(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian activist Tamer Turkmani has revealed aspects of his friendship with the martyr Abdel Basset Sarout, since the first meeting in a peaceful demonstration in Al-Quosur district in Homs city at the beginning of the Syrian revolution in 20111.
This meeting marked the beginning of a close relationship and an intimate friendship. The friendship with the martyr began in 2016 in the Turkish city of Mersin, where they got to know each other, exchanging conversations and arguments about the revolution. Their friendship ended with the death of Sarout of wounds sustained in one of the battles against the regime in the western countryside of Hama a few days ago.
Turkmani added that Sarout was "not a normal young man but a revolution in itself and an example to a large number of revolutionaries and friends. You cannot imagine the Syrian revolution without him, as he stole hearts and was the first to do good."
Turkmani recollects the humanitarian personality of the “Bulbul of the Revolution", who was strong and collected in the most difficult circumstances. He explained that Sarout refused to live like other people or those associated with the revolution outside Syria, despite the large offers from traders and owners of funds. He was simple and spontaneous in his life and behavior, refusing fame or conducting interviews, as he believed that it would distract him from his struggle and revolutionary career.
On May 17, 2019, Turkmani communicated with Sarout, at the request of his mother residing in Turkey, to check on him. Sarout discoled to his friend that the situation in the countryside of Hama was difficult and bad, but that he was armed with the will and acceptance of God's plan.
"Sarout refused to marry so as not to die one day and leave his wife and children, and when he thought of marriage, he announced his desire to marry the wife of a martyr to raise his children, but soon changed his mind because she will be sad if he was martyred,” Turkmani says.
Last Ramadan, Sarout surprised Turkmani by telling him that he wanted to marry, asking him to prepare a house for him. His friends and loved ones rejoiced, but the joy did not last. As the house, in the city of Latamna in Hama, was shelled by regime forces, making Sarout give up the idea entirely.
The source added that the martyr had an obsession with the revolution that makes him neglect the people closest to him, not finding it a problem to not see his mother, who called him constantly, for a year or more. He avoided direct contact with her so as not to feel weak and to weaken her heart, often sending her audio messages to listen to or videos to see. He used to visit his family in Turkey two or three times a year, staying for six days before rushing back to the front lines. After the attempt on his life in Maarat al-Nu'man, Abdel Basset stayed for about a week with his family in Turkey, and then decided to return to the Syria to continue his journey.
Turkmani explained that the young martyr told him that he has files, which he was afraid of falling in the wrong hands. Turkmani explained that these are pictures and videos of all the moments of Sarout’s life within and outside of the siege. About 9000 files, some of which containing plans for lifting the siege of Homs and digging of trenches, and meetings with his fellow rebels, including his martyred brothers. Some files show the suffering endured by Sarout to find any loophole out of the siege and to help the people.
The documenter, who live next to Sarout’s family in Turkey, noted that he used to document and collect everything related to the martyr, gathering a near-full archive of the martyr during and after his death. He continued that he intended to divide the archive to several sections of which audio and visual sections and songs written and broadcasted, that it may be a beacon for future generations and for the revolution in general.
Zaman Al Wasl
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