SYRIA:SYRIA REMAINS the 'beating heart of Arabism' while also embracing modernism, writes Michael Jansen.
Damascus is a proud oasis planted on the banks of the Barada, a murky, slow-flowing river encased in walls of grey concrete. It is a well-swept, green city of parks, souks, glass-sided skyscrapers, grubby popular housing blocks, neighbourhoods of elegant villas, grand monuments, gushing fountains and, alas, ugly flyovers.
The city claims to have invented the alphabet and is definitely the site of the first Christian church. The Umayyad Arab empire (750-850) lodged there. Saladin had the city as his base when he drove the Crusaders from the Holy Land. It has been ruled from Baghdad, Istanbul and Paris, but each of these conquerors departed, leaving the city richer in architecture but as independent-minded as ever.
Damascenes consider their home town the centre of the universe and the font of civilisation. They are comfortable in their skins and know their place in history.
Damascus is also an Arab capital with a modern mission. Syria remains the only Arab country still committed to a pan-Arab agenda.
In every Syrian's mind are registered the words of 20th century Arab nationalist visionary Gamal Abdel Nasser, who dubbed Syria the "beating heart of Arabism".
Syrian foreign minister Walid Muallem repeated this phrase during the press conference concluding last weekend's Arab summit here. Arab analysts say this is why Syria is the bane of the West which, they argue, seeks to co-opt Arab rulers and dictate their behaviour.
Syrians see the "road to Damascus" travelled by St Paul 2,000 years ago as the route to repentance and revelation for Arabs who stray from the path of Arabism. This is why Syrians of all ranks and stations, said "So much the worse for them" when three key Arab leaders allied to the US skipped the summit. "They'll come back one day." The snub the absentees intended did not faze Syrians because they are convinced they are right.
Dr Bouthaina Shaaban, minister of expatriates, says many Arabs are "with Syria" because it "stands for peace, regaining our land [ occupied by Israel], and for Palestinian rights in their own homeland. Some Arabs believe that this is impossible to achieve now because of Israeli military force and the support Israel gets from the United States".
She asks whether the Arabs should accept the "dictation of the US and Israel" or "form a regional bloc" to secure their rights.
"Syria stands for the latter option.There are enough people in the world who support a just solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict" so that "we don't have to put up a white flag. We will not sign an agreement that does not guarantee our security, [ the return of] our land and the land and the rights of the Palestinian people. All people in the world fought for their dignity and sovereignty and the Arabs are no exception. Syria, in the long run, thinks that the future is ours."
Dr Shaaban is convinced that coming "generations will carry on with the struggle. I think this is the difference between young entities and old entities. We are a very old nation, an ancient culture. We are not ready to give up our land."
She says "young Arabs are angry" over what is happening in their region and "are against any submission or surrender . . . We feed ourselves and we dress ourselves and I don't think many Arab countries can say that . . . We are focusing on being [ economically] independent because [ the US is] using embargo and sanctions against us."
Her words were echoed by Arab journalists covering the summit, as well as Syrians consulted at random. Two youths at the Belgian Waffles shop in central Damascus argued that Arab leaders should "get together" to ensure "Arab independence".
A young mother with a toddler in a sleek shopping mall agreed: "We need unity to guarantee our independence." Independence is a buzz word around here.
Three long-time foreign residents of Damascus said Syria has changed dramatically since they arrived a decades ago, particularly over the past five years. "People are much better-off now. The main problem they face is rising rents. This began when the Iraqis came [ in 2003]," said one woman who has a wide circle of Syrian contacts, particularly among poor people.
"Many people have two jobs to make ends meet. One salary pays the rent, the other provides food and clothing." Since education and healthcare are free, "people feel their children have a stake in the future", she says.
In the past, Damascus resembled a down-at-heel east European capital before the fall of the Soviet Union. Today, Damascus boasts grand hotels run by western chains; luxury shops; superb restaurants serving European, Asian and Arab cuisine; fine jewellery stores; and gleaming cars of recent manufacture.
Everyone has mobile phones - birds are adopting their ring tones. The internet is in the air. Televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and air-conditioners are common household appliances.
High-spike heels and tubular trousers are de rigeur among young women, even those donning headscarves. Overlarge Chaplinesque shoes with square toes and box-cut suit jackets are popular with men.
Since Dr Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father as president of Syria in 2000, the internet and rampant consumerism have come to poverty-stricken, socialist Syria, opening the country to global influences.
While outright political opposition is banned, newspapers are filled with criticisms of the government and its policies. Syrians speak their minds. Although the "Damascus spring" of political liberalisation did not poke its bloom like a purple crocus through Syria's crusty soil in 2001, the seeds planted that winter are growing and maturing slowly but surely.