Damascus Dispatch: Residents of Syria's Splintered Capital City Brace For U.S. Bombing

http://www.alternet.org/world/residents-syrias-splintered-capital-city-brace-us-bombing


as-Salhiyye Square in Central Damascus.

“Life is almost normal in the centre of Damascus,” local resident Hisham says from the predominantly Christian neighbourhood of Bab Touma. “Only the occasional noise of artillery on the outskirts reminds me that we are at war.”

The sound of artillery is now normal in Damascus. Hisham tells IPS on the phone from Damscus of the constant jams “due to the tight security measures” as well as increases in the price of food and fuel. But shops are still well stocked in his district, he says. This is an area where President Bashar al-Assad and his late father and former President Hafez al-Assad still fight for hegemony, which is depicted in street murals, on car windshields and even as souvenirs.

“I feel like I’m living in some kind of golden cage: I go to the gym every day after work, I hang out with friends in the same places… But I know that just a mile away people struggle to survive in the worst conditions.” Like many in Damascus Hisham gave only his first name due to security concerns.

After a couple of years of war in Syria, downtown Damascus looks very much like Baghdad. The city centre is surrounded by a ring of concrete blocks guarded by tight security to protect Assad’s city strongholds from other areas that are divided, or already under control of the armed opposition.