After years of supporting the regime and its crimes against the Syrian people, loyal artists began to express their dissatisfaction with the living conditions in the regime-controlled areas, without directly mentioning the head of the regime.
Wael Ramadan, who is the husband of actress Sulaf Fawakherji, described those who still have not left Syria until now as “donkeys” [stupid] after he spent ten years describing the refugees who fled the oppression of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as “donkeys because they fled Syria by sea,” considering that he had wronged them.
Ramadan quickly deleted his post an hour after it was published, for fear of the regime’s security services, which recently carried out arrests of those who wrote posts on their personal pages criticizing living conditions in Syria.
Fawakherji, the wife of Ramadan, is known for her absolute support for the head of the Syrian regime. She once said she was ready to volunteer “to confront, with her bare chest, the missiles that target the regime’s military sites.”
What is worse? Hell or Syria?
The artist, Bashar Ismail, wrote a post on his Facebook page in which he said that living in hell is much more merciful than living in Syria. He wrote, “today I raised my hands to heaven and I begged he who created me to forgive me my sins and not admit me into the heaven that human beings seek to enter. I would like to live in hell, in calm and luxury, because life there is a thousand times better than the life I have under the weight of this tremendous cold and the lack of all the necessary components of life.”
Electricity and Takamul
For his part, the artist, Ayman Reda, appeared, a while ago, in a video recording in which he mocked the Minister of Electricity of the regime, and the smart card, Takamul, a project owned by Asma al-Assad.
Reda addressed the minister, saying, “where is the Minister of Electricity? Does he expect us to walk in the streets wrapped in blankets? Are we supposed to spend seven hours like that?”
He mocked the Takamul card, saying, “the best thing about the diesel integration card is the absence of diesel. You have been ignoring us for two years. I am not referring to money, but where is the diesel?”
Reda was clearly using sarcasm. He is known for supporting Assad over the past years, even though he does not hold Syrian nationality.
The thousand Syrian pound
Two days ago, a pro-regime artist, known as Yakhour, launched a challenge in the Damascus markets, entitled “What can 1,000 Syrian pounds buy you?”
Through the challenge, it became clear that the 1,000-pound denomination will no longer buy socks or underwear. An employee’s monthly income ranges between 40,000 and 50,000 pounds (approximately 13 – 16 dollars), which is too little compared to the high prices.
Yakhour began his challenge with the question, “can we afford to eat kebabs [meat dish] for 1,000 Syrian pounds?” He ended up eating a kilogram of grilled potatoes instead.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
