Paramvir Singh Beniwal
Most likely, if you like travelling and you watch a great deal of travel-centric content online, you are familiar with Paramvir Singh Beniwal. The tall and ‘travelsome’ Hisar boy who goes by the name Passenger Paramvir on YouTube. Beniwal travels the world to do what he does best: document his adventures through videos. He vlogs about travel on his one-of-a-kind YouTube channel named ‘Passenger Paramvir’.
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When he started his YouTube channel in 2018, he decided not to indulge in the typical tourist traps of places like Paris and the Maldives. Instead, he wanted to create truly challenging experiences. After having visited hostile and conflict-ridden places like Somalia, Lebanon, and Ethiopia, Syria had become his dream destination waiting to be marked off his wish list.
According to Beniwal, since 2011, half a million Syrians have lost their lives to war. Over one hundred thousand people have been tortured to death in this country with a population of less than 18 million. Another hundred thousand are still in captivity. Today, more than three hundred thousand Syrians live with some kind of physical or mental disability. As Beniwal continues talking about his border crossing adventure into Syria, he adds: “This is just the official data and there must be many casualties that never got reported. All this is painful and scary but despite that, I wanted to visit Syria and substantiate the ground reality, not from the standpoint of the international media but my own as a tourist”.
“Back during 2019, it was a rule for Indians to visit Syria in a group of eight. If I were to think of convincing seven more people to travel with me to Syria, I was sure that this trip would never be possible”, Beniwal says while elaborating on the tourism policy in Syria. “Tourist visas for Syria are issued at the border to those who receive a security clearance from the country’s Ministry of Tourism before their arrival into the country. Getting a security clearance itself can take weeks or months”, he adds.
After a push by Arab states to reintegrate the country which they had shunned during its decade-long war, Jordan reopened its main border crossing with Syria in September last year. It was a welcome boost for the struggling economies of both countries. The expansion of Syria's business ties with its southern neighbours followed in the hopes of recovering from the economic hardship caused by Western sanctions. This came as a golden chance for Beniwal who had been eager to visit Syria since 2019 and had left no stone unturned to get there. A few months later in January of this year, he experienced what he describes as the ‘most special day of his life.
He started his journey from the capital city of Jordan, Amman. It was a rollercoaster ride for him as his car drove through one of the many 'Istiklal' streets of the Middle East. The two-hour ride to Jaber as-Siran, the last Jordanian town, was indeed an experience of a lifetime mainly because of the multiple checkpoints where his car and luggage were thoroughly examined. Beniwal had a security clearance, but with every checkpoint that he cleared, the uncertainty of getting a visa at the Syrian front still loomed on the horizon.
“When my car was ten minutes away from the border, I felt thrilled but very scared at the same time. The frequent checks at the checkpoints were annoying, but because I was travelling with a friend and fellow Indian, Manoj Malhotra, the time went well”, Beniwal recollects. He describes how Syrian truckers and cabbies buy essential supplies like milk, groceries, and cigarettes in bulk on the Jordanian side. Possibly they do this to save time or because they like certain food brands that are unavailable in Syria. “I have found cheaper prices on essential items in Syria than in Jordan. I find no other reason to purchase daily essentials at a higher price when you can obtain them at a lower price”, Beniwal exclaims.
Syria is landlocked between Jordan, Israel, Turkey, Iraq, and Lebanon. This means that many routes exist to get into the country apart from the Amman-Damascus route via Jaber as-Sirhan which was chosen by Beniwal. However, it is not possible to enter Syria from all of its neighbouring countries. The easiest entry point to Syria is from Lebanon. Lebanese capital Beirut and Syrian capital Damascus are only two hours apart. According to Beniwal, he mistakenly mentioned the possibility of entering Syria through Latakia, the country’s principal port city, in one of his vlogs. His further research, however, eliminates this option, and he hopes that this article will assist tourists in making the right decision. “One can also take a flight to Damascus but the irregularity in flight schedules, the limited number of flights having exorbitant airfares, and operationality of the Damascus International Airport are some causes of concern”, warns Beniwal. The hospitable nature of the civilians from the hamlets near the border reminded him of smalltown Indians. In essence, it emphasizes that basic human gestures are the same everywhere in the world. “I felt less nervous when I met more and more people there”, he says.
As his car approached closer to the border crossing, Beniwal was astonished when he came across a battle tank and rows of demolished buildings. Amid the downhearted surroundings, he was wordless when his co-passenger asked him about how he felt. “He is a youngster that is why he is not afraid. But I have kids back home, and I am scared to death", he narrates recalling what Manoj said laughing as he gazed at the lens of his camera in an attempt to secretly vlog the experience and not get spotted by the guards, “I wish Manoj had known that I was equally terrified”, Beniwal says with a burst of laughter.
The guards at the crossing verified my passport and vaccination certificate. “What is the purpose of your visit?”, one of them asked. “I am visiting as a tourist. The purpose is to tour and travel”, Beniwal replied to the interrogation and what followed was an unthinkable experience - the guard brought his palms close to form a namaste-like gesture and with a warm greeting of “Ram Ram!”, allowed his car a clear passage. After clearing a few more checkpoints, Beniwal had finally arrived in Daraa. In the midst of what the world believes to be a land of war and hostility, Beniwal had found a new sense of homeliness that inspired him to believe that a treasure trove of stories would be unlocked at his dream destination.
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