While many Syrians have escaped direct danger from the tyrannical Syrian regime, fear and heartache for their country hurt them thousands of miles away in their Atlanta homes.

American-born Syrians and immigrants alike closely follow the increasingly insecure state of Syria in the hopes of hearing word of family and friends who are caught in the middle of the fighting. However, there is little that anyone can do from so far away.

What makes the situation worse is the tensions that have risen between family members who support the Syrian regime and those who denounce it.

Marwa, a Syrian Muslim who is in Atlanta on a Fulbright scholarship is doubtful that the conflict has strong roots in sectarianism, as so many believe. Coming from a family with multiple, drastically different sects, she insists that the differences did not heavily affect them before fighting broke out.

Now, though, the sects are dividing over political loyalty, straining ties between family and friends in Syria and in Atlanta.

'I don't care about the government, the politics, just about the Syrian people who are being killed,' says Marwa, whose anti-regime opinions not only ended communication with part of her family, but endangered family members in Syria who shared her views.

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