In the week that Donald Trump tried to ban Syrian refugees from the USA I was struck by the story of Omar Al-Shogre who survived in Assad’s infamous prison system. Omar was only 17 when he was arrested. When he was released 3 years later he weighed only 35 kilograms. In prison he saw and endured torture, and saw others tortured, raped and killed. Two of his cousins with whom he was arrested did not survive. Yet horror is not the dominant theme in his story.
