In Assad’s hometown, few shared in his family’s fortune. They hope they won’t share in his downfall
Associated PressQARDAHA, Syria — On the walls of the palatial mausoleum built to house the remains of former Syrian President Hafez Assad, vandals have sprayed variations of the phrase, “Damn your soul, Hafez.” Nearly two weeks after the ouster of his son, Bashar Assad, people streamed in to take photos next to the burned-out hollow where the elder Assad’s grave used to be. “Everyone thought Qardaha was a city built on a marble rock and a square of aquamarine in every house,” he said, referring to the trappings of wealth enjoyed by Assad’s family. “We don’t accept the curtailment of our rights because the regime was part of this component.” Questions also loomed about the fate of the area’s sons who had served in Assad’s army. “We send our children to the army because we don’t have any other source of income.” Um Jaafar, who gave only her nickname out of fear of reprisals, said the family had no information about the fate of her two sons, stationed with the army in Raqqa and Deir Ezzour, though one son’s name later turned up on the list of those imprisoned in Hama.
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