In June 2012, just as the Civil War was heating up in Syria, Ali Shahadah decided that he needed to grab some stuff from his agricultural research station.

The station was back in Telhadiah, 20 miles south of Aleppo, where he was.

Never mind that just the day before, the station had been seized by armed fighters.

Ali and some colleagues would just have a chat

with the armed men. They controlled the main gate, but I went to the center from the back gate.

And then there was a checkpoint, and I told them, I have a duty there.

And I'm continuing my duty.

Ali's duty was to protect the lab and the plant specimens and all the seeds.

A hundred thousand different kinds of seeds belonging to his employer, Icarda,

which is the International Center for Agriculture and Dry Areas.

Ali had actually collected many of these plants and seeds himself over the last 30 years,

and he wasn't about to let something like a war ruin all of that.

So when they arrived at the station, he walked right up to the men.

They were arguing with us, okay, you are a part of the government.

I said, no, we are not working to the government.

We are international organization.

And I'm here not to discuss with you anything related to politics and religion.

If you know and you can argue or to discuss with me scientifically,

you are more than real time. Alie and I were on a video call last week, so I knew that he was safe

in Montreal. But even knowing this, when I heard him describe what he said to the armed men,

it made me retroactively nervous for his future.

Like, was this really his move to tell these guys he was there for science and duty?

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