Syria Talks: Noura al Ameer’s Tales Catch on

The ongoing Syria peace conference in Geneva focuses on ending the disputes between President Bashar al-Assad’s government and the opposition hoping that the negotiations would lead to a peaceful agreement. The rival delegations met face to face for the first time during the conference since the Syrian crisis which began in 2011. Amidst the developments, media attention has been diverted to a woman, who is a delegate in the conference and has harrowing experience to share about Syria.

Twenty six year old Noura Al-Ameer who is a member of the National coalition for the Opposition forces recalls the brutal experiences she had in prison. She is now the vice president of the opposition delegation who is in Geneva to attend the peace summit. Al Ameer, who hails from Homs, was an anti-government activist who protested against Assad’s government, coordinated opposition activities and distributed relief aid. She was arrested at a bus station in May 2012 when the security agents found cameras for the media office in her possession. She was detained for six months in Adra prison on the outskirts of Damascus and later in Homs prison before she was released in 2012.

Asked about the painful encounters in prison, she said that she was tortured “with electricity and cables. I don’t think it’s appropriate to talk about my torture because it is nothing compared to what other female detainees are now enduring”. Al-Ameer joined the Western-backed group in May 2013. In response to the debate that was triggered by the presence of young delegates in the coalition dominated by men in their 40s and 50s she said that “Some activists are young but they have the mind of an older person”.

The rebels and civil activists in Syria dissent the peace talks arguing that negotiating with Assad’s representatives is “a betrayal of the blood” of those killed by the regime. But Al Ameer hopes that the peace deal would ease the misery of the people in her country. The negotiations are based on the Geneva communiqué, which calls for a political transition in Syria.