The beauty and the butcher
Everyone is talking about Bashar al-Assad, the butcher of Syria. But as the wisdom goes, behind every politician there is often a very powerful and influential woman. So what about Asma al-Assad, the first lady of Syria? Is she just like the unscrupulous cold-blooded appendix to a bloody tyrant? Or is she the liberal first lady who is helplessly watching from aside what is happening in her country? Is she more like the controversial Safia Farkash-Gaddafi, or more like the awesome Queen Rania of Jordan? So far Asma remains a mystery to most people.
The British are particularly curious about Asma al-Assad and what she might be thinking about the current situation in her country. Because actually the wife of the Syrian dictator comes from England. She was born in London 36 years ago. Her parents, Syrian Sunnis, had left their country in the 50s. Her father pursued a cardiologist career in London and her mother worked in diplomacy. The family had been part of the upper class in Syrian society. Asma's childhood was typical for the upper middle class in England, affluent and quiet. The vacations were the only time she would visit Syria and that is where she met Bashar al-Assad while she was a teenager.
Asma is very much a modern woman. She made an impressive career. She graduated in IT and French literature at Kings College and then she worked as an expert in investment and finance, first at Deutsche Bank and then JP Morgan. Meanwhile, Bashar who was the younger son of the Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad, was never meant to become leader of his country. He was studying at the same time in London, and he was preparing to become what he had always wanted - a doctor. But then his brother died in 1994 in a car accident. It seems Bashar and Asma were already together at that time, in London. But he had to return to Damascus because his father was desperate to get his successor prepared.
So eventually in 2000 Asma followed him to Syria and they married there. One might wonder what made the young business lady follow a man who was obviously destined to continue his father's dictatorship? Probably no one knows the answer, as no one really knows what the first lady thinks in her heart about the events that are happening now in Syria.
All of this is making the media speculate and come up with all sorts of hypotheses. The Times managed to find some people who had known Asma from her years in UK. The political scientist Andrew Tabler thinks that these events are certainly tormenting her a lot. And let me add that her family is from Homs, the center of the resistance against the regime. Tabler, who had worked with Asma on several projects in Damascus, claims that in his observation she has changed a lot in the recent years. At first she had been a very liberal first lady, but then under the influence of the power elite she became more uncompromising, and what's more - she turned into a pillar of the regime.
Despite the speculations in the British press (which it is very good at), no one knows first-hand what Asma's stance really is. Apparently there are two possibilities. She either dreams of getting out of Syria as soon as possible but she is stuck in a golden cage, or much like many others from the ruling clique she is now convinced that the regime must prevail because otherwise the country would plunge into chaos.
The British are particularly curious about Asma al-Assad and what she might be thinking about the current situation in her country. Because actually the wife of the Syrian dictator comes from England. She was born in London 36 years ago. Her parents, Syrian Sunnis, had left their country in the 50s. Her father pursued a cardiologist career in London and her mother worked in diplomacy. The family had been part of the upper class in Syrian society. Asma's childhood was typical for the upper middle class in England, affluent and quiet. The vacations were the only time she would visit Syria and that is where she met Bashar al-Assad while she was a teenager.
Asma is very much a modern woman. She made an impressive career. She graduated in IT and French literature at Kings College and then she worked as an expert in investment and finance, first at Deutsche Bank and then JP Morgan. Meanwhile, Bashar who was the younger son of the Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad, was never meant to become leader of his country. He was studying at the same time in London, and he was preparing to become what he had always wanted - a doctor. But then his brother died in 1994 in a car accident. It seems Bashar and Asma were already together at that time, in London. But he had to return to Damascus because his father was desperate to get his successor prepared.
So eventually in 2000 Asma followed him to Syria and they married there. One might wonder what made the young business lady follow a man who was obviously destined to continue his father's dictatorship? Probably no one knows the answer, as no one really knows what the first lady thinks in her heart about the events that are happening now in Syria.
All of this is making the media speculate and come up with all sorts of hypotheses. The Times managed to find some people who had known Asma from her years in UK. The political scientist Andrew Tabler thinks that these events are certainly tormenting her a lot. And let me add that her family is from Homs, the center of the resistance against the regime. Tabler, who had worked with Asma on several projects in Damascus, claims that in his observation she has changed a lot in the recent years. At first she had been a very liberal first lady, but then under the influence of the power elite she became more uncompromising, and what's more - she turned into a pillar of the regime.
Despite the speculations in the British press (which it is very good at), no one knows first-hand what Asma's stance really is. Apparently there are two possibilities. She either dreams of getting out of Syria as soon as possible but she is stuck in a golden cage, or much like many others from the ruling clique she is now convinced that the regime must prevail because otherwise the country would plunge into chaos.