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Launch Event by UMAM D&R & LPDS
The Passionate of Darkness
Carceral Experiences in Syria's Prisons
هواة الظلام

من تجارب الاعتقال في السُّجون السّوريَّة
October 11, 2012 @ Solea V | Beirut


On October 11, 2012, during the inauguration of a new UMAM D&R initiative, Shared Suffering – Exploring the Abyss of Syrian Prisons, a group of former detainees in Syria's infamous Tadmor Prison brought their collective advocacy efforts to the public stage. Given how the plight of the disappeared fades from memory with every passing year, the men felt compelled to help those who might still be stuck in Syria's hellish pits. The launch event was titled "The Passionate of Darkness – Carceral Experiences in Syria’s Prisons" and was the result of months of planning with the Association of Former Lebanese Political Detainees in Syria (LPDS).

The event was held under the auspices of Her Excellency Mrs. Brigitta Maria Siefker-Eberle, the Ambassador of Germany to Lebanon, and featured a live performance accompanied with a display of handcrafts produced by former detainees, created while in prison or recreated specifically for this event, and a book signing by Ali Abou Dehn, head of the LPDS and author of "Back from Hell."

Alexandre Paulikevitch choreographed the performance of the former prisoners, who used storytelling and striking depictions of the abuse they endured – spliced with occasional bits of humor – to help come to terms with their troubled past in a therapeutic performance. The performance was equally beneficial for the audience, as this was perhaps the first time that the Lebanese public was confronted in such a direct way with the abuse their compatriots endured in Syrian prisons. The raw view of what these seven men lived through while locked up across the border, sometimes in nothing more than a box measuring two meters in length and height and one meter in width, was even new for some of their families since most of the former detainees had divulged very little to their loved ones about this difficult time. Through the well-rehearsed performance, the men were able to inspire hope and optimism for other individuals similarly traumatized by these heinous human rights violations.

The performance also helped solidify the partnership between UMAM D&R and the LPDS, paving the way for further development of the performance and more work towards dealing with the trials of life under the whip of the Syrian prison system.

The event was made possible thanks to funding from the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa).


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In the Media
October 12, 2012 | Now Lebanon
Tales of horror inside Syrian jails
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