PRAISE FOR THE DAWN PRAYER
“Captured by al-Qaeda in Syria, Matt Schrier essentially played a long game of chess with them—and won. He escaped from their torture chambers and went on to write one of the most terrifying and suspenseful books I’ve ever read. This is an absolutely extraordinary story.”
—SEBASTIAN JUNGER, AUTHOR AND JOURNALIST
“A tightly told story of brutal survival, unexpected friendships and ultimate escape . . . Matt’s engrossing story took me back to those days of struggle and survival and the desperate need for freedom.”
—BILLY HAYES, AUTHOR OF MIDNIGHT EXPRESS
“This gripping memoir tells the incredible story of American photographer Matthew Schrier’s abduction from the battle-scarred streets of Aleppo by the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra. It’s a searing narrative of personal courage and the determination to survive. Schrier takes us inside the hellish world of secret Syrian prisons and his daring escape from his jihadist captors. He also paints a brutally frank portrait of the unexpected friendships and hostilities he formed with his fellow captives.”
—PHILIP S. BALBONI, CEO AND CO-EXECUTIVE EDITOR OF DAILYCHATTER AND FOUNDER OF GLOBALPOST
“The Dawn Prayer by Matthew Schrier is a thrilling documentary that reads like a novel. His account of being captured by al-Qaeda and held by some of the most savage and ruthless enemies of all, while being undermined and betrayed by one of his own, exhibits his fortitude, bravery, and cunning abilities to extend his life and someday hope to escape or be rescued. His words transport you to the places of manmade hell where survival is earned every day. Physical torture and mental abuse was the order of most days with very little food and water for survival. The fact that he, as a Jewish photographer, survived to tell his story is amazing enough, but his escape to freedom was nothing short of miraculous. Take a deep breath before you begin reading; there is no breathing room in the pages of this one!”
—A.B. GRANTHAM, COMMANDANT, DEPARTMENT OF ALABAMA, MARINE CORPS LEAGUE
“If I ever had a chance to pick a guide to walk through hell, that would be, no doubt, Matt Schrier, whose gifted hand is able to tame the dreadful memories of his darkest hours in captivity into the most clear, powerful, and enlightening narrative.”
—JUAN RÍOS, SPANISH MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS
THE DAWN PRAYER
THE DAWN PRAYER
(OR HOW TO SURVIVE IN A SECRET SYRIAN TERRORIST PRISON)
MATTHEW SCHRIER
BenBella Books, Inc.
Dallas, TX
The events, locations and conversations in this book, while true, are re-created from the author’s memory. However, the essence of the story and the feelings and emotions evoked are intended to be accurate representations. In certain instances, names of persons, organizations, and places have been changed to protect an individual’s privacy.
Copyright © 2018 by Matthew Schrier
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
BenBella Books, Inc.
10440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 800
Dallas, TX 75231
www.benbellabooks.com
Send feedback to [email protected]
First E-Book Edition: April 2018
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN: 9781944648886
e-ISBN: 9781946885210
Editing by Alexa Stevenson
Copyediting by Scott Calamar
Proofreading by Laura Cherkas and Greg Teague
Text design and composition by Aaron Edmiston
Front cover design by Pete Garceau
Jacket design by Sarah Avinger
Printed by Lake Book Manufacturing
Distributed to the trade by Two Rivers Distribution, an Ingram brand
www.tworiversdistribution.com
Special discounts for bulk sales (minimum of 25 copies) are available.
Please contact Aida Herrera at [email protected].
To all my friends who never made it home, the few who did, and those who risked their lives to get me here.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The events described in this book aren’t always pretty, and neither is my language. At times, the person you will meet in the following pages is not a reflection of who I really am on the inside, but who I had to become on the outside in order to adapt to my surroundings and survive with my dignity. I may sometimes be harsh, but harsh environments sometimes call for harsh measures. That’s war. At least I’m honest about it.
CONTENTS
Karm al-Jabal
The Hospital
The Electrical Institute
The Hospital II
The Villa
The Stores
The Warehouse
The Transportation Building
Aleppo
Turkey
Epilogue
About the Author
Somebody told me a joke once, when I was over there . . .
Three al-Qaeda guards enter a cell packed with regime POWs and take five men from the room. They bring them into the cell next door and line them up. After a few minutes, one of the rising stars of the organization, General Mohammad, arrives to deliver a message:
“I’m going to kill every one of you,” he says. “I am going to cut your heads off one at a time.” And then he leaves.
Two days later he comes for the first soldier, and the day after that the second. Four days later the third, and then three days following that the fourth, until there’s one lone soldier standing in the room, waiting to die. Finally, after five more long days of waiting, General Mohammad comes to collect his last victim.
The prisoner is blindfolded, bound, taken upstairs, outside, and placed in the trunk space of an SUV—while being taunted the entire way.
“Are you ready to die?” General Mohammad asks again and again. “Are you ready to get your head cut off ?”
As the vehicle moves through Aleppo, the prisoner pants, prays, cries, and sweats until he’s soaked in his own tears and perspiration, and all the while the taunting never stops. At last, after about an hour of this, they reach their destination. The prisoner is taken from the trunk, marched into a building, down a flight of stairs, and locked, still blindfolded, in a room. When General Mohammad enters with his camp, he places his lips next to the soldier’s ear.
“Are you ready?” he asks one last time, in a
