Sohail Hamawi’s life story is similar to movies and stories. The life story of a man who woke up in Lebanon one morning as usual and found himself in the Syrian Saydnaya prison at dusk of the same working day.
It was the same day that the boy gave his 10-month-old son to his wife to bring alcohol to the man who went to his house to buy whiskey. Sohail Hamawi is back home now Lebanon, wore 32 years in prison in Syria and this caused him to lose the impression of being free. He didn’t even think that one day he would be released from Bashar Assad’s prison, or that his 10-month-old child would come to pick him up.
On the morning of December 8, a Sunday very different from usual
But Sunday morning was a different morning for Sohail and others. It was the warmth of the morning when all the noise echoed through the prison. Something strange was happening. One by one, the prisoners realized that there was no news from the guards.. Some opened the cell doors, or destroyed the walls if they did not open.
enthusiasm is one a sense of freedom mixed with fear and insecurity. “Everything was a disaster that morning, but it is in this chaos that freedom is born,” Sohail tells the journalist in a low voice.
The day Sohail was taken from Lebanon to Syria
In 1992, Sohail was working as a businessman in Shaka, Lebanon. On the night of Eid al-Fitr or St. Barbara’s Day (a holiday similar to Halloween), a man went to his house to buy whiskey. Sohail entrusted his wife with their two-month-old son George to deliver the whiskey to car buyer Fred, but he was kidnapped. He never returned home after that night. Sohail was one of hundreds of Lebanese citizens detained between 1976 and 2005, when Syria occupied Lebanon..
Traces were taken from him
16 years later, his wife finally managed to find outAfter a thorough review, Who was in Syrian prisons?. So what was the reason for his arrest? Sohail says: “I was arrested because I belonged to the Lebanese military forces“During this time he became disgraced. Syria Saydnaya prisonWhere was subjected to torture and isolation.
Syrian authorities had told Sohail’s wife that she was the reason for his detention. member of a Christian political party. The political group operated as a paramilitary group during the 15-year Lebanese civil war. The party was also at war against Syrian forces in those years and later opposed the Syrian military presence in Lebanon.
He was reunited with his wife Josephine in 2008
Over the years, living in a small cell isolated from the world had become an endless nightmare for Sohail. It had no connection with the outside world, and that 2008 when his wife could see him up close for the first time.
But suddenly freedom suddenly appeared. After the rebels left the prison, he saw how their prisoners were released. With the help of strangers, Sohail returned to the Lebanese border where his family was waiting for him.
Sohail is now a grandfather
After Sohail entered the house, his grandchildren were the first to hug him. In the reception room, Sohail looks at the photos in which he is not visible. Photos of his son George, his graduation party, his wife and children. His grandchildren shouted loudly and in Arabic: “‘Jeddah!”, “Seriously! (Grandfather).
Sohail’s wife Josephine celebrates his return
Sohail’s wife Josephine, He would distribute sweets to the guests who came to his house with cautious and cautious hands.. Josephine’s house was full of friends and neighbors. They came to visit Sohail and the visit went beyond their dreams. They were going over distant and near memories together.
Despite all the joys Sohail is still scared. He is afraid of not letting “this all be just a dream.” But the truth is that Sohail is no longer in jail. He’s back home and life’s moments have a different meaning for him. The time spent in prison had no meaning for him. Now you spend the day and night differently. He has a son. His wife and grandchildren. Friends and acquaintances who are in the mood at the moment will tell you about their memories.
Thousands of untold stories from the worst prison of the century
They remain in the depths of a thousand stories in your heart Untold stories of Saydnaya Prison, one of the most terrible prisons of the century. “I cried a lot over the years for what I had and what I lost” he says. “For a child who is far from me and who is far from me. I didn’t even know what he looked like, what his voice sounded like, how he laughed, or how he turned into a person. “It was very painful for me.”
“It was more of a miracle that got me out of prison“If it wasn’t for December 8, my dream would not have come true,” he says in a low voice as he tells his story to the Associated Press news agency. It was forbidden to dream until December 8th. But now I dream for free”.
