Life in Damascus, Syria
Interview with Hala Barbara*, Syrian Lawyer and member of the civil society
In August 2011, Hala Barbara came to Fribourg, Switzerland to teach at our Summer University on Federalism, Decentralisation and Conflict Resolution. It was not the first time we had the pleasure to have her
as guest teacher, but it was one of the last times to hear from her. The upraise in Syria had already started few month before and as time went by it aggravated to the dimension we all see and hear in the media. Few weeks ago, we were fortunate to restore contact with Hala Barbara and were released to find
out that she is safe. She agreed to do an email interview for Federalism Network and give us an insight in
the daily life in Syria and especially in Damascus.
Federalism Network: To begin: tell us a bit about the
life in Damascus these days?
Hala Barbara: At the time I received your email the 3 explosions which photos feature in this document had not yet shook the city. Life in Damascus would seem very normal for a visitor in the morning; you’d find people going about their business or chatting casually in cafes. This goes on until sunset, when the city gradually turns into a ghost town. “Nightlife” has become a thing from the past; even weddings are held early in the afternoon.
Social life isn’t the
only thing that
has changed, and
to be honest it’s
the least of our
troubles; gas and
petrol are hard to
come by, you can
hardly miss that with the endless queues on petrol
stations and gas distributers, even the hordes of people fighting their way to stock on bread.
And with the escalating battles in and around Aleppo
even medicine is becoming scarcer and scarcer, since
most medicine factories are located there.
Living in Damascus you get used to hearing the artillery blasting away from nearby locations targeting
areas in rural Damascus or even some of Damascus’
suburbs. Ironically, most people continue living their
fake-normal life even with the deafening sounds of
bombing and nearby shootouts. Some even still
strongly believe that the crisis will end in a couple of
months, a couple of months that have been going on
for over a year now. Some support the regime and the
President for his persona, while some other support
only the Syrian Army in its battle against the terrorists,
even though they oppose the regime.
There is no doubt that more and more people are
growing to support the Army with the escalation of
terrorism, particularly in battle torn areas where
clashes with terrorists have been going on for a while
and where civilians have witnessed the deeds of the
opposition militias first hand.
The battles in Syria are not fought between two sides,
according to residents of Yarmouk Camp (a Palestinian
Refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus city, also
heavily populated by Syrians in addition to Palestinians) the battles are fought between three sides: the
Syrian Army supported by the Palestinian Militias, the
free Syrian army and Jabhat Al-Nusra (Al-Qaeda military branch in the Middle East).
FN: How did life change after the assault on Damascus, in July last year?
HB: Life in Damascus changed a lot since July last year.
For instance I no longer trust any valet parking with
my car keys, and I always central-lock my car doors
before moving anywhere, no one dares to drive fancy
new cars anymore because they’re afraid of being
kidnapped. The rich and wealthy have long left the
country with their families and whatever assets they
could smuggle. Many Christians migrated to Canada,
and many prefer to live in Lebanon than in Syria, they
don’t believe that
war in Syria will
cause a chain
reaction leading
to wars in neighbouring countries
that have a very
similar demography.
Many Muslim girls have chosen to remove their veil
(Hijab) back in 2011, at the beginning of the “Revolution” carried away with the appealing slogans of freedom, later on it became clear that what happened was
not to bring more freedom but to rend the country
Islamic (the current regime is secular in comparison of
what is on the Islamists mind). On the other side,
many stopped sending their children to government
schools that were built by the regime because the
Sheikh told them so.
There are people who believe that only the current
president is capable of ruling this country, while others
believe that the only possible salvation for this country
FEDERALISM NETWORK
2
is for the president to step aside; in both cases it is
about a person, the whole country as one person, the
whole regime as one person and the future in one
person.
FN: We hear a lot of concerning news about Aleppo
in the last days. How is the situation there?
HB: Well, Aleppo is a wounded city, during the eighties
it was punished by the regime for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood militia, and today it’s being punished
by the Islamist armed groups for supporting the regime. The old historic part of the city has been totally
burned down, its factories disassembled and smuggled
to Turkey, and even wheat and grain silos have been
robbed by the Free Syrian Army and sold to Turkey.
FN: Where do people get their information? Do you
have access to international media?
HB: Of course we have access to all media channels,
and people here chose their channel according to their
views. I personally have my own channels, for instance
I have a friend, who covers these events as a field
reporter, and usually I read and check back with this
friend to validate my sources.
A few months ago I would go myself to check whether
news of blocking areas or roads are true or not, but
with the escalating terrorist acts it’s becoming very
risky to do so.
