The shell

It is the time of "the shell," where everything is mixed. There are no clear boundaries between the past and the present, the surreal and the realistic. It is not just a novel someone tells us. It is a text that contains horror, fear, injustice... dying. The events take place in the eighties of the last century, during the escalation of armed conflict between the Syrian regime and the Muslim Brotherhood. Mustafa Khalifa returns to his country from France after obtaining a degree in film directing. "My country (Syria) needs me more than any other country." And so it was. Mustafa leaves behind everything: his girlfriend, Paris cafes, human rights, beer, and other things. He arrives at the airport. Syrian security stops him. They take him for interrogation, on charges of belonging to the "Muslim Brotherhood" organization, knowing that he is Christian according to the ID, and an atheist in belief. There, Mustafa disappears for 13 years, three months, and thirteen days, in the regime's prisons.