By Thilo Thielke
The wealthy Syrian port city of Tartus, a stronghold of the Assad regime, is an island of calm in the war-torn country — for now. Members of Assad’s Alawite clan and the Christian minority are bracing themselves for a bloodbath if the city falls to the rebels, and partying while they still can.
A group of elegant young women are sitting around a small bistro table on the seaside corniche, laughing and clinking their glasses. They’re wearing international chic: dresses by Yves Saint Laurent, shoes by Gucci and glasses by Ray-Ban. There are three types of beer available: Mexican Corona, served with a slice of lime wedged in the neck of the bottle, Heineken from the Netherlands and Almaza from Lebanon.
A pleasant Mediterranean breeze is blowing into the fortress, which once offered refuge to the Crusaders. “Enjoy,” says the waiter. It’s Saturday evening in the Syrian city of Tartus — party time.
A war is raging only a few kilometers to the east, but in this port city the only signs of war are the conversations of local residents, which often revolve around neighbors and friends who have packed their bags and fled to nearby Lebanon.
Many Syrian Christians and, most of all, Alawites — members of the Muslim faction that also includes dictator Bashar Assad — live in the coastal strip around Tartus. They have benefited from the Assad system for decades. Many are wealthy and hold key positions in the regime. But now they must fear the advancing rebels.
Women wearing headscarves and speaking northern and eastern dialects have become a more common sight in the busy streets. They are refugees from the fighting that is raging in other parts of Syria. The walls of buildings are covered with large posters showing soldiers in the uniform of the Assad regime, posing with bazookas, assault rifles and cartridge belts across their chests.
“All of these men are dead. They died in the battle for our freedom and are being honored as martyrs on the walls of the city,” says a businessman as he drives his Volkswagen through heavy traffic. His first name is Nawar, but he is too afraid of the rebels to give us his last name. Nawar, a Sunni Muslim, has only been back in Syria for a few years. He worked as an investment advisor in Vienna, where he made a lot of money and then invested it in tourism in his native Syria.
A few months ago, Nawar was driven out of his villa in Homs, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) away as rebels advanced ever deeper into the Syrian heartland. The only place where he still feels safe is the area around Tartus. “Tartus is different,” says Nawar. “Tartus is modern Syria.” He turns up the car stereo, which is playing the Italian pop singer Eros Ramazzotti, and cheerfully honks his horn at a brunette in tight jeans. Nawar feels as free as he would in the West. But how much longer will it last?
Risk of a Religious War
Since fighting began about two years ago, the conflict has spread to almost every part of Syria. The United Nations estimates that 70,000 people have already been killed. In the capital, Damascus, coffee house conversations are now accompanied by the thunder of government artillery and the whistling of rebel shells. Aleppo, the economic capital in northern Syria, is divided, while the northwestern city of Idlib is under siege by the rebels. More and more fighters are entering the war zone from Turkey to join the rebellion against the Assad regime.
“These people want to establish an Islamic theocracy,” claims Nawar. “They are supported by the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.” He fears that if the radical Sunnis were to advance on Tartus, Alawites and Christians will suffer a bloodbath. “This is also an attack on religious tolerance in the country,” he says.
There are many fronts in the carnage that is threatening stability in the Middle East. The rebels claim that the uprising against Assad is a struggle for more democracy. The family has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1970, first under Hafez Assad and, since 2000, under his son Bashar. They have oppressed and killed tens of thousands of people.