“Assad and Me” blends personal biography and national history. It is a description of the Syrian revolt and the murderous regime it opposed. I am the first Syrian journalist to cover the events of the Syrian revolution inside Syria; this is my report years after the catastrophe in my country.I have presented details about security, the economy, and Iranian penetration into the deep state leading to the Syrian civil war.
By, Issam Khoury
Memoirs of journalist and activist who was exiled from two countries in the Middle East
What piqued my curiosity the most was that not even cockroaches and mice came into this room. Perhaps they didn’t dare to. Is it possible that humans have a greater tolerance for dirt than vermin? This is what crossed my mind on the evening of October 1st, 2013, just two days after I was arrested. The thoughts still haunt me here in New York, thousands of miles away from that awful prison cell. I anticipated the very moment of my arrest, years before it happened. I was certain that I would eventually be incarcerated, but couldn’t yet imagine how or where.
My autobiography is rich with informative stories laced with fear, adventure, and joy.
It answers the numerous questions that concern the nature of Syrian society before and during the Syrian Civil War that massacred more than half a million people.“Assad and Me” recounts personal details even as it dips into collective worries and fears about the Syrian authority with a smooth narrative approach. The lines of this book present the reality of the deep state of Assad, both the father and son, as it delineates regional and international powers.
Issam Khoury
“Assad and Me” is coming out ten years after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution and al-Assad’s victory for the third time in the Syrian elections in 2021, in which more than half of the Syrian people did not participate.
I delayed publishing “Assad and Me” for years as a result of my fear for the fate of the listed names in the book, and due to the sensitivity of the new media-based information in my investigative reports, which I conducted secretly within Syrian territory.
Each victim in Syria has a touching story fit for a novel. Not many political or academic books hold the point of view of the author, whether loyal to the regime in Damascus or from the opposition, eliminating the status of neutrality that allows the narrative to infer the origin of the humanitarian crimes.
Assad and Me is elaborate on the partial details of the Alawite set, the base of the Syrian intelligence. I show, for the first time, the role of the Alawite Council in governing Syria and its reflection on the growing Iranian relationship with the Alawites of Syria, who are close to Assad. This book does not attack the authority or the opposition, but rather allows the reader to understand the behavior of each of them, to sequentially realize the extent of the crime against the Syrian people.
It is a book that depicts my pain and laughter. In short, it is a book for all members of society. Any researcher interested in understanding the Middle Eastern personality will find it essential. Its language is simple and fluid, making it easy for students (16-35) to understand all its details despite little familiarity with Middle Eastern issues.
Assad And Me 