On Friday, March 25, 25-year-old Khaled El Ghayesh, an Egyptian engineer working in Lebanon, took advantage of a three-day weekend to travel to Syria. On Sunday he was arrested on the border trying to get back into Lebanon and didn’t resurface until one week later. Here is the story behind his eight-day stay in Syrian prison, during which little was known, even to his family, of his whereabouts.
 
Why did you go to Syria despite the protests and growing violence there?

Ghayesh: I asked my Syrian friends, and they said the situation was not bad at all. I also know that the media exaggerates things.

Describe your stay until your arrest.

Ghayesh: I arrived in Damascus on Friday. It felt relatively normal, even though there were pro-Assad protests. It was very different from [what I saw in Egypt]. I was stunned. People really like [Assad]…I don’t know if they like him, but they are pro-Bashar, though the protests were relatively small.
[Sunday] morning, I went to Aleppo, which was fairly calm, too. I spent another normal day. Aleppo had nothing. Not even pro-Bashar protests...
Then I took the bus back to Beirut, because I was supposed to be at work on Monday.
When I got to the border, the guy noticed I was Egyptian and requested to see my cell phone and then took me into this small customs office. I’m not sure whether they were secret police.  But I was sure there was nothing wrong with me. My papers are fine.
They started asking many questions… searched everything I had. They saw a US visa in my passport...a USB, a CD, cameras… They looked at every one of my camera’s pictures. I had a documentary from a journalist friend about the corruption of Mubarak’s regime.
Everything looked suspicious to them.

What was their attitude with you?

Ghayesh: At first, they were aggressive, not rude. But once they saw I was respectable, not trying to sneak into Lebanon illegally, they brought me coffee and said it was normal procedures and that they’d drive me to Beirut if I missed the bus.
They took everything – my wallet, bag, ID, passport. They told me not to worry. Then they cuffed me and drove me in a van to Homs to some military base. I’m not sure.
I didn’t know where the hell I was and walked in and saw cuffed people on the floor with blood on their faces; they had been tortured. It was not easy.
I was scared but was thinking [it would not happen to me].  
They inspected me again and threw me into a one-by-two meter cell with two other Egyptians. It was like on TV.
I started yelling, “What is going on?” I was furious and started hitting the door. And someone said, “Just wait for tomorrow.” I was so angry. I couldn’t believe it.

Did you request a phone call? A lawyer?

Ghayesh: Yes, a call, but no one answered me.
I was really in shock, and the other prisoners were trying to comfort me… saying it’s normal, that everyone goes to jail. I couldn’t sleep at all that night. They took my watch of course… so I had no sense of time.
The next morning, they called my name for investigation. They blindfolded and handcuffed me. I was scared, but I was feeling quite confident. In Egypt I’ve been through interrogations because they [had] the emergency law, and [I survived]. 
But I never even imagined it could be like this.
I couldn’t see anything; I could only hear his voice. At first, he was being respectful, “Egyptians are our brothers,” he said, “If you work with us and tell us who you work with, I’ll give you coffee, cigarettes, let you go… Tell us what you have.” He was trying to play mind games.
I said everything, every single thing I did: the people I was with, where they live, even though I was very scared of jeopardizing them.

Did he seem to believe you?

Ghayesh: In the first 10 minutes, he was very respectful. But after, he kept on insisting, yelling, slapping me and punching me… “Why are you lying?”
It was about the psychological treatment. Sometimes he was calm, other times, very aggressive, trying to find anything to accuse me. “We’ve been watching you,” he said. “I have everything that proves you’re a liar.” 

Did you give into the pressure?

Ghayesh: I was getting scared and frustrated, but I never lost confidence because I was saying the truth... 
He slapped me and threatened to take me away and rip off my nails. I believed him, but there was nothing I could do. I would never confess to something I was not guilty of. 
I was scared, but I didn’t break down. He asked me everything about my company… about all my trips between Cairo and Beirut. He accused me of working with certain anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians and claimed my bank was an espionage company.
Nothing I could say would change his mind.
I was furious… but the Syrian people, they are living in denial; they are genuinely convinced the uprisings are coming from outside… For them I was the perfect candidate.

How did the interrogation end?

Ghayesh: After two hours… I asked what my status was.
 “Let you go?” he laughed. “People like you stay here for a year… For now, you’re forgotten here.”

Describe the prison facility.

Ghayesh: There were no showers, and we’d eat from the floor like animals: bread and rice. There was one blanket for three people. I didn’t sleep for more than two hours straight for the entire week, and I only knew whether it was day or night.
There was only one horrible bathroom… no soap, no toilet paper. You had to request permission for the bathroom, and all we could drink was tap water from the sink…
I went through phases, trying to be really positive... make friends with other prisoners. That definitely provided some comfort. 
But you would wake up at night and listen to people screaming. This was the scariest.

Did you ever lose hope during your week-long stay?

Ghayesh: I lost hope, yes, on the seventh day, when I realized it had just been too long. I was trying to just live it, trying to talk to people… I was trying to forget what life was like outside.
I was thinking about my family… This destroyed me the most. Whenever someone was released, I was trying to make them memorize my number, because of course there were no paper and pens. I would ask them to please contact my parents as soon as they were out.

How did you feel seeing people released?

Ghayesh: I was so happy. Everyone was, because you project that it might be you one day.
But after the sixth day, I was jealous and started to lose hope. 
On Monday, I was telling myself I have to just accept that prison is my new home.
The worst moment was when you would wake up. When you sleep, you dream, you dream of life outside prison. And then you wake up and realize prison is reality.  That was the toughest.

You were never interrogated again?

Ghayesh: No. I was hoping to be interrogated by another person, trying to organize my thoughts to make them understand I didn’t belong here, but it never happened.
Then on Monday, they called my name, asked a couple of questions, made me sign a paper and just let me out. “Say hi to Egypt,” they said. They didn’t even give me any paper.

How did you feel?

Ghayesh: When I first saw sunlight… my eyes were pained. I couldn’t look. I felt really weak, disgusting and started walking… I was so afraid they would catch me again.
I just kept on walking, too nervous to even call my family from Syria. All I wanted to do was be out of Syria, go to Lebanon, because it’s the easiest way out.
I took a shared taxi from Homs. I was so scared.
It’s unbelievable what I’ve seen. Have you read 1984? That’s Syria – that’s what I experienced in jail. I sat in the taxi, did not say a word. My heart was beating [so fast]. I thought I would never feel safe until I got that stamp.
At the border, I saw the same people who caught me. I was terrified. The guy looked at me and asked questions. I was scared to even say I was detained. I was exhausted and terrified. I was not relieved until I crossed the Lebanese border.
At that time, my mobile started to work. I started to get messages from friends, family… [I found out] that my uncle had taken the situation to the higher authorities… The Arab League… My mom even reached [Arab League Secretary General] Amr Moussa. 
I was amazed at all the work on Facebook and Twitter to help find me... In the end, I was overwhelmed by what people knew about me… doing so much to help me. Without them, I would not have made it out. 
I also found out there had been Syrian articles about me being a spy.

Did they warn you not to talk about your experience?

Ghayesh: No. But I will never go back to Syria in my life. I have Syrian friends there. I love my Syrian friends… but I will never go back.
 
Do you think the Assad regime will fall?

Ghayesh: No. Major changes, but that’s all. People are saying there is unrest… but it’s nothing like in other countries: Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain…I don’t think the regime will fall.
 
It’s 1984, have you read it? Like the novel’s most famous slogan: Freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, war is peace.