Breaking the Silence
Visually the mounting pressure for the Syrian pull out has been in effect with over the past month television reports showing military trucks filled with soldiers moving out, abandoning barracks and even crossing the border. But what of the secret services and the dismantling of their headquarters in Beirut and in the town an Anjar, in the Bekka valley, 58 km east of Beirut along the road to the Damascus?
Abdellah's eyes grew in size at the mention of the name of the town. "It is a very bad place": a processing plant for information gathered under duress. A place symbolic of intimidation and cruelty, another man who wished to remain unnamed explained: "It was to make us fearful, to put the fear inside our body, inside our mind."
The town of Anjar today is sleepy, with very little activity in comparison to the neighboring ones, which are bustling with busy market places, cafes and shops. The Syrian military however is omni-present in Anjar’s surrounding area where Syrian guard posts keep an eye on daily activities.
In the heart of Anjar, Syrian army barracks can be seen with soldiers manning its entrance. Trucks come in an out, and that makes up most of the activity in the town.
"I have been there twice" explains one man wishing to remain unidentified. As he lifted his pants, to show off his ankles, the skin around his legs was strangely scarred, bubbled-up white along the surface. "Electricity" he says. It has been ten years since he has been there last, and he still heads to the doctor for check-ups resulting from the abuse he received. When he came back to me: "his back was the color of the chest", his wife points to a mahogany cupboard. His account is not unique.
His first run in with the mukhabarat took place in the 80s: “there were 30 men, some in uniforms and some in civilian clothes. They came to my house after midnight. I was brutally treated in front of my family, my loved ones.”
But the worst was to come, blindfolded he was thrown into the boot of a small car and taken away the first time to the Hotel, Beau Rivage, an infamous place in Beirut, the Syrian mukhbarat headquarters in Beirut.
In his description of his beatings, electro-shock treatment, and starvation, he explained that during the 25 days he was detained he lost 40 kilos, half his weight. “It is not only pain, it is agony. It is something no words can ever explain.”
“At the end of my first visit to the mukhabarat headquarters, I was told that it was a mistake. They said they got the wrong man, but would not name who he was.”
Another man who had been spent time in Beau Rivage is unable to speak of his experience. In his home, his wife explained: “it is too difficult for him to speak, because speaking makes him relive it and he cannot [go there.]”
And there are others who underwent similar treatment, the scarred man described when in Anjar: “At one point, I was standing in a room infested with rats with forty other men,” and from all different sectarian lines, which make up the plural complexity of the society. “They will talk, but not today…they cannot speak up now, it is too soon.” It is still too dangerous for them to speak during Lebanon’s fragile political transition.
When asked whether he felt hopeful about the present day pull out: "What can I say, it is not enough. I hate them... What do you want when a man goes through what we did? What else can you feel?"
A person listening to our conversation explained: "It is not that we hate the Syrian people, but we hate the Syrian law.” The scarred man said: “I do not hate the Syrian people, in fact I am speaking for the first time to share with all victims of torture, and for those detained in Syrian prisons:”
And that will be a difficult task to arrange. Inherent is the string of words secret service, is the word secret. As a university professor put it: "What do you think, do you think the names of agents are on a roster. They are everywhere, they are the fruit sellers, the neighborhood shop keepers…" But more importantly those who run the country are still present.
"Here, I want to show you something". The scarred man took me for a walk around the block: "You see these fruit sellers, they are mukhbarat, this bakery, the same, this sandwich shop also". In all, he counted up 11 people working for the Syrians on the small residential block in West Beirut. "They are all over this neighborhood, and they keep watch." The shops had been recently opened within the past five years. "Now they are scared." As he walked around the block, he became more emotional, his lips quivering as he remembered more of what he went through: “You know, when we were offered food, we were beating, when we refused food we were beaten, and the same happened when they came around with water. We could do nothing.”
But with so many working under civilian guise, informants, the problem will be filtering out those who are less obvious, and those who are Lebanese nationals. A proper dismantling of the secret services top down is what is needed to guarantee a change in operations, and security for the population. And the battle is just beginning. For Lebanon to achieve the sovereignty it is fighting for, political deal making and effective compromises need to be set in motion to get rid of the Syrian secret services. But this will not be easy task after 30 years of presence, integration into Lebanese life and quite and a lot of money being made in the process.
