Wadi al-Macharih, or Zarova, in the suburbs of Damascus, where the majority of the residents are Kurdish. (Credit: Hasan Belal/L'Orient-Le Jour)
With lipstick on and a cigarette between her lips, Fatmeh, a shopkeeper in the neighborhood, smiles wistfully when she speaks of “her president.”“I wish he were president of all Syria,” she said.The residents of Zorava were delighted by the visit by Mazloum Abdi on Oct. 7 to the presidential palace.In this Kurdish neighborhood on the outskirts of Damascus, Abdi is seen as a protective father figure watching over them from afar, and as a final hope — the only one capable of carrying his people’s voice and defending the community’s rights in the capital.“Someone has to do it,” said Abou Ali, smiling behind his fruit and vegetable stall.Beyond the symbolism, the high-level meeting between the Kurdish leader and interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa helped prevent yet another armed flare-up in Aleppo on Monday between Kurdish forces and the new...
With lipstick on and a cigarette between her lips, Fatmeh, a shopkeeper in the neighborhood, smiles wistfully when she speaks of “her president.”“I wish he were president of all Syria,” she said.The residents of Zorava were delighted by the visit by Mazloum Abdi on Oct. 7 to the presidential palace.In this Kurdish neighborhood on the outskirts of Damascus, Abdi is seen as a protective father figure watching over them from afar, and as a final hope — the only one capable of carrying his people’s voice and defending the community’s rights in the capital.“Someone has to do it,” said Abou Ali, smiling behind his fruit and vegetable stall.Beyond the symbolism, the high-level meeting between the Kurdish leader and interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa helped prevent yet another armed flare-up in Aleppo on Monday between Kurdish...