Via Basel: My First Taste of Freedom

Art by Xue Jiye

Freedom, a word tossed around in abundance these days, is turning out to be controversial and ambiguous. Some of us, me included, are concerned about loss of freedom of expression, democratic representation, and other civil liberties, concepts that we took for granted to some extent in the USA. Others suggest that it is their freedoms that have been trampled by modernity, liberalism, etc., and they are simply taking it back. Standards, norms, truths, and precedents are shattered and we can’t even agree on simple definitions. What do we really mean by freedom today?

Two years ago last July I wrote on the subject here on EIL as if expecting this issue to become even more critical in the near future. I was right, but today I don’t intend to discuss or argue the subject but just to reminisce, and take you back 55 years ago as the young edition of me had his first experience with his interpretation of “freedom.” It may also help my readers understand where I’m coming from as I comment on this subject. I wrote this short piece a few years back in an online memoir group called “40 days, 40 writes.” We were asked to respond to a prompt sent each morning with a short story from our past. This is the unedited version of my response to the prompt: Day 18, Leaving. Free at last. Or such sweet sorrow.

Rapture on top of the mountain

It was a feeling I will never forget. More than satisfaction, joy or even ecstasy. I felt expansive with my heart practically jumping out of my chest. It was August 1970 and I was a passenger in a bus traveling from the Syrian-Lebanese border towards Beirut, the port capital on the Mediterranean Sea. To get there we had to cross the magnificent mountain of Lebanon. Soon after we passed the summit and started descending down the side facing the sea I suddenly caught this most wonderful and hopeful view of my life, trees and towns close by, the city further way down and beyond that the vast sea on whose shores so many civilizations erupted.  

The background: 24 years old, just released from the army while serving outside Iraq in Jordan, and desperate to leave a restrictive and authoritarian regime, I made an instant decision not to go back to the old country but escape to adjacent Syria then Lebanon where I was free to move and travel anywhere I wanted….Free at last. 

Comment: I was not even politically active at that time and was more bothered and affected by social norms and boundaries. In fact, the political repression became much worse several years after I left. Saddam Hussein, the dictator, was especially intolerant of jokes and satire directed towards him. Extreme brutality was manifested by amputations of tongues and other severe punishments to those who dared to. Authoritarians cannot stand comedy directed at them, no exception. 

Did my leaving family and country leave me more free or put me on path of “such sweet sorrow”?  You decide.

Basel Al-Aswad, father of EIL founder Christopher Al-Aswad, is a yogi trapped in an Orthopedic Surgeon’s body. His loves in life include reading, writing, hiking, enjoying nature, meditation, and spending time with his large Iraqi family; now, semi-retired, he is exploring new avenues in medicine, education, public speaking, teaching, and social engagement.