free play casino In Syria, an Image of Rebellion Embodied in a Hoodie
The rebels appeared on Syrian state television over the weekend in puffer jackets and sweatshirts. One wore what appeared to be a trucker hat. A man in the center — the group’s appointed spokesman — wore a black hoodie as he addressed the Syrian people.free play casino
The forces had achieved “the liberation of the city of Damascus, the toppling of the dictator Bashar al-Assad, and the liberation of all oppressed prisoners from the regime’s jails,” the hoodied man declared, his beard protruding forward.
With that, President Bashar al-Assad’s reign ended. The dictator resigned, fleeing the Syrian capital as rebels seized control of the city in a head-spinning weekend-long blitz.
If the rebels’ words proclaimed a new dawn for Syria, their divergent attire amplified that message. Mr. al-Assad was many things and, among them, was a steady and formal dresser. Throughout his 24-year authoritarian rule, the erstwhile ophthalmologist clung to sober dark suits, starched white shirts and ties.
Mr. al-Assad’s austere attire embodied his assertion that all was under control — even as it most certainly was not. After the Syrian civil war began in 2011, Mr. al-Assad imprisoned dissenters and engaged in a protracted battle leaving more than 500,000 Syrians dead. Under his leadership, the Syrian economy shriveled and droughts led to a nationwide hunger crisis.
As his country plummeted into disarray, Mr. al-Assad’s appearance only became more decorous. In the latter half of his presidency, the ties became clones of themselves: grayish blue and tied with an assertive knot the size of a toddler’s fist. He wore his hair close-cropped, as if trimmed daily. After sampling a mustache in his younger years, his face is now clean-shaven at all times. Mr. al-Assad was a dictator who styled himself in the international image of an exacting hedge fund manager.
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