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Too little, too late: “Much Of Syria Slips Out Of The Control Of President Bashar Al-Assad” “You Know How On The Titanic, As It Is Sinking, You Have The Band Playing The Last Few Songs? It Is Sort Of Like That.” “It Is Almost Manic In The Sense Of They’re Going Over The Top To Pretend That Everything Is Fine” Aug. 26, 2015 By Raja Abdulrahim, Wall Street Journal [Excerpts] On the day in May when Islamic State militants raised their black flag above the ancient city of Palmyra, the Damascus Opera House featured a singer in a rumpled black suit belting out traditional Arabic ballads. Members of the audience were herded together so the half-empty auditorium appeared full on state television, and the crowd whistled, clapped and danced in the aisles for the benefit of the cameras. This week, as the extremist militants blew up a 2,000-year-old temple in Palmyra, the opera house in the capital 150 miles to the west prepared to open an art exhibit. “It is great that we still have these activities despite the war,” a man in his 50s was overheard telling his wife during the performance in May. “Syria is always strong.” As much of Syria slips out of the control of President Bashar al-Assad, his ability to persuade his people that the country will remain normal as long as he is in power has become indispensable to his regime’s survival. The government now only controls one-sixth of Syria’s territory, the IHS Conflict Monitor said in a report issued last week, and maintaining a semblance of ordinary life in that area has become more necessary than ever. In Damascus, Tuesday is now ladies night at Z-Bar, featuring DJ Tareq. The government continues to host events such as a conference in May to mark World Migratory Bird Day, even though half the country’s human population, or some 11.5 million people, have been forced from their homes. Weekend pool parties, a summer ritual, go on as usual despite a water crisis plaguing much of the country. “We’re hearing of these over-the-top parties. It is almost manic in the sense of they’re going over the top to pretend that everything is fine,” said Amr al-Azm, a professor of Middle East history and anthropology at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio. “You know how on the Titanic, as it is sinking, you have the band playing the last few songs? It is sort of like that.” On Mr. Assad’s Instagram account, the Syrian leader is pictured meeting with soldiers and clerics while his wife Asma greets top students, mothers and members of the country’s Special Olympics team. Although few foreign tourists now dare visit Syria, state media gave daily coverage to a weeklong visit in April by a delegation of French tourists. Photos of crowded clubs and art exhibits in regime-controlled areas posted on social media contrast with images from the rest of Syria: limp bodies being pulled from rubble, barefoot children in tent cities and corpses of Islamic State victims hung from crosses. “Showing Damascus as still living a normal life was one of its goals from the beginning,” a resident of the capital said of the regime. It is “focused on activities and parties and other things that are far from our reality.” Hotel rooms and chalets in the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartous had to be booked a month in advance this summer, as vacationers from Damascus and Homs flooded to the Mediterranean coast beaches to swim and sunbathe as in years past. In the city of Aleppo, some residents still take to the sidewalks at night to picnic and barbecue, a city tradition that survives despite the perils of rocket and artillery fire from rebel groups. After an attack in June that state media said killed 23 and wounded dozens of people, Aleppo’s governor said life was normal in the city’s markets. “The government has to maintain this facade of everything is OK. Otherwise, these people don’t feel safe,” Mr. Azm said. “Already the credibility of the regime has been questioned repeatedly every time the regime loses an important battle.” Nowhere is the regime’s portrait of life in Syria more skewed than on social media, especially the Twitter feed for SANA, Syria’s state news agency. Between tweets about government forces killing terrorists—the catchall term for all government opponents—are posts about disco and salsa parties. But a Twitter campaign by SANA in June that urged followers to “snap us your moments of summer in #Syria using the hashtag #SummerInSyria” was used by opposition groups and activists to tweet photos showing child victims of government airstrikes, burning buildings and destroyed markets. Yet the Assad government remains unflagging in its determination to convey a sense of business as usual, despite a death toll that now exceeds 240,000 and the apparent resolve of pro-regime forces to fulfill the pledge they have left scrawled on the walls of opposition-controlled towns and neighborhoods—“Assad, or we burn the country.” In May, the government hosted a “Reconstruct Syria” conference that promoted green and other forms of renewable energy, even though outside the convention center much of Syrian territory was in darkness because of damage to the power grid. And while generators work to ensure the lights stay on all the time at the opera house, performers such as the rumple-suited balladeer don’t measure up to the legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz and productions of “Carmen” that once were staged there. Nevertheless, theater officials have introduced a new dress code. Jeans and T-shirts are out, and men are now required to wear neckties. A selection of ties is available for those who arrive at the opera house without one. -----Original Message----- >From: Louis Proyect via Marxism <marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> >Sent: Aug 29, 2015 7:57 PM >To: Thomas F Barton <thomasfbar...@earthlink.net> >Subject: [Marxism] Fwd: Russia ramps up Syria military involvement: >pro-Assad paper >> > >https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsReports/565807-russia-ramps-up-syria-military-involvement-pro-assad-paper >_________________________________________________________ > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
