Ayoon Wa Azan (A New ‘Dissonant’ Tune)

I categorically reject the so-called security solution in Syria, condemn the killing of protesters and call for those responsible to be brought to justice; and then I say: I received a copy of a banner raised by young women in Homs claiming that Mrs. Asma al-Assad is not a descendant of Khalid Ibn al-Walid, and another banner describing her as a “Marie Antoinette”. Meanwhile, I read in Western newspapers the question: Has the “Lady Diana” of Syria become Marie Antoinette? To the young women of Homs I want to say that no one is a descendant of Khalid Ibn al-Walid, because most of his family had perished in the Year of the Plague. Furthermore, Mrs. Asma al-Assad was never like Lady Diana. For instance, Asma is a graduate of King’s College, one of the most important international universities, majoring in computer science and graduating with honors. She is fluent in three languages and I heard that she is a conservative woman. Meanwhile, Lady Diana’s education was below high school level, she spoke only English, and she was very skilled at having love affairs with widely publicized details. Today, there is a new ‘dissonant’ tune that mirrors the baseness of those behind it. The tune of course involves Mrs. Asma Akhras al-Assad, because the dissidents have failed to oust her husband President Bashar al-Assad, so they turned their attention to her (Muammar Gaddafi was ousted, and now I am receiving messages from Hannah Muammar Gaddafi, Safia Farkash and Aisha, all offering me millions of euros or dollars. The senders are despicable fraudsters, as if it is not enough what happened to those women). I thank God I work for a newspaper whose dominant feature is being free. I dare any person in the whole world to say that he succeeded in imposing anything on Al-Hayat or barring anything from it since it returned to publication in 1988. I therefore express my opinion today with the same sense of freedom available to all the people working for this newspaper, while hoping that I am being objective. I condemn the killing of demonstrators in Syria in absolute terms, and call for an end to it and for all those responsible to be held accountable, whoever they are. I also condemn the extremist minority in the opposition that has managed to combine ignorance, meanness and obnoxiousness, a minority that has taken to attacking Mrs. Asma in recent days and weeks because it feels powerless to do anything about her husband, and so it opted for blaming an innocent woman for his sins instead. Asma al-Assad is responsible first and foremost for her three children, who are all aged ten or less. She – like every mother – places her kids ahead of herself. Anyone who says otherwise would be doing her injustice as a mother, and doing injustice to all mothers, and many Syrian mothers have lost their children these days, and our hearts are with them. Before the eruption of the bloody incidents in Syria, Mrs. Asma al-Assad was among the most popular first ladies in the east and the west. The Vogue profile of Mrs. Asma was a poem of praise for the ‘Desert Rose’ – while bearing in mind that Syria is one of the most fertile spots on the planet. The same applies for the report carried by Paris-Match while the Sun and the Times in London, as well as many American newspapers, have been rather fair about her. Then the bloody events in Syria erupted. At first, Mrs. Asma was spared from the blame. Her reputation protected her, having worked through the Syrian Development Trust to launch projects for the development of the countryside, the education of young learners and training of youths for employment as well as projects in culture and development research, etc. In truth, since her marriage at the end of the year 2000, she dedicated herself to such projects. No dissident can tell me today that he is not aware of her work, knowing that it was intended for the Syrian people and not her. Indeed, she never tried to surround herself with television cameras and local reporters to gain the favor of the people for her work. The above is all facts that I insist some of the dissidents know well, but deny. If I am to continue with an opinion, it would be that Mrs. Asma is today a prisoner of the presidential palace. She is scared and cannot sleep, seeking to protect her children, and we don’t know whether the letters she sends to a newspaper or her appearance at a rally is by her decision or that of someone else. We have been taught that no bearer of burdens shall bear another's burden, and these are the words of God. Asma al-Assad is not an advisor to the Syrian government and its repressive apparatus, and has no role to play with these. And if I am to continue with another opinion, it would be that if Dr. Bashar al-Assad had relied solely on the opinion and counsel of his wife, instead of those of his uncle, cousin, brother and brother in law, Syria would have not fallen into this spiral of killing that has left every Syrian home in mourning. Today, there is no defense whatsoever of the Syrian regime. I condemn the killing of civilians in absolute terms, and I repeat this as I think about a minority in the opposition that combines extremism and bad faith, while claiming that it wants democracy when it cannot tolerate any dissent. Asma al-Assad is powerless. She was never a Lady Diana or a Marie Antoinette. In fact, there is as lesson to be learned from the Queen of France. The revolution had accused her of saying, in reference to the hungry people of France, “Let them eat cake”. However, historians are in agreement today that she had never uttered these words, so I hope that we will do justice by Mrs. Asma and not blame her for the sins of others.