every night of ramadanwhether in regime-controlled regions, rebel areas or in exile, a soap opera inspired by the assad dynasty keeps thousands of people in suspense Syrians.
“Smile, O General”shot in Türkiye and performed by actors who mostly oppose the syrian governmentcontrasts with the historical soap operas that are usually broadcast during this month of fasting on most Arab channels.
Although the story takes place in an imaginary country, the reference to the family in power in Syria for 50 years is clear, with palace intrigues, interference in a small neighboring country, arrests of opponents or the instrumentalization of Islamists.
“It is the first time in the Arab world that a soap opera evokes the Syrian regime and shows what is happening in the presidential palace,” he says. Fidaa Saleha 35-year-old activist who lives in Jandairis, in the rebel-held areas of the northwest of the country.
“Twelve years after the uprising, the Syrian people know full well that what we are talking about in this series is just a drop in the ocean of the crimes of this regime,” he adds.
The series is broadcast on a television channel that operates in the rebel zones and on a channel in Qatar. Residents of government-controlled areas can watch it on YouTube timeshift.
the lead actor, Maxim Khalilan opponent in exile, plays fourat, the head of state with a striking resemblance, even in his gestures, with President Bashar al Assad. As in reality, in the series he succeeds his father after his death.
If in reality the transition was made peacefully, in the series Fourat came to power after a memorable scene in which he killed in cold blood a chief of the regime who opposed his succession.
“It’s fiction, not a documentary,” he reminds the AFP Orwa Mohammadthe director of the soap opera.
The soap opera aims to “dismantle the mechanism of dictatorships and the seizure of power by force” in various Arab countries, “but it is clear that the series relates to the current and past Syrian regimemerging the periods of Hafez al Assad and Bashar al Assad”, he explains.
– Fratricidal fight –
The telenovela, which ends on Friday, revolves around the power struggle between the president and his younger brotherSo, Chief of Staff.
A conflict inspired by the relentless 1980s war between Hafez al Assad and his younger brother Rifaatwho ended up exiled in Europe.
But also of the rivalry between Bashar al Assad and his younger brother Maher, de facto leader of the Fourth Division, the elite unit of the Syrian army, according to the director.
The family also has a wayward sister, inspired by Buchra al Assadwho settled in Dubai after the death of her husband, a senior security official killed in 2021 in a mysterious attack.
the actor abdel Hakim Qteyfana former opponent who spent nine years in prison under Hafez al Assad, plays the powerful director of the president’s intelligence services.
The series also evokes the preponderant role of the president’s wife, Asthma al Assadwho has consolidated his power over the years, particularly in the economic field.
Each episode begins with a quote from Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’.
“It is a magnificent telenovela, which sheds light on the suffering of the Syrian people and it evokes the hereditary transmission of power,” says Rida Saidi, 52, a trader who watches the series every afternoon in a tent in the Deir Ballut displacement camp in the northwest, along with other displaced people from reconquered areas. by the regime.
For Sami Al Doraid, 53, arrested in Damascus at the start of the 2011 revolt for participating in demonstrations, this soap opera “relives wounds”.
“It vividly shows the crimes of this dictatorship. When he shows the prisons, he reminds me of my arrest, and the reality is even harsher, ”says this teacher now a refugee in the northwest.
In Damascus, some dare to talk about the soap opera but without giving his name, to avoid problems.
“I get together with my friends and we try to guess which scene corresponds to which in reality,” says Ibrahim, a 30-year-old teacher who did not want to give his last name.
(With information from AFP)
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Source-www.infobae.com