FN: To go back, at the beginnings of the Arab Spring:
by the time it started in Tunisia and Egypt, did you
think that it would spread to Syria too? Did you expect this outcome?
HB: The latest IDPs figures mention 3.6 million Syrians
displaced internally, while 900,000 are displaced outside Syria (in Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan).
Back in 2011, during the class I taught in Fribourg
University, I mentioned the gap between opposition
groups inside and outside Syria that was the product
of serious trust and communication issues between
those two fractions; this gap is not only bigger now
but almost impossible to bridge. Moreover, the opposition groups lobbying on the outside are in no way
united; they have announced the formation of four
governments in exile so far, in addition to creating
several rival councils and coalitions, thus drawing a
dark image of the political future of our country.
It is, also, important to tackle
the controversial
way Western
countries are
adopting to deal
with different
representatives
from the opposition. Take Michelle Kilo, for instance;
he has been denied a British visa because he has chosen France as a refuge when he left Syria. (Mr. Kilo has
published the details of this story in Lebanese newspaper).
What is more, the British have deployed many efforts
to convince Damascene Sunni businessmen to turn
against the Syrian regime, all of which failed. Nonetheless a sizable number of these men have chosen to
leave the country smuggling their money and factory
assets on their way out.
FN: In August 2011, almost half year after the uprising begun, you came to Switzerland. Can people now
still travel abroad? Can you travel at all?
HB: My last visit to Europe was when I came to Fribourg on August 2011. Travelling in itself is not the
issue, obtaining a European visa is; if you ask me, the
sanctions adopted by the European Union didn’t affect
the regime and its representatives-who still easily
travel wherever they wish around the globe- as much
as it affected the Syrian people. For instance, I am
positive I wouldn’t be granted a visa to your country
today, although I am not considered a pro-regime
person. On the other hand, the British and Americans
would grant me a visa giving that I declare my support
to certain opposition groups outside the country, as
the inside opposition is not good enough for the UK
and the USA.
Allow me to give you a more concrete example; a year
ago, my cousin, who is a doctor, has obtained a post in
a hospital in the USA and a subscription to the MD
exams. To obtain a visa she heads to the American
embassy in Beirut, since the one in Damascus has
been shut down, on the interview they ask her three
questions: 1- Is the Syrian Army deployed inside the
city? 2- Are stores closed for strikes? 3- Are schools
closed for strikes? She answers that she has not noticed any strike or military deployment in Damascus
(which was the case at that time) and that she is not
aware of the situation in other cities. She was denied
the visa.
As for regional travel, it is becoming trickier; a year
ago you could go to Amman, Jordan via Damascus
airport. In the present day, that is no longer an option
with the road from Damascus to the airport being a
battle field. To go from Damascus to Amman you have
to travel by land to Beirut and take a plane to Amman.
Of course, two years ago, you could simply go to Amman by car and it would only take you 3 hours.
FN: UN reports of nearly 70’000 people who have
been killed since March 2011…
HB: I am sure that the UN is not counting the Syrian
Army's martyrs because I assume the number is at
FEDERALISM NETWORK
3
least the double. Also, we have to distinguish the Syrians killed (by any group) from other nationalities (such
as Libyans, Tunisians, Chechens, Turkish, Afghans,
Iraqis….)
FN: How much support does Assad still have in Syria?
HB: Statistically speaking, no figures are available. Mr.
Assad is still powerful, and a measurable part of the
society thinks he is the only one capable of ruling the
country.
FN: In your opinion, what would an alternative to
Assad look like?
HB: The ideal solution for the country would be to turn
to a secular state where no reference to religion is
made in the constitution, but with the rise of Islamists
especially in the opposition militias this option is not
foreseeable anywhere in the near future. An alternative to Assad at the current time, in my opinion, will
only lead the country to more chaos. The right way to
choose an alternative would be through a dialogue
between the regime and different opposition groups,
but even this dialogue doesn’t seem likely. Mr Assad
has the support of Russia and Iran in addition to a
sizeable number of the population, his downfall by
force would lead the country to at least ten years of
war.
The Alternative, as I see him, should not be from the
ruling Baath party neither a fundamentalist or an Islamist and surely not a Muslim Brotherhood member.
FN: You are currently working for a NGO with the
internally displaced people. Please, tell us a bit about
your work.
HB: I am working currently on relief and emergency
with the IDP (internally displaced people) inside the
collective centres. Food, medicines, vitamins, napkins,
sanitary pads, diapers for children and hygiene kits are
distributed to IDP. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent, SARC
is responsible for the relief work, along with the High
Committee for Relief which is formed by concerned
ministries, civil society and SARC.
