This heartrending memoir unravels the most perilous period in Syria's modern history, a time when President Asad's notorious secret service agents, the Mukhabarat, hunted down and imprisoned anyone even remotely associated with political opposition. When a "wanted criminal" fled from the Mukhabarat's clutches, they held hostages, like in the case of Heba Dabbagh. Heba Dabbagh's story begins when Mukhabarat agents storm into her apartment and ask for "just five minutes" of her time. They drag her to a military interrogation unit where a long list of fabricated allegations awaits her. From there, Dabbagh takes us on a journey through the prisons of Syria and reveals the nightmares that come to life in the Mukhabarat interrogation and torture chambers. During her nine year imprisonment, Dabbagh shares cells and stories with members of the political opposition, communists, spies, children and even members of her own family. In this candid chronicle, Dabbagh exposes the oppression that thousands have lived but few dare to voice.

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Just Five Minutes: Nine Years in the Prisons of Syria

Bayan Khatib is a Canada-based former refugee from Syria, who founded the Syrian Canadian Foundation. Khatib is known as a spokesperson, activist, and commentator on the Syria war. Bayan Khatib was born in Syria shortly before her parents fled to USA as refugees, and was initially raised by her grandparents in Syria. In 1986, at the age of seven, Bayan Khatib moved to Denver to rejoin her nuclear family, who she hardly knew. She had a challenging transition initially as her parents were still dealing with the emotional trauma of their experiences in Syria Later the family moved to Toronto. In 2011, in the context of the Syria conflict, Khatib worked as a spokesperson for the political opposition in Syria. In Toronto, she worked as a media relations officer trying to increase public awareness of the Syria war. In 2015, as Syrian refugees were arriving in Canada, Khatib founded the Syrian Canadian Foundation to provide support services for newcomers to Canada. Khatib also worked as the director of communications for the Al-Qazzaz Foundation. In 2018, she reacted to the airstrikes on Syria by saying that Syrians felt a mixture of optimism that it would curtail President Assad, and fear of civilian casualties. She pushed the Government of Canada to do more to end the conflict in Syria. In 2021, she organized deliveries of essential items to newcomers.

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Bayan Khatib

Bayan Khatib

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Bayan Khatib

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