“Jumu’ah escaped!” he yelled to the room. “Jumu’ah escaped!”
His words spread like wildfire and within seconds every soldier was on his feet shouting “Jumu’ah escaped!” and celebrating my victory as if it were his own. The Wolfman, not believing his eyes at the sight of his prisoners, these Arabs before him rejoicing over the escape of an American, was overcome with rage.
“What are you doing?” he screamed. “Stop cheering for the American! Do you hear me? Stop cheering for the American!”
But it was too late. The cuckoo had already flown over the nest. Ali told me that after they received the news he saw Ayman sitting against the wall alone, wearing a smile born from a brother’s love; Ayman, who, along with the rest of the soldiers, I think of every day with a full heart—one that always hurts, knowing I may never see them again.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matthew Schrier is from Deer Park, New York, and a graduate of Hofstra University, where he studied film production and English. In 2012, while outside Aleppo on his way home from photographing the war, Schrier was captured by the al-Nusra Front, a group better known in the West as al-Qaeda in Syria. Seven months later, he became the first Westerner to ever escape from them. His story has been covered by 60 Minutes, the New York Times, and CNN, and since his return home, Matthew has devoted himself to working with the US military, using his experience in Syria to educate American troops about survival after capture by extremists. The Dawn Prayer is his first book.
