by Alaa AbdulSamad
One whose body is a map of bruises and scars that tells stories of torture.
one who died smiling, giving hope to the rest.
one who wondered when this war is going to end. In my country, I miss my country.
one who said oppression is when you are thrown in a single cell somewhere in the darkness underground crowded with 100 prisoners having turns to stand in front of the tiny window to inhale some oxygen.
one who keeps writing poems about her brother Hadi, one of the first young martyrs in the city.
one whom the regime pulled off his throat because he was the voice of the revolution. R.I.P Saroot, Syira’s forever alive singer.
one who was set free but kept talking about the rivers of blood he saw in prison.
one who cries over her husband’s grave every night. He was her life and she lost it.
one who nourished people’s minds with will and their hearts with hope by his rebellious spirit but lost his life on the way back by a mean bullet of a hateful sniper.
one who hugs his family tight every time he goes to the demonstration; he may never come back.
one who said you don’t know what torture is until you are hanged upside down whipped to praise the oppressor Bashar Al Assad.
one who said hunger in prison is when you are there for a week given a rotten piece of bread to share with 50 other prisoners.
one who said altruism is when a free fighter protects his friend in the battle so he doesn’t die because he is the only child to his parents.
one who lost his eye rescuing the injured. Anis my friend lost his eye but he is grateful for the other. Alas for those who have the sight but not the insight.
one who gave birth in prison and while telling her toddler the story of the bird he asked, what is a bird?
one who is 3 years old and his last words before he died were, I am going to tell God everything.
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Born and raised in Syria, Alaa AbdulSamad resides in Austin with her husband and three-year-old daughter. She teaches pre-K, and in her spare time, she writes and draws. Alaa hopes to one day return to Syria to help the children continue their education that they are deprived from because of war.