From Prosperous To Ghost Towns: Passenger Paramvir Singh Beniwal’s Expedition to Syria

The tables have been turned by the social media influencer, Passenger Paramvir Singh Beniwal who has started the expedition of curiosity. Leaving behind luxury stays, beautiful palaces, countryside beauty, and adventure sports, Paramvir has focused on the unusual by documenting the dangerous and deadly riots in Somalia, Lebanon, and Syria.

Syria has been one of the most fascinating places for Paramvir as his travel journey of seeing the unseen has been the most dreading one for him. While talking about his travel experiences in Syria, Paramvir exclaimed, "The most common view in Syria was not people but destruction All around us, there were damaged buildings and destruction that echoed the pain that people of Syria have been through. Passenger Paramvir visited the ghost town of Morek in Syria where he saw nothing more than deserted and damaged buildings with no signs of livelihood. For Paramvir, those who left their towns after the war and settled outside as refugees or lost their families were the ones who faced real loss and not those governments who initiated the war. The town of Idlib is assumed to be the most dreaded town and the government that has control over it is not that of Syria but the opposition. Here the active militant groups have not just created tension but also daily problems for the locals.

Passenger Paramvir during his expeditions has not just worked to understand the destruction in Syria but also tried to understand as well as, explains, how the reasons for the towns to turn into ghost towns are not just abandonment due to war but also the fear of being threatened by ghosts. People in Syria believe that those who lost their lives in shelling and firing of war, still haunt their towns, and thus, the fear is deep-rooted amongst the locals making rehabilitation to abandoned towns very difficult. Like this is the Khan Shaykhun town which is completely abandoned and damaged due to war. These ghosted towns are not just examples of war destruction but those of lives lost mental and psychological suppression, and fear that has crept into the lives of those who stay in Syria. Adding to this is the deep-rooted fear of being attacked again and being robbed of all that they have restored over the past years.

Along with such ghost towns, there are luxurious mansions in Syria that are still dreaded to be stayed at. These mansions were owned by the wealthy of Syria but during the civil war, these people were killed and their homes robbed leaving behind just disappointment and bloody war. These mansions are not just huge but also located in beautiful locations along the belt that touched the boundary of Lebanon. The abandoned mansions had every item not just of utility but luxury which has been damaged to limits that man fears to enter these mansions of destruction. Also, the added fear of being haunted by the ghosts of the owners of the mansion makes it further difficult to settle in these mansions. However, some people due to fear of staying in cities and risking their lives, move to these mansions for being safe. Therefore, for Passenger Paramvir the ghost towns and mansions tell the story of those who lost everything in war. Though ghosted due to war, fear, and stories of ghosts, the places remain as landmarks for those living the life of fear and grief of losing their loved ones.

In the words of Paramvir, "The children born after the war have seen nothing but destruction. The remains of the ghost towns and mansions show what a beautiful place this would have been for growing up and spending life in the lap of nature earth, But what is left is just sights of destruction, fear, and grief."