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The first Christmas Eve of a new Syria – following the overthrow of president Bashar Al Assad's government by armed rebels – passed peacefully but “cautiously” in the Christian neighbourhoods of old Damascus, residents told The National.
“Honestly the vibe is not the usual holiday vibe in terms of the amount of people you’d normally see out celebrating,” said Tawfic, a resident of the Al Qassaa neighbourhood bordering the ancient Christian neighbourhood of Bab Touma. “Things are still a little bit unstable.”
Although the crowds were not as large as in previous years, old Damascus was still bustling with holiday spirit on Tuesday. Young people and families – Christian and Muslim – walked through its narrow streets reverberating with the sound of church bells and masses were held in churches without incident.
“No one has bothered us at all,” said Oussama, an employee of a cupcake store in Bab Sharqi. “It’s more that people are being a little bit cautious as we see how things will play out this Christmas.”
Tawfic explained that many Christians remain hesitant to fully celebrate in the streets and bars – “which would normally be packed with people until 2am” – out of an abundance of caution over “individual acts of sectarianism.”
He was referring to the burning of a Christmas tree in the Christian-majority town of Al Suqaylabiyah, in central Syria’s Hama province, by Islamic extremists the previous day. The tree was reportedly set on fire by a group of foreign fighters affiliated with the rebels who participated in the toppling of Mr Al Assad on December 8.
In response to the incident, hundreds of Syrians marched in the capital's streets on Tuesday morning.
“Raise your cross high! We demand the rights of Christians,” protesters chanted as they marched towards the old Bab Sharqi neighbourhood where the headquarters of the Orthodox Patriarchate are located.
Demonstrators gathered from different neighbourhoods to express their fears, some carrying wooden crosses while others waved the green, white, and black ‘Free Syria’ flag adopted by the country’s new administration – a sign of tentative support to the new authorities while also registering concern for their community.
The coalition of armed rebels led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham who ended more than 50 years of the Assad family's reign promised to uphold the rights of minorities in Syria. For years, Mr Al Assad had portrayed himself as the protector of minorities – right up until the moment he fled the country.
Originally an offshoot of Al Qaeda, HTS has since distanced itself from the terror group's ideology and is presenting itself as a pragmatic replacement for what was viewed by most Syrians as an oppressive regime.
Still, many minorities fear a gradual tightening of religious freedoms as a group with Islamist roots takes over Syria’s governance. To them, incidents such as the tree burning in Al Suqaylabiyah are a litmus test for the future.
“The Christmas tree burning in Al Suqaylabiyah really affected us because we’re not used to such things happening,” Tawfic told The National.
He said residents of his neighbourhood had closed the area off to strangers out of fear of intolerant or provocative acts over Christmas by stray groups – but added that “patrols from Hayat Tahrir Al Sham are co-ordinating with us. They’ve shown great flexibility and are showing us that they’re on our side.”
The tree-burning incident was condemned by both residents of Al Suqaylabiyah and Syria’s new interim administration. Representatives of HTS assured residents that the incident would not be repeated and that the perpetrators would be punished.
“The people who did this were not Syrians. And they will be punished more than you can imagine,” an HTS cleric told residents in a video circulated on social media.
“I assure you this tree will be completely restored by morning,” he added.
In stark contrast, Christians and Muslims alike happily took photographs in front of a Christmas tree and nativity scene set up in Bab Touma, at the entrance to old Damascus.
The tree was an initiative by a multi-religious group of Syrians who wanted to “make certain that religious tolerance and acceptance would remain a major component Syrian life”, organiser Alaa Sami told The National.
“We’re in a honeymoon phase right now and everyone is optimistic,” he said. “We need to make sure this country stays open to all Syrians. We have to grasp this freedom between our teeth and apply it to rebuilding our homeland.”
He added that the Christmas tree and nativity scene were set with co-ordination from representatives of HTS.
In the Christian majority village of Rableh, four kilometres from the Lebanese border, residents erected a 20-metre tall Christmas tree.
“The new authorities have not put restrictions on us as Christians,” said Louay Farah, 36, who works for the local water authority.
He said the Assad regime’s claims to protect Syria’s minorities was “just talk”.
Instead, he described how during 2013 and last month, when Syrian military and allied militias were in control of the area, residents “lived our worst days”, having to pay bribes at checkpoints between the village and the largest nearby city, Homs.
Many of his complaints about the former regime were similar to those described by Syria’s majority Sunni population, including crippling low salaries of just 300,000 Syrian pounds ($21) a month. Mr Farah said the new HTS-led authorities had already offered him a 30 per cent pay rise, and he felt more able to live with basic rights and freedoms than under the Assad regime.
“The current government is offering us the rights that we were prevented from, they have given us the right to live in complete freedom, and we hope that it stays that way. We want to live in dignity, no more. We hope this all continues in this right direction.”
Back in Damascus, a Christian shopkeeper in Bab Touma, who chose not to share his name, said the hesitation of residents to fully celebrate in the streets this year was normal “until it becomes apparent how things will be”.
“Some people are worried about whether they’ll be able to openly practice their faith. But there’s a general consensus too: Everything now is so much better than when that [expletive] was in charge,” he said, referring to Mr Al Assad.
“In my opinion, the suffering and oppression we were living under before was a hundred times worse than the fear we’re imagining now.”
Lizzie Porter reported from Rableh, Syria.
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The years Ramadan fell in May
Scoreline
Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (53')
Atletico Madrid 1
Griezmann (57')
The specs
Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel
Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power: 1877bhp
Torque: 2300Nm
Price: Dh7,500,00
On sale: Now
bundesliga results
Mainz 0 Augsburg 1 (Niederlechner 1')
Schalke 1 (Caligiuri pen 51') Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Miranda og 81')
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on animal trafficking
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More on animal trafficking
More coverage from the Future Forum
The years Ramadan fell in May
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Super Rugby play-offs
Quarter-finals
- Hurricanes 35, ACT 16
- Crusaders 17, Highlanders 0
- Lions 23, Sharks 21
- Chiefs 17, Stormers 11
Semi-finals
Saturday, July 29
- Crusaders v Chiefs, 12.35pm (UAE)
- Lions v Hurricanes, 4.30pm
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA
Price, base / as tested Dh150,900 / Dh173,600
Engine 2.0L inline four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 211hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 1,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
The five pillars of Islam
Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
COPA DEL REY
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
SPECS
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QUARTER-FINAL
Wales 20-19 France
Wales: T: Wainwright, Moriarty. Cons: Biggar (2) Pens: Biggar 2
France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
