Omar Alshogre writes:

A lot of people I know have been watching the Netflix show “Squid Game,” the dystopian drama in which players participate in surreal versions of traditional Korean children’s games. The losers are punished by death — until only one is left alive.

My friends see “Squid Game” as a kind of horror movie, a grotesque commentary on the gap between rich and poor in today’s capitalist societies. To them, it’s a fantasy, a frightening fable.

But I’m fascinated by it for different reasons. To me it’s a reminder of the three years I spent in Syrian prisons. I’ve been watching it — often an extremely painful experience — to see if the show could help me make sense of what I’ve lived through.

The whole show, which details a world of capricious brutality, has exposed me to some intense emotions. But it’s episode six, “Gganbu,” that hits the hardest. That’s the one where the story puts its characters through their most savage tests yet, pitting friends and allies against each other.

When the players are asked to choose partners, their first instinct is to choose their favorite person. They don’t know they will come to regret it later. When the game’s rules are announced, the players learn the harsh truth: The two partners are competing against each other, and whoever loses the game will be “eliminated.”

Inside Syria’s infamous Sednaya prison, I lived through the real-life version of this episode. The guards came to the cells and asked my friend Jihan to name his closest friend among the inmates. I was surprised he didn’t give them my name. After all, I had been his friend there longer than anyone else.

Instead Jihan named another friend of ours. Then the guard handed him a screwdriver and told him in a calm voice, “Use this to kill your friend or he will have to kill you. You’ve got ten minutes.”

The guard locked the cell and walked away. The friend immediately began pleading with Jihan: “If you kill me, my kid is going to be an orphan.”

But Jihan didn’t see any way out. He knew that his loved ones would suffer from his death. As the final seconds ticked away, he made the decision to kill his friend and carry the guilt that would live with him forever. This was one of the scariest moments of my life in prison. I watched one of my friends kill another one right in front of my eyes. Watching “Squid Game” brought it all back. [Continue reading…]