Of course some NGOs are acknowledged by the Foreign Affairs Ministry to work in Syria, in addition to UN
In August 2011, Hala Barbara came to Fribourg, Switzerland to teach at our Summer University on Federalism, Decentralisation and Conflict Resolution. It was not the first time we had the pleasure to have her
as guest teacher, but it was one of the last times to hear from her. The upraise in Syria had already started few month before and as time went by it aggravated to the dimension we all see and hear in the media. Few weeks ago, we were fortunate to restore contact with Hala Barbara and were released to find
out that she is safe. She agreed to do an email interview for Federalism Network and give us an insight in
the daily life in Syria and especially in Damascus.
Federalism Network: To begin: tell us a bit about the
life in Damascus these days?
Hala Barbara: At the time I received your email the 3 explosions which photos feature in this document had not yet shook the city. Life in Damascus would seem very normal for a visitor in the morning; you’d find people going about their business or chatting casually in cafes. This goes on until sunset, when the city gradually turns into a ghost town. “Nightlife” has become a thing from the past; even weddings are held early in the afternoon.
Social life isn’t the
only thing that
has changed, and
to be honest it’s
the least of our
troubles; gas and
petrol are hard to
come by, you can
hardly miss that with the endless queues on petrol
stations and gas distributers, even the hordes of people fighting their way to stock on bread.
And with the escalating battles in and around Aleppo
even medicine is becoming scarcer and scarcer, since
most medicine factories are located there.
Living in Damascus you get used to hearing the artillery blasting away from nearby locations targeting
areas in rural Damascus or even some of Damascus’
suburbs. Ironically, most people continue living their
fake-normal life even with the deafening sounds of
bombing and nearby shootouts. Some even still
strongly believe that the crisis will end in a couple of
months, a couple of months that have been going on
for over a year now. Some support the regime and the
President for his persona, while some other support
only the Syrian Army in its battle against the terrorists,
even though they oppose the regime.
There is no doubt that more and more people are
growing to support the Army with the escalation of
terrorism, particularly in battle torn areas where
clashes with terrorists have been going on for a while
and where civilians have witnessed the deeds of the
opposition militias first hand.
The battles in Syria are not fought between two sides,
according to residents of Yarmouk Camp (a Palestinian
Refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus city, also
heavily populated by Syrians in addition to Palestinians) the battles are fought between three sides: the
Syrian Army supported by the Palestinian Militias, the
free Syrian army and Jabhat Al-Nusra (Al-Qaeda military branch in the Middle East).
FN: How did life change after the assault on Damascus, in July last year?
HB: Life in Damascus changed a lot since July last year.
For instance I no longer trust any valet parking with
my car keys, and I always central-lock my car doors
before moving anywhere, no one dares to drive fancy
new cars anymore because they’re afraid of being
kidnapped. The rich and wealthy have long left the
country with their families and whatever assets they
could smuggle. Many Christians migrated to Canada,
and many prefer to live in Lebanon than in Syria, they
don’t believe that
war in Syria will
cause a chain
reaction leading
to wars in neighbouring countries
that have a very
similar demography.
Many Muslim girls have chosen to remove their veil
(Hijab) back in 2011, at the beginning of the “Revolution” carried away with the appealing slogans of freedom, later on it became clear that what happened was
not to bring more freedom but to rend the country
Islamic (the current regime is secular in comparison of
what is on the Islamists mind). On the other side,
many stopped sending their children to government
schools that were built by the regime because the
Sheikh told them so.
There are people who believe that only the current
president is capable of ruling this country, while others
believe that the only possible salvation for this country
FEDERALISM NETWORK
2
is for the president to step aside; in both cases it is
about a person, the whole country as one person, the
whole regime as one person and the future in one
person.
FN: We hear a lot of concerning news about Aleppo
in the last days. How is the situation there?
HB: Well, Aleppo is a wounded city, during the eighties
it was punished by the regime for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood militia, and today it’s being punished
by the Islamist armed groups for supporting the regime. The old historic part of the city has been totally
burned down, its factories disassembled and smuggled
to Turkey, and even wheat and grain silos have been
robbed by the Free Syrian Army and sold to Turkey.
FN: Where do people get their information? Do you
have access to international media?
HB: Of course we have access to all media channels,
and people here chose their channel according to their
views. I personally have my own channels, for instance
I have a friend, who covers these events as a field
reporter, and usually I read and check back with this
friend to validate my sources.
A few months ago I would go myself to check whether
news of blocking areas or roads are true or not, but
with the escalating terrorist acts it’s becoming very
risky to do so.
FN: To go back, at the beginnings of the Arab Spring:
by the time it started in Tunisia and Egypt, did you
think that it would spread to Syria too? Did you expect this outcome?
