: My two husbands
- Love Stories: Do you remember me?
- Introducing: Love Stories
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