A voice like Honey

Honey al-Sayed, the inspirational host of Syria’s number one morning show “Good morning Syria,” is one of the most recognizable voices nowadays, in Damascus. Every morning, she charges the airwaves with enthusiasm and energy that last for an entire day.  As one of her fans says, “I listen to Good Morning Syria because it makes me feel behoneyd!”  Dedicated and enthusiastic about her work with al-Madina FM, Honey gives us an inside look at her life.

Born and raised in Kuwait during the Gulf war, Sayed has six siblings who mostly pursue their careers in the world of the arts as well; as she puts it, her family is a very “artistic” one. Growing up she had many hopes and dreams, deriving her inspiration from movies or from the people she met, which initially scattered her energy and focus. “As kids you want to do everything especially when you watch movies, I wanted to become everything. I’m the type of person that loves to learn and to try everything, but I’ve always been a people’s person so media and PR were a good option.”
After her final year at the American School of Kuwait, Honey attended the Cairo American College and finally finished up at the Lebanese American University in Beirut in 1992, focusing on communications, media, and liberal studies. After having spent almost forty years outside of Syria, Honey’s parents decided to move back and to bring Honey, their youngest child, back with them. She spent a couple of years in Syria and then decided to take off again “I went through Kuwait and Egypt, I lived there for a while. And then I went back, I’ve been here for eight years now.”

Through her lifetime she worked basic jobs which normally were focused on marketing, PR or an event, as well as free lance, but in the past four years things turned around, and she now focuses her efforts on her work in radio, despite her many other opportunities. Even during her university days, she worked part time in radio, and she explored most of the domains of media, but never thought of it as a career.
Once she got back to Syria, She told her parents that she would only be there for two weeks and that she would only agree to settle in the country if she got a decent job. After having worked with Syriatel for a year, Michel Sukkar, who worked for a radio station in Lebanon, approached her with the idea of working for him at a radio station that he would be launching in a couple years “He told me, ‘Honey, in a couple of years we’re going to open a private radio station, and I would love to have you on board.’ Of course, I told him I would love to.”

She admits that her role model in media is Oprah Winfrey, but in some ways prefers radio to television because it allows the listeners to widen their imagination. “In television, you get an image, so you like a person based on what they look like, and you show people everything so they don’t get the chance to use their imagination. Whereas in radio, you have to work with your voice and personality to let people imagine what you’re saying and imagine you as a person. It’s not easy to be a storyteller, and attract people with just your voice.” For her, it is more fun to be in radio because she doesn’t have to worry about what she looks like, or if she laughs too much; she is comfortable the whole time.
She is extremely loyal to al-Madina FM, and talks about her family there with pride. Still, she admits that her job is not the easiest, and that it is somewhat of a challenge to be as cheerful as she is every single morning. A question she constantly faces is, “how is it possible that you’re always so cheerful?” “I don’t do it just because it’s my job,” she answers. “Anyone can be in a constant good mood if they’re passionate about what they do. I love everything about it. I love that I am able to communicate with all these people, and the love that they show me in return is very inspiring. My colleagues make it easy, as well; it’s a package.”

Another of Honey’s concerns is the lack of media training available in the country, which limits the progress possible. “Training and workshops that would allow workers to improve,” she insists. Still, that is no reason to simply abandon hope, and not do anything at all. “If you’re messing up, but you’re still honest about it, people won’t really care. Simplicity is the key.”
Always courageous and self-confident, Honey is the type of person that pushes herself and will never stop. “I always expect more from myself, it is never enough. One should keep growing. You’ve always got to be ready because you can drop at any second. I always feel like I can give more and learn more.”
Honey has, in her own way, throughout her work with al-Madina, pushed the Syrian people to grow, to become more accepting and to open up. Her hard work and her dedication to not only her job but also to Syria itself have gotten a positive response from different parts of the world. By interviewing a number of colorful people and attacking the subjects that are hottest right now, she is capable of grabbing and holding the attention of many listeners who, in return, show their dedication to her by tuning in every morning to hear her famous “Good morning, sweet Syria.” “I want my “good morning” to be directed in every direction towards everyone, and I want people to listen to my voice and honestly believe that things will actually be alright.”

Honey believes that the media is influential, and believes that a message of “waking up positive, and waking up in a good mood” is truly coming through. “We are having fun. We give them information about sports, news, and entertainment; whatever we do, we do it with laughter. I choose to be positive, to say only the good stuff that is happening in the country.”
Unlike most people, Honey takes pride in her Arabic accent, which gathers several accents, because what she cares about are the words that are coming out of her mouth and not the way they are being said. “In my opinion there are two things that allow a person to be successful: to be spontaneous, and the will to be yourself,” she says. “I am getting into your subconscious whether you like it or not!”