(CNN) -- Some Syrian writers used to like Bashar al-Assad. Choosing their words carefully, they might say they tolerated him. Those who churned out hugely popular soaps and television shows thought Syria's president, in his mid-30s when he took power in 2000, wanted to be known as a modern leader who defended free expression. Some said al-Assad even looked the other way when a sketch comedy show aired for several seasons that made fun of corruption in Syria. At worst, many reasoned, the young president wouldn't be anymore hard-line than his father, Hafez Assad, who had long kept a purple-knuckle grip on all media in Syria.
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When Bashar al-Assad took power, writers thought he might allow them more freedom
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Unlike most artists of his generation, Khaled Khalifa has voiced support for opposition
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Al-Assad's regime banned Khalifa's epic novel "In Praise of Hatred"
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"People at night do not sleep," Khalifa says, describing how Damascus has changed
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He remembers all the talk of change from Syria's new leader in the early 2000s, just as the proliferation of satellite television throughout the region suddenly gave @placeholder access to different entertainment and points of view.
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Khalifa and his TV colleagues became so confident that they could push boundaries with @placeholder that they would send in fake scripts with scenes that would never make it past censors.
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"If I had the choice to remain silent in @placeholder or leave and speak my mind, I would choose to remain silent and stay here," he said.