The rule of the Baʿth party in Syria was accompanied by the rise of a police state with great repressive powers. It increased censorship, referring to their ‘state of emergency Article 4b’ which permits the state “to control newspapers, books, broadcasting, advertising, and visual arts” – in other words, all forms of expression (reference).
- Nabīl al-Milḥim (1953-, Syria) – Khamārat Jabrā (‘Jabra’s bar’, 2016). The novel centers on a young Syrian man by the name of Jād al-Ḥaqq Jād Allah whose mother died giving birth to him. He is raised by Zumurruda in the countryside of Damascus. In the capital city Zumurruda finds work with the help of ʿEzraʾ, a Jewish man whose daughter Jād falls in love with. When ʿEzraʾ and his daughter emigrate to Israel, Zumurruda finds new work in prostitution and Jād marries Jasmīna, an orphan, but also takes on a mistress Jūrjītt, an important person in the upcoming Baʿth party which controls Syrian political and social life. However, Jād becomes paralyzed and is forced to stay in a hospital bed where Jasmīnas sits beside him loyally and where he watches Damascene life pass by through the hospital window (also in D: Disabilities, Illness, and Disorders: Physical Disabilities: Paralysis).
Refrences:
In order of appearance
- Mohja Kahf. 2001. “The Silences of Contemporary Syrian Literature.” World Literature Today 75(2): 224-236, p. 228