The silence and the roar

An unnamed Middle Eastern country resembling Syria is celebrating the twenty-year anniversary of the reigning despot. Desperate to get away from the noise and the zombie-like masses, author Fathi Chin leaves his house to visit his mother. En route, he stops to help a student who is being beaten by the police. Fathi's ID papers are confiscated and he is forced to return home and told to report to the police station before night falls.