Being right can sometimes be fun. And sometimes knowing that the rumor you heard is most likely true can be too. So, this morning, when I saw this piece in the British press (well, on Google News!), all I could think was ‘my sources were right!’ I’d heard that a week ago.
I showed my dad; he laughed “of course she left” was his comment. His wife (my mother) left too, right?
And then we chatted more about his claim that he’d been asked about me when they were shopping for a bride for Bashar. Maybe he made it up to tease me; I only just heard about it anyway. But we both have vivid imaginations and joked about the idea of what would have happened --- I guess that would be me and the headline would be that Syrian first lady fled to USA, said to be in a well fortified compound in Virginia …
Of course, I wouldn’t have let my spouse be quite so dictatorial … and I doubt I’d have been half as poised in public (I am relatively tall and slender so that part I could pull off).
And forgetting the whole ‘Bleccch!’ reaction that I have as to his looks (and that I don’t go for guys), there’s also the small matter that Bashar has wretched taste. I mean, seriously … Celine Dionne? That is your favorite western singer???
If you want to be a fan of a Canadian torch singer, how about Nelly Furtado? K d lang? Honestly that would have been a deal breaker (I like good music; I like punk, classic rock, classic Arabic stuff, good country … heck, if he’d said “a lot of Cash and Willie Nelson mixed with Camper Van Beethoven, the Clash, Fayruz and Marcel Khalife”, I might, just might have been willing to look over the whole ‘you’re a bloodthirsty tyrant’s son’ and consider it …
But joking aside, one of the truly depressing things about this regime is how many Emmas there are around it. I know that they know better than this. Not just Asma, of course, but also Bouthaina Shaaban and Najah al Attar … in heart of hearts, good decent women who got to where they are for all the best reasons and not by family pull or backstabbing. (Bouthaina is Bashar’s spokesperson, Najah is his vice president). They really thought that they were doing good by Syria, good for its women … (and some of the men too). What are they thinking now? Everything they achieved is getting destroyed … and those are real accomplishments.
However, I have thought about this a lot. And part of it goes to what has been wrong with so much of the ‘modernization’ process here and what’s wrong with the Baath when it comes down to it. That party didn’t get formed in the Habana Café because they were sitting around thinking “how can we get into power, kill people and make ourselves rich?” It got started for fundamentally right reasons; to achieve independence and greatness for the nation, to make us once again the envy of the world, to make us modern …
But they made a fundamental mistake and everything else flows from that: real change doesn’t come from above, it comes from below. They decided to take a short cut instead of taking the time to rebuild the country from the bottom up. Seize power rather than get elected; use force rather than persuasion; bring ‘modernity’ by state power … and it fails. It always fails. You don’t create a modern, free and democratic society by frog marching people and shooting those who object. You don’t gain equality for women or between the sects by bayonetting people. That just makes you enemies and at best gets grudging acceptance.
Those good and decent people in the regime accepted short cuts and this is the consequence. They didn’t trust the Syrian people enough or treat us like adults. So now we are angry. Now, we have to start all over again
And this time, let’s not take short cuts. This time, let’s do the hard work from the beginning. And maybe, then, Emma and the kids can come back from Acton!
4 comments:
I love your ability to put yourself in your opposition's place and imagine what is truly in their hearts. That's whats really needed to make peace. The true monsters are few and far between, most of us are just misguided, confused and earnestly trying.
this is a good post.... it outlines that things are not black and white in spite of the unacceptable situation... keep going Amina.. our prayers are with you and the free Syrian people
Great writing. Good insight into the short route to modernity. And for what it's worth, the Celine Dion thing creeps me out, too.
Bon courage.
A (Canadian) Gay Guy in Tokyo
I laughed so hard when you commented about the fact there are better Canadian female singers then Celine Dion. She is Quebequois like me and I cringe when I hear her sing.
You know I'll never be able to hear Bashar Al Assad's name again without thinking about his horrible taste in music.
Keep writing Amina, you're delightful to read!
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