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Ali Hashem
My last visit to Syria was in 2010. I
was on my way back from London to Beirut via Damascus where I had to attend a
wedding.
Life then was different. People were not the
same as they are today. None of those attending the wedding then thought,
neither did I, that in less than a year some of them will turn to be renegades
and others on the side of the regime.
Damascus 2012, I am in a different city where people’s daily bread is the talk of blood. The craft of political analysis is mastered by many, and everyone here claims to have the right version of what's going on.
Damascus 2012, I am in a different city where people’s daily bread is the talk of blood. The craft of political analysis is mastered by many, and everyone here claims to have the right version of what's going on.
Pro-regime Syrians strain to convince their
listeners that all those who are opposing the rule of “Bashar Assad” are
terrorist gangs and members of Al-Qaida. Furthermore, they give multimedia
proof recorded from TV shows aired on state run or state controlled media, and
whenever they are asked about the bloodshed around the country they blame it on
the global conspiracy on their country because of its decision to back the
resistance in Lebanon and Palestine against Israel.
Those who back the regime in Syria aren’t as many think a minority; they are the majority of all sects other than the Sunni majority. Most of the Alawites, Christians, Druze, and Shia back the Baath regime. Some are courageous enough to say they want Assad to stay not because they like him, rather it’s the uncertainty that pushes them to do whatever they can to prevent themselves from living under a theocratic regime. They defend their theory by giving examples from Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt.
Those who back the regime in Syria aren’t as many think a minority; they are the majority of all sects other than the Sunni majority. Most of the Alawites, Christians, Druze, and Shia back the Baath regime. Some are courageous enough to say they want Assad to stay not because they like him, rather it’s the uncertainty that pushes them to do whatever they can to prevent themselves from living under a theocratic regime. They defend their theory by giving examples from Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt.
In Damascus people are certain the regime won't
fall, though it's obvious that Syria won't ever be the country it was before
March 15, 2011, the day the revolution ignited.
Military presence and blockades dominate the
scene in Damascus. Fears of explosions and car bombs that started to control
the daily agenda had labeled several neighborhoods in it as red zones.
In fact, whole Syria is today a red zone, from
north to south, from the borders with Lebanon and Jordan to the Turkish ones.
Anti Assad activists are everywhere, even in his strongholds Damascus and
Aleppo.
Peaceful and armed opposition control several
suburbs in the capital, and dominate other main cities as Homs, Edlib, and
Daraa, especially after thousands decided to desert the army and join forces
with militants who chose to start their fights against the regime since the
beginning of the revolution.
Today the army defectors are called the
"Free Syrian Army", but they aren't the only armed party on the
Anti-regime side despite being the main umbrella. Several militias are active
around the country and have their names, some coordinate with the FSA and others
work independently; therefore it's difficult to know who is doing what, and
this situation fueled tensions between opposition fighters.
The clearest and strongest example was the
kidnapping of 11 Lebanese pilgrims on their way back from the Shiite holy
shrines in Iran to their homeland Lebanon in Aleppo. Neither the FSA nor the
Syrian National Council was able to identify the captors who were claimed to be
with the opposition. Even the Turks who back the FSA and the SNC failed to
secure the release.
Armed opposition proved to be a hit to those
backing peaceful moves, as people supporting the revolutionaries deserted
demonstrations to join the fight. Moreover, they found that armed struggle is
more efficient and capable than daily rallies, a finding that was faced by a
counter debate that the regime is using the armament of the revolution as a
pretext to hit strongly on one side, and on the other to say that the crisis in
Syria isn't a popular revolution rather an armed insurgency.
Both Anti and pro Assad know that the war in and
on their country wouldn't end soon. The country as most of them agree is
divided, and as a result, this division is costing both nation and people who
fear that their country might be going towards a fate similar to a shattered
Lebanon or Iraq, especially with news of sectarian cleansing around the country
getting common, and the rising level of hatred between people from different
sects.
The Syrian war reminds me of a masterpiece by a
famous Syrian director, Mohammed AlMagout. Thirty years ago, he directed a film
titled "The Borders", a story about a taxi driver who was stuck in
the middle of his divided country without a passport, where he had no chance to
cross from one area to another. So, he built a coffee shop bringing together
the soldiers fighting on each side to daily parties and helping them overcome
the differences.
Today it's clear that AlMagout's movie became a
real story with one missing element, "The Coffee Shop" that brought
together his warring brothers.
