Thousands of Syrians piled into free buses leaving from locations around Damascus last week to travel to the first international book fair since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The fair, which was held in grounds outside the Syrian capital, hosted hundreds of publishers and lasted for 10 days and finished on Monday.
Government ministries also had stands, including the ministry of tourism; the ministry of information; and the ministry of defence – where soldiers posed behind children taking selfies.
Ramaz al Khari, who works with the Syrian National Library – part of the ministry of culture – said that, after the Assad regime fell, most banned books about politics, history and religion were allowed again.
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But others are now prohibited, such as those glorifying the Assad regime and the Baath Party, while books that are sexually explicit or about sorcery and magic are also not allowed.
“It’s like day and night,” said Obada Haristani, who had visited previous book fairs under the Assad regime.
He travelled from Jordan for the Dar Ammar publisher and distributor. He said they had brought in books that would not have been allowed before, though he did not want to spotlight any specifically. Syria is still not a good market for books because “the finances of the people are still weak,” Haristani added, but “we’re optimistic for them”.
Raghad al Haristani, who also worked with Dar Ammar, said that it was a “big pleasure” to participate in the fair. They said they had to provide an advance list of books they would be bringing with them, but none of them caused problems.
Reuters reported that the books for sale at the fair – which were previously banned – included a copy of Milestones by Sayyid Qutb, who has been described as the “father of modern Islamist fundamentalism”. The owner of the publishing house which reprinted it told the news agency it sold at least 150 copies.
English-language books for sale included Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray; The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle; Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky; Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments; George Orwell’s 1984; The Lord of the Rings series by JRR Tolkien; and Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope by Mark Manson. There were Arabic translations of books by authors including Bell Hooks, Noam Chomsky and Friedrich Nietzche.
There was also a section dedicated to Kurdish culture and language, which was staffed by Kurdish people including a woman wearing traditional dress. Kurdish was recognised as a national language by the new Syrian government last month, though many Kurds living in what remains of the semi-autonomous northeast say they remain worried about the new government and frightened of complete integration.
A 28-year-old engineer, who did not want to be named, said he came to the fair thinking the books would be free, but instead found they were too expensive. Originally from Daraa, in southern Syria, he moved to the capital seeking work. “In Damascus life is expensive. There’s no money. You see many people here but they’re not happy.”
He said he earns about $90 dollars a month, but bread costs $30 dollars a month and the internet $20 dollars. His father, a teacher, earns about $100 dollars a month, he said.
Elias Hashisho (22), a student from Damascus, said the book fair was good but “some prices are too expensive for the local people”.
He said he used to come to book fairs held by the regime too. “I like books about psychology, self development,” he said. “Some Syrians, a large percentage read books every day. Especially, college students need books,” he said.
A 35-year-old, who gave her name as Mariam, was holding a book of short stories by Syrian writers in one hand. She said she found out about the book fair “from posters in the street, social media. It’s something big here in Syria.”
The prices were okay for her, and she said she was delighted by the range of books and to see publishers who had travelled from outside the country. “This is a victory. As a people we celebrate this.”
She noticed “a lot of political books we don’t see usually or religious books, a lot of [previously] banned books.” The country is developing “step by step,” she said. “We need more time,” she said, but she saw the book fair as something to be grateful for.
A display at the entrance to the fair made reference to Syria’s history and the role of literature in it. “Intellectual captivity under the old regime was one of the cruellest forms of injustice. Minds were imprisoned, words were shackled, and thinkers were trapped within the walls of censorship, forced into silence or flight,” the display read.
It also paid homage to the underground library established by young people who were under siege in the Damascus suburb of Darayya during the war, saying their library spread “hope amid bombing and fear”, remaining a “symbol of cultural resistance and the love of knowledge”.
