Omar Al-shaghry : from death row cells to the pages of the book “one hundred roses”
The story of the book “One Hundred Roses”
Omar used to use the phrase “one hundred roses,” a phrase his cousin Bashir, who died under torture in Sednaya prison, used to repeat. For them, the phrase represented a hope of being released from prison and living a normal life like other young men. However, Omar Al-Shughri left Sednaya on his own after a financial deal (a “bribe”) with a prison officer, after three years in detention. According to his interview with Aftonbladet in 2019, the deal amounted to approximately $15,000 at the time.
Omar size that the idea for publishing the book came after he participated in the Sommarprat podcast, but he couldn’t find a suitable ending for his book at the time. However, the fall of the Assad regime, on December 8 of last year, provided a suitable and “happy” ending, as he described it.
He also said: “This book is the story of every detainee, not just my own. It will be in Swedish, and I focus on the most important moments of my life in detention, my beautiful journey in Sweden with the family of the former CEO of Swedish Television, Eva Hamilton, my learning of the Swedish language, and other details.”
Regarding his choice of the book’s title, Omar concluded by saying: “In honor of the spirit of my friend and cousin Bashir, I chose a phrase he used to repeat to me and to those he loved, even when he was in pain: ‘A hundred roses’.”