HB: The latest IDPs figures mention 3.6 million Syrians
displaced internally, while 900,000 are displaced outside Syria (in Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan).
Back in 2011, during the class I taught in Fribourg
University, I mentioned the gap between opposition
groups inside and outside Syria that was the product
of serious trust and communication issues between
those two fractions; this gap is not only bigger now
but almost impossible to bridge. Moreover, the opposition groups lobbying on the outside are in no way
united; they have announced the formation of four
governments in exile so far, in addition to creating
several rival councils and coalitions, thus drawing a
dark image of the political future of our country.
It is, also, important to tackle
the controversial
way Western
countries are
adopting to deal
with different
representatives
from the opposition. Take Michelle Kilo, for instance;
he has been denied a British visa because he has chosen France as a refuge when he left Syria. (Mr. Kilo has
published the details of this story in Lebanese newspaper).
What is more, the British have deployed many efforts
to convince Damascene Sunni businessmen to turn
against the Syrian regime, all of which failed. Nonetheless a sizable number of these men have chosen to
leave the country smuggling their money and factory
assets on their way out.
FN: In August 2011, almost half year after the uprising begun, you came to Switzerland. Can people now
still travel abroad? Can you travel at all?
HB: My last visit to Europe was when I came to Fribourg on August 2011. Travelling in itself is not the
issue, obtaining a European visa is; if you ask me, the
sanctions adopted by the European Union didn’t affect
the regime and its representatives-who still easily
travel wherever they wish around the globe- as much
as it affected the Syrian people. For instance, I am
positive I wouldn’t be granted a visa to your country
today, although I am not considered a pro-regime
person. On the other hand, the British and Americans
would grant me a visa giving that I declare my support
to certain opposition groups outside the country, as
the inside opposition is not good enough for the UK
and the USA.
Allow me to give you a more concrete example; a year
ago, my cousin, who is a doctor, has obtained a post in
a hospital in the USA and a subscription to the MD
exams. To obtain a visa she heads to the American
embassy in Beirut, since the one in Damascus has
been shut down, on the interview they ask her three
questions: 1- Is the Syrian Army deployed inside the
city? 2- Are stores closed for strikes? 3- Are schools
closed for strikes? She answers that she has not noticed any strike or military deployment in Damascus
(which was the case at that time) and that she is not
aware of the situation in other cities. She was denied
the visa.
As for regional travel, it is becoming trickier; a year
ago you could go to Amman, Jordan via Damascus
airport. In the present day, that is no longer an option
with the road from Damascus to the airport being a
battle field. To go from Damascus to Amman you have
to travel by land to Beirut and take a plane to Amman.
Of course, two years ago, you could simply go to Amman by car and it would only take you 3 hours.
FN: UN reports of nearly 70’000 people who have
been killed since March 2011…
HB: I am sure that the UN is not counting the Syrian
Army's martyrs because I assume the number is at
FEDERALISM NETWORK
3
least the double. Also, we have to distinguish the Syrians killed (by any group) from other nationalities (such
as Libyans, Tunisians, Chechens, Turkish, Afghans,
Iraqis….)
FN: How much support does Assad still have in Syria?
HB: Statistically speaking, no figures are available. Mr.
Assad is still powerful, and a measurable part of the
society thinks he is the only one capable of ruling the
country.
FN: In your opinion, what would an alternative to
Assad look like?
HB: The ideal solution for the country would be to turn
to a secular state where no reference to religion is
made in the constitution, but with the rise of Islamists
especially in the opposition militias this option is not
foreseeable anywhere in the near future. An alternative to Assad at the current time, in my opinion, will
only lead the country to more chaos. The right way to
choose an alternative would be through a dialogue
between the regime and different opposition groups,
but even this dialogue doesn’t seem likely. Mr Assad
has the support of Russia and Iran in addition to a
sizeable number of the population, his downfall by
force would lead the country to at least ten years of
war.
The Alternative, as I see him, should not be from the
ruling Baath party neither a fundamentalist or an Islamist and surely not a Muslim Brotherhood member.
FN: You are currently working for a NGO with the
internally displaced people. Please, tell us a bit about
your work.
HB: I am working currently on relief and emergency
with the IDP (internally displaced people) inside the
collective centres. Food, medicines, vitamins, napkins,
sanitary pads, diapers for children and hygiene kits are
distributed to IDP. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent, SARC
is responsible for the relief work, along with the High
Committee for Relief which is formed by concerned
ministries, civil society and SARC.
Of course some NGOs are acknowledged by the Foreign Affairs Ministry to work in Syria, in addition to UN