Matthew Schrier - The Dawn Prayer (Or How to Survive in a Secret Syrian Terrorist Prison)

PRAISE FOR THE DAWN PRAYER

Captured by al-Qaeda in Syria, Matt Schrier essentially played a long game of chess with themand won. He escaped from their torture chambers and went on to write one of the most terrifying and suspenseful books Ive 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... Matts 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 Schriers abduction from the battle-scarred streets of Aleppo by the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra. Its 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 ROS, 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 authors 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 individuals 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

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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

To all my friends who never made it home, the few who did, and those who risked their lives to get me here.

AUTHORS NOTE

The events described in this book arent 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. Thats war. At least Im honest about it.

CONTENTS

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:

Im 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 theres 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 SUVwhile 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 hes 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 soldiers ear.

Are you ready? he asks one last time, in a cold whisper. Are you ready to get your head cut off ?

And all of a sudden the blindfold is ripped from the soldiers eyesrevealing all four of the friends who were taken from the cell before him: alive and well, with their heads still attached.

Just kidding! yells General Mohammad, breaking into a wild laugh.

... Welcome to Syria.

DECEMBER 31, 2012

New Years Eve and still alive, I thought with a smile. I sat in a run-down taxi in front of the drivers house, waiting for him to come out and staring at the last cigarette in my pack. Id planned on saving it to smoke it after Id safely crossed the border back to Turkey, a superstitious habit Id gotten into, but since the driver was taking so long I just lit up. Anyway, I was headed out of Syria for the last time.

I had been in and around Aleppo for eighteen days photographing the war from the Free Syrian Armys side, and now that I had what I came for, it was time to go. It was my second time in the region but my first covering a war, and I didnt want to push my luck. About a month and a half earlier Id been in southern Turkey and Jordan photographing refugees for the Syrian American Medical Society. During that trip I made my first pilgrimage across the border into Syria to feel things out, and met all the contacts I would need to return and travel deeper inside the country, from fixers to rebels.