Sam Goodwin, An American Who Was Jailed In Syria, Lives To Tell His Harrowing Story

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American Sam Goodwin was captured and imprisoned in Syria in 2019 when he was 30 years old.

Katherine Blanner

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Katherine Blanner

Middle East
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«I was in a dungeon

This terrifying detour was not part of Goodwin’s mission. He says he was on a quest to visit every country in the world. With only 10 to go, he decided to visit Syria.

Goodwin insists he is a careful traveler, with more than 180 countries under his belt. «I built an ice rink in Pakistan, I coached volleyball in Kabul, he says. «Tons of people are going to say, ‘This guy is a total idiot.’ But I think it would be good if just a little bit of context is provided.

He’d been to Somalia, North Korea, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Syria was a tough security challenge, but he says he followed the guidelines carefully researched by journalists and aid workers. He secured permission from the U.S.-backed Kurdish authorities who controlled areas in northeastern Syria. He traveled overland from Iraq, heading to the Syrian town of Qamishli, and checked into the Asia Hotel. What he didn’t have was permission from the Syrian government.

Goodwin had scheduled a flight back to Missouri the following week. He walked out of the hotel to call his mother — when he took a wrong turn. He did not know there was a Syrian army checkpoint within walking distance of the hotel and he was detained.

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Goodwin in Yemen in January 2019 with his Omani fixer, Azam Almhry.

Ania Budzinski

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Ania Budzinski

Goodwin (left) with top Lebanese security official Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim. The Lebanese official played a crucial role in securing Goodwin’s release from Syrian prison.

Elizabeth Goodwin

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Elizabeth Goodwin

When the convoy stopped at the Lebanese border, an officer leaned over to whisper to Goodwin, «‘Sam, you’re in Lebanon, you are safe now.’ Words I will never forget, he says.

He was reunited with his parents in Beirut. On July 26, 2019, they issued a statement confirming his release.

Goodwin now is enrolled in a master’s in international affairs at Washington University in St. Louis. A devout Catholic, he is often invited to speak to religious groups about this time in a Syrian prison. «Everything was taken from me, he says about his detention, «my material possessions, my communications, my freedom. But I knew that no matter what, my faith was absolute. And that’s what I had to hold on to when I had nothing else.

He also held on to his travel dream. «It was therapeutic, he says, «it helped me feel normal again post-captivity.

Brazil was Goodwin’s last stop in his quest. On New Year’s Eve he celebrated the end of 2019 on Copacabana Beach. Within months, the pandemic shut down international travel.