Totalitarianism in Syria as Reflected In Ibrahim Samuil’s Short Stories

<p class="ql-align-justify">During the Arab Spring of 2011, Syria was one of the nations that rose up against the oppressive rule of Bashar Al-Assad, whose regime was a continuation of his father’s fifty-four-year reign of tyranny. The hallmarks of totalitarianism—oppression, censorship, and brutality—accompanied by widespread suffering, trauma, and despair were clearly revealed after the regime’s fall in December 2024. Before that date, writers and critics who dared to criticize or contemplate criticizing the regime were arrested, exiled, or at least subjected to prolonged detention in jails without any verdicts. In the aftermath, they began documenting their own suffering and the agony of the Syrian people. Among those writers, Ibrahim Samuil is one who has been imprisoned for criticizing the regime, but he managed to flee to Jordan where he decided to document what he has witnessed during years of oppression. Through his short stories, he was able to depict the horrors wrought by the Al-Assad’s regime, particularly the inhumane conditions inside prisons where even speech was forbidden. This article examines Syrian prisons and the totalitarian performance of Al-Assad’s regime against innocent detainees through the stories of Samuil, who portrays what was happening there professionally.</p>