Public Life In Syria: Part I

This is my first venture into something political on this blog – and my hope is to be descriptive, not evaluative. My reason for forging into this topic is due to a recent series of unfortunate events. But before getting into recent events, a few words need to be said about the general political climate here.

The Syrian president, Bashar Al-Assad (last name meaning “the lion”) is highly respected by Syrians. Unlike in the States, where citizens are often quick to share their frustrations with the president, I have not heard a citizen criticize the president since I’ve been here. From my observations, this is a matter of national pride, respect and duty. To this end, pictures of the president (and often his family) are displayed in most businesses, on the doorposts of personal residences, and in public places such as bus stops and buildings.

In general, Syrians do not talk openly about internal politics. They are, however, quick to tell you their opinion of the current American president (I’ll let you figure out whether that is negative or positive!) We generally get into the same conversation every few days – where are you from, what are you doing here, what do you think of Syria? When our new acquaintance learns we’re American, they respond, ahlan wa sahlan – welcome. Nearly everyone we’ve met has made the distinction between a country’s government and its citizens.

Another strong influence in public life is religion. Despite its official identity as a “secular” government, Syria is a religious country. Reminders of faith are pervasive – from the call to prayer five times a day (we’re still getting used to the 5:30am call), to the crosses worn by nearly every Christian, to the linguistic patterns (nearly all the greetings and common expressions refer to God in some way). Religion here is taken very seriously – both as personal creed and cultural identity.