Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Aug 31, 2025

A Lifetime Under Surveillance: A Syrian Family's Harrowing Past with Homs Security Apparatus

A Lifetime Under Surveillance: A Syrian Family's Harrowing Past with Homs Security Apparatus

The end of Assad’s regime brings closure to a family's relentless ordeal of living next to a brutal security unit known for torture and fear
For 65-year-old Taha Tadmori, an apartment in Homs was not just a home but a constant reminder of the fear and control that characterized life under the Assad regime in Syria.

Living next door to the infamous Homs security directorate, Tadmori's family endured decades of their privacy being invaded and living under the omnipresent shadow of surveillance and torture.

The Homs security directorate, notorious for its brutal practices, became a part of Tadmori's life in his adolescence.

Since then, the Tadmori family had a firsthand view of the realities of authoritarianism exercised by Hafez al-Assad and later by his son, Bashar.

For most residents in this Sunni-majority neighborhood, the building was a symbol of repression, instilling pervasive fear and uncertainty.

The apartment, offering an unsparing look at the directorate, was a vantage point from where Taha witnessed a harrowing timeline of abuses and violent crackdowns.

For over fifty years, officials would routinely appear at the Tadmoris' doorstep, inquiring about their lives and those around them, wielding information as a weapon to enforce compliance and perpetuate fear.

The officers, primarily drawn from the Alawite sect, mirrored Bashar al-Assad's reliance on his sect to enforce state security.

The brutal footprint of this security apparatus extended into personal tragedies.

Taha's brother, Firas, who was sweepingly detained 12 years ago, became one of the countless disappeared.

Firas's "crime" was trivial—working in a building where anti-government protests were documented—and his arrest was emblematic of the arbitrary detentions typical of the Assad regime.

Subsequent searches for Firas, including entreaties to high-ranking officials like the sanctioned directorate chief Husam Louka, were futile.

Despite initial reassurances, Firas was detained in facilities notorious for human rights abuses, such as Branch 215.

He vanished without a trace.

Assad's reign, synonymous with such suppression, crumbled last month when insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ousted him from power.

This turnover signifies a pivotal transformation for many Syrians who have lived under relentless fear.

For Taha, it marked a profound cessation of regular visits from security officials, who had oftentimes enlisted his compliance for information under the guise of surveillance.

With the regime's fall came an immediate yet surreal shift.

Taha, who was restricted from even using his balcony freely, witnessed the once-omnipotent security staff abandon their posts as revolutionaries and locals overran the security directorate.

Their liberation efforts yielded few results—most detainees, including Taha's brother, were nowhere to be found.

Overnight, the officials who had known every intimate detail of his family's life had vanished, leaving behind only their desolate headquarters.

A chance meeting with one former official in a local pharmacy cornered Taha into an unexpected interaction—decades of pent-up fear and bitterness bubbled to the surface.

Yet, instead of recrimination, Taha chose an embrace, symbolically closing a chapter of oppression with a plea for normalcy.

As Taha contemplates the future, he humorously envisions the erstwhile locus of fear transforming into a beacon of hope, perhaps a school, under new governance.

The ending of Assad's era, he hopes, will chart a fresh course for Syria—a narrative of healing in the canvas of broader regional transformations.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
×