By Charles Gronning*
It has been said that, for its participants, war consists of long periods of uncertainty and boredom interspersed with a few rare moments of terror-fuelled adrenaline. Living under a dictatorship that is fighting for its life is not too different, although probably with less terror and more uncertainty. Also known as scared boredom. The British Embassy has evacuated all non-essential staff. The barmen have been kept on, presumably to give bored, decadent diplomats something to pass the time.
Most foreigners, probably including myself, are getting out. I have nothing but fear and concern for my Syrian friends, prisoners in their own country, unable to escape the deteriorating situation. But a political junkie such as myself can’t help but feel frustrated by my ignorance. On the ground, most people here probably know as much about what is happening as people outside the country who are following international media reports.
I have been living here in Damascus for a few weeks now, and I don’t feel all that much wiser about the political situation on the ground. Rumours fly around about lootings, chaos, and instability. Life goes on as usual, at least where I am anyway. I am writing this from an Italian cafe, surrounded by apple-flavoured shisha smoke. Slightly incongruous with the images that everyone back home will be seeing; of massive and often bloody Syrian protests.
Normal life and business continues. The main difference, besides the slow internet and the general atmosphere of all-pervasive fear, is the middle-aged men aimlessly standing around in small groups all over the city. They are the source of many fears and uncertainties. I’m kind of lucky to be staying in the pro-regime part of town where they are very friendly. If I was living in the eastern suburbs, I doubt they’d be quite so cheery.
These men are the feared foot soldiers of the Mukhabarat, the multiple intelligence agencies. They include state security, military intelligence, the general intelligence service, the air force intelligence service, and probably many more. They are keeping an eye out for signs of potential spontaneous gatherings. If one appears, they report the incident to the centre, which then dispatches riot police.
Of course, I have no idea who these riot police are. My guess is that they are soldiers. If so, most of them will be conscripts who are afraid of being court-martialled. Buses of soldiers seem to be continually travelling back and forth across Damascus. Unlike in Egypt and Tunisia, there have been no serious cracks in the military establishment. This is unlikely to happen. The top positions are staffed with Alawi generals, most of whom are related to the President and are on very friendly terms with Iran (who were pretty successful in shutting up their own protesters).
The eastern districts of the city have reportedly been hearing gunshots late at night. Rumours suggest that these are extra-judicial assassinations by the security forces. The political elite, the Alawi sect, hail from the same mountains as those used by the Hashashin, the hash-smoking sect who used political murder as a tool of rebellion against hegemonic Sunni and Crusader establishments – so at least they have some historical precedents.
*The identity of the writer has been protected for security reasons.