Fear In Syria

What is fear? According to Psychology Today, “Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we didn't feel it, we couldn't protect ourselves from legitimate threats” (“Fear”). In 2011, the Syrian government did not want a revolution so they put fear into their citizens. They did this by torture, imprisonment and threats. The Syrian community began to rebel when there was an arrest of 15 children due to painting school walls with anti-government graffiti. The authorities’ violent and embarrassing actions led to one of the main reasons of the Syrian uprising during 2011(“Syria Civil War Fast Facts”).

The playwright, Mohammad al-Attar, of Please Look into the Camera discusses the many types of fear in this play that are resembled

during the revolution. During an interview with the New York Times, Mohammad al-Attar says, “Fear is a human instinct, but the fear is no longer preventing people from doing things” (Macfarquhar). These actions of rebellion are shown in Please Look into the Camera by the interviewer, Nura, and the interviewees. These characters that are instilled with fear are not prevented from doing things because they are the voice for their generation, culture and rights. Their youth and dignity break down the “wall of fear” (Della Ratta).
Please Look into the Camera is a play that was written in 2012 by the playwright Mohammad Al-attar. The play begins with five scenes that are brutally cruel to read. Within these five scenes Nura, a woman from a wealthy family, conducts interviews in her family’s office space with Syrian detainees that were captured by the government and imprisoned. They describe the awful and inhumane punishments they were put through each day. Ghassan, Nura’s brother, tries to stop Nura from speaking to these detainees because she is putting herself and her entire family in danger. Later in the play, we see the consequences of not listening to Ghassan when Nura is imprisoned.
In Please Look into the Camera, the victims that were captured and detained shared one major thing in common.

They were young, educated adults. For example, Zayd is in his 30s is an architect. Farrah is in her 20s and about to graduate in English literature and Karim is in his 20s with a degree in economics. Because of their education, the fear from the Syrian government does not stop them from taking action. The three characters are not scared of the punishments because they know what their country is doing is morally wrong. This began a “youth uprising”. Through research, I have found there is a group of protestors called the “Syrian Revolutionary Youth”. “They say this name sets them apart from youth with a different opinion on the uprising on one hand, and an older generation with varying political ideologies on another. A member of the Syrian Revolutionary Youth says the group is composed of ‘young people who consider themselves leftists but are not affiliated to any specific group.’”(“Syrian Revolutionary Youth Returns Spotlight to Nonviolent Resistance”). Because these characters Zayd, Farrah and Karim are young, educated citizens they allow older generations to see the corruptness of their government and country. These characters are vital to

revolution.
Specifically in Please Look into the Camera, we learn why each of the three detainees wants to be a part of Nura’s project. Karim wants to inform the viewers of this video how cruel
Gattuso 3
the Syrian government really is. He describes the most brutal beatings and punishments to Nura and he even offers to show his electrocution scars on tape. Farrah is not interested in describing the awful things that happened inside the prison, she begs Nura to talk about how she got caught. Farrah wants to inform the viewers how corrupt the Syrian government. She was imprisoned for leafleting in her neighborhood. People from her own neighborhood called security forces on her because they did not want her political action against the regime in their neighborhood. She says she pities the civilians who caught her because they believe they are protected by the regime. Lastly, Zayd does the interview because he believes the camera is a good “listener”. He tells Nura “I feel like it’s a chance I haven’t had since I got out” (Al-Attar, 140). Zayd is doing the interview for himself. He reveals that it is pleasurable to reveal yourself and imagine how your story can affect, support or glorify others.
Not only are the interviewees risking their lives, Nura is too. She is a character who helps break down the “wall of fear” in this play. Because of her curiosity of the regime, she forms unity within these detainees. She creates a place where it is acceptable to speak about the government and express what is morally corrupt in their society. Even though Nura is fearful for her life and her family’s life, she continues to film. Her filming and interviewing are important to her because it is a better way to understand what is happening in her country. I found in an article the correlation between the Syrian uprising and technology. Many groups created personal websites, art pieces, songs, and even Facebook pages dedicated to learning more about what people could do to become a part of this community during times of violence and protest (Della Ratta). These online communities allowed people to bring their pieces of art, songs, and slogans out into the streets and become more aggressive with their protesting. This type of protesting is
Gattuso 4
very relevant to Please Look into the Camera because Nura created a community using a video camera. Even though fear is inflicted on Nura, she states, “At least I’m trying to know. Isn’t it better than keeping my head buried in the sand? If you only knew, Ghassan, what people who sat in your place said” (Al-Attar, 144).
Farrah, Zayd, Karim and Nura all have dignity. They do not allow the Syrian government to take away their honor and respect. Even though they are traumatized and fearful of what might happen next, they do not allow that to get in the way of their dignity. These four brave characters realize that they are worth more than their country treats them. While reading many different interviews outside of the play, I found this man from Damascus who resembled the detainees perfectly. He explained to the reporter why he is protesting against the regime. He said, “The first time I shouted the word ‘freedom,’ one year ago, was the first time I touched my dignity. Now there's no going back” (McEvers). This man describes why people are acting out against fear. The Syrian protestors are not going to let the government take away the only thing they were born with, which is their dignity.
Specifically in scene seventeen in Please Look into the Camera, Karim discusses dignity. Karim discusses that after being put through the humiliation and pain in detention, he feels the worse thing he experienced in there was a feeling of incompetence. He watched people be kicked, beat and hung upside down for ten hours and could do nothing about it. He hated agreeing with the guards and approving of their actions. When in questioning, he was asked why he was trying to ruin the country, he wanted to say “Ever heard about dignity before?” but he knew he could not (Al-Attar, 153). Being imprisoned actually made him think more about how
Gattuso 5
corrupt the regime was and how he was going to make a difference when he was let out. This feeling of incompetence led him to be proactive and not let fear get in his way of becoming an active member in the Syrian uprising. The fear that was put into him during detention sparked a flame in his activism and broke down the “wall of fear” for him.
In conclusion, there will never be an answer of why fear does not prevent people from doing things, but from reading Please Look into the Camera there is much evidence as to why these former detainees were speaking out. The most interesting thing about this play is how the characters decided to protest. They did not try to take revenge on the people who brutally beat and electrocuted them or go into the streets and be violent. Instead, they wanted to talk. As educated individuals, they wanted to discuss what was happening in their country. This is something that should have been done by the government itself, instead of forcing fear on their citizens and using extreme violence. In the book, The Future of Autocratic Adaption, they agree that the government is failing with their tactics. It states, “The military and security services seem to rush around the country trying to put out the most urgent threat. This is leading to a stale mate.” (Stacher, 61). These four characters demonstrate the peaceful protestors during the Syrian uprising. They bring in a whole new perspective of how people reacted during these violent times.