Jamal Nabaa (left) and Suhail Hamawi in their homes in Shebaa, southern Lebanon and Chekka, northern Lebanon, nearly a year after their release from Syrian prisons on Dec. 8, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient-Le Jour)
"If you ask me what my date of birth is, I’ll tell you Dec. 8, 2024." Just over a year after being released from prison following the fall of the Syrian regime, Suhail Hamawi, 62, smiles as he refers to his "new birthday."A blessing for millions of Syrians, this date also marked the end of a long ordeal for the few Lebanese who survived the hell of Assad's prisons. Of the 725 people officially reported missing by the authorities, only a small number have reappeared.Jamal Nabaa, 65, who was released on the same day, states in early February that he considers himself to be one year and two months old. "When I found myself outside, it was indescribable. It was as if I was born again," he adds. From our archives Inside Sednaya: A nurse’s account of ‘the human slaughterhouse’ After spending 32 and 18...
"If you ask me what my date of birth is, I’ll tell you Dec. 8, 2024." Just over a year after being released from prison following the fall of the Syrian regime, Suhail Hamawi, 62, smiles as he refers to his "new birthday."A blessing for millions of Syrians, this date also marked the end of a long ordeal for the few Lebanese who survived the hell of Assad's prisons. Of the 725 people officially reported missing by the authorities, only a small number have reappeared.Jamal Nabaa, 65, who was released on the same day, states in early February that he considers himself to be one year and two months old. "When I found myself outside, it was indescribable. It was as if I was born again," he adds. From our archives Inside Sednaya: A nurse’s account of ‘the human slaughterhouse’ After spending 32...