Abdellah's eyes grew in size at the mention of the name of the town. "It is a very bad place": a processing plant for information gathered under duress. A place symbolic of intimidation and cruelty, another man who wished to remain unnamed explained: "It was to make us fearful, to put the fear inside our body, inside our mind."
The town of Anjar today is sleepy, with very little activity in comparison to the neighboring ones, which are bustling with busy market places, cafes and shops. The Syrian military however is omni-present in Anjar’s surrounding area where Syrian guard posts keep an eye on daily activities.
In the heart of Anjar, Syrian army barracks can be seen with soldiers manning its entrance. Trucks come in an out, and that makes up most of the activity in the town.
"I have been there twice" explains one man wishing to remain unidentified. As he lifted his pants, to show off his ankles, the skin around his legs was strangely scarred, bubbled-up white along the surface. "Electricity" he says. It has been ten years since he has been there last, and he still heads to the doctor for check-ups resulting from the abuse he received. When he came back to me: "his back was the color of the chest", his wife points to a mahogany cupboard. His account is not unique.
His first run in with the mukhabarat took place in the 80s: “there were 30 men, some in uniforms and some in civilian clothes. They came to my house after midnight. I was brutally treated in front of my family, my loved ones.”
But the worst was to come, blindfolded he was thrown into the boot of a small car and taken away the first time to the Hotel, Beau Rivage, an infamous place in Beirut, the Syrian mukhbarat headquarters in Beirut.
In his description of his beatings, electro-shock treatment, and starvation, he explained that during the 25 days he was detained he lost 40 kilos, half his weight. “It is not only pain, it is agony. It is something no words can ever explain.”
“At the end of my first visit to the mukhabarat headquarters, I was told that it was a mistake. They said they got the wrong man, but would not name who he was.”
Another man who had been spent time in Beau Rivage is unable to speak of his experience. In his home, his wife explained: “it is too difficult for him to speak, because speaking makes him relive it and he cannot [go there.]”
And there are others who underwent similar treatment, the scarred man described when in Anjar: “At one point, I was standing in a room infested with rats with forty other men,” and from all different sectarian lines, which make up the plural complexity of the society. “They will talk, but not today…they cannot speak up now, it is too soon.” It is still too dangerous for them to speak during Lebanon’s fragile political transition.
When asked whether he felt hopeful about the present day pull out: "What can I say, it is not enough. I hate them... What do you want when a man goes through what we did? What else can you feel?"
A person listening to our conversation explained: "It is not that we hate the Syrian people, but we hate the Syrian law.” The scarred man said: “I do not hate the Syrian people, in fact I am speaking for the first time to share with all victims of torture, and for those detained in Syrian prisons:”
And that will be a difficult task to arrange. Inherent is the string of words secret service, is the word secret. As a university professor put it: "What do you think, do you think the names of agents are on a roster. They are everywhere, they are the fruit sellers, the neighborhood shop keepers…" But more importantly those who run the country are still present.
"Here, I want to show you something". The scarred man took me for a walk around the block: "You see these fruit sellers, they are mukhbarat, this bakery, the same, this sandwich shop also". In all, he counted up 11 people working for the Syrians on the small residential block in West Beirut. "They are all over this neighborhood, and they keep watch." The shops had been recently opened within the past five years. "Now they are scared." As he walked around the block, he became more emotional, his lips quivering as he remembered more of what he went through: “You know, when we were offered food, we were beating, when we refused food we were beaten, and the same happened when they came around with water. We could do nothing.”
But with so many working under civilian guise, informants, the problem will be filtering out those who are less obvious, and those who are Lebanese nationals. A proper dismantling of the secret services top down is what is needed to guarantee a change in operations, and security for the population. And the battle is just beginning. For Lebanon to achieve the sovereignty it is fighting for, political deal making and effective compromises need to be set in motion to get rid of the Syrian secret services. But this will not be easy task after 30 years of presence, integration into Lebanese life and quite and a lot of money being made in the process.
posted by Irina Prentice at 12:17 PM
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