Riyadh, May 18 (AFP/APP): Tributes to Syrian culture are everywhere at Riyadh’s Damascu Cafe — from the traditional bean stew on the menu to folk songs that pour from the speakers, name-checking the war-torn country’s cities and towns.
There’s even a staffer who was hired for his resemblance to beloved Syrian comedian Duraid Lahham, and who spends long shifts posing for selfies with homesick customers
But while the crowds that flock to the cafe each day are united in love for their native country, they are sharply divided on whether their adopted home, Saudi Arabia, has done the right thing by welcoming President Bashar al-Assad to this week’s Arab League summit.
Some hope the move, which ends Assad’s exile of more than a dozen years from the pan-Arab body, signals an easing of Syria’s broader isolation and related economic hardship since the start of the war there in 2011.
“We were waiting for this moment,” said 37-year-old Syrian expat Hiba Sidawi.
“It’s a pain now to visit our country and see our family. War didn’t bring us any added value.”
In the other camp are those who can’t bear the thought of Assad on Saudi soil — all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid riling both Saudi and Syrian officials.
“I hate him! I hate him!” said one woman. “Let him come for what, what will he do? Will he fix things? Will he change the country? He’s the one who needs to be changed. I want to say out loud I am against him but I have relatives in Syria, they will drag them all and kill them.”
Follow the PNI Facebook page for the latest news and updates.
