It was very sensitive feelings and sensitive time for me when – always when I remember that moment. We will help you all times and we will try to help you all the time. He put his hand over my head, then my cheek, and he said, 'Okay. My dad helped Riyad up and wiped his forehead. How could he escape? Why all of these chains? Untie him for a minute.'Īnd they did unshackle him. Are you afraid of him escaping? There are more than ten of you. They had shackled one of his arms and chained both of his legs to the hospital bed.

Riyad was almost naked, with just a small towel over his body. Of course, my dad wasn't used to seeing anything like this. So, for him, the scene we found was extremely painful. That was dangerous for Diab, who was freed from Sednaya a few months earlier.Īfter a separate interrogation for Diab and his father in which they told the officers that Riyad is Diab's brother-in-law, they were allowed to see Riyad.ĭIAB SERRIH We went. But Diab's father argued loudly with them, which drew the attention of an intelligence officer. NADIA AL-BUKAI The intelligence agents prevented Diab and his father from seeing Riyad. So, we had to find a way to enter and deliver it ourselves. He made me feel that if they found out he was helping us, they might detain him. The doctor had told them that the fluids were the only nutrition Riyad's stomach could handle after the surgery.ĭIAB SERRIH The doctor told us he couldn't deliver the juice, and he couldn't tell us any further, because intelligence agents were there. NADIA AL-BUKAI Diab and his father went to buy some juice for Riyad. He had demanded to come with me when he knew Riyad was sick. I asked him which hospital, and he told me it was Damascus National Hospital. He's in the hospital and might need to stay there for a while. I immediately knew he was talking about Riyad, which he confirmed. Of course, that friend was the Diab.ĭIAB SERRIH A doctor called me and told me that a relative in the hospital needed tests and continued care, and somebody had to pay for his examinations and his medicines. Quickly, doctors restrained and calmed him. He was crying in despair, saying that he didn't want to live anymore. He felt so helpless, and he started to remove all the life-supporting tubes. NADIA AL-BUKAI This rejection was heavy on Riyad. You want money? My friend will bring and give you money, and we will solve everything.' They're in Turkey.' And I said – I said, 'They didn't even hear about me. We don't accept your friend to come and give money. Maybe if I called him, he will come immediately and give you the money which you want.' I don't have anybody here in this country, all the country.' But I said, 'Okay. I said, 'How I will find the money to you? I'm a prisoner. If you don't have money, we couldn't do this test.' RIYAD AVLAR The third day, they came and they said, 'We have to make a test for you. He learnt from the doctors that he had holes in his stomach. When he woke up, Riyad found himself chained to the bed with lots and lots of tubes attached to his body to support his life. For about five hours, doctors operated on him to save his life. Riyad had a gastrointestinal perforation, which is a condition that might cause death if complications were to develop. While he was in Adra Prison, Riyad got sick and was rushed to hospital. In early 2012, Diab was still active in the streets like hundreds of thousands of Syrians trying to put an end to Assad's rule. If Assad's network of detentions is the realisation of this idea of darkness and injustice, I think Sednaya is its Erebus.įrom Message Heard and The Syria Campaign, this is Behind the Sun. 'Erebus,' as a word, means a place of darkness between the land of the living and the eternal world of death. His name was Erebus, the personification of the deep darkness of the universe.

This reminds me of a story I learnt about once, the story of one of the first gods to be named in Greek mythology. In this case, injustice not only means the lack of fairness or justice, but also implies the lack of life's light. Zulm or injustice shares the same origin as the word with ' zalam,' which means darkness. In Arabic, the word for 'injustice' is ' zulm.' As opposed to English, the origin of the word itself in Arabic has nothing to do with justice, rights, or even law. But in Arabic, the word is a bit different. In English, the word 'injustice' means the lack of fairness or justice. NADIA AL-BUKAI Just before we begin, I wanted to let you know that this podcast contains some descriptions of physical, psychological, and sexual violence.

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