On Sunday, December 8th, after 13 years of civil war, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad fled his country for Russia. His departure marks the end of a half-century of authoritarian rule under the Assad family.
When the quiet ophthalmologist inherited power from his father Hafez at the turn of the century, Syrians and international observers alike were cautiously optimistic about the country’s future.
The younger son presented his family as more manicured and western, more open and less brutal. These hopes were short lived.
On meeting him in his early years as Syrian president, writer and journalist Lara Marlowe said he was the opposite of his father.
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“Because of his sort of comical looks, you know, they called him ‘the giraffe, alzarafa.’ He had these prominent ears and receding chin, this very, very long neck and he came across as very meek and shy. He talked with a lisp. No one could have imagined that he could be such a cruel and vicious ruler.
Bashar al-Assad is set to go down in history as the man who violently repressed the Arab Spring peaceful protests and kick-started a civil war which killed more than half a million people.
Who really were the Assad family and how did they remain in power for so long?
And what was the reality for Syrians living under the Assad family’s iron fist?
Today, on In the News, the rise and fall of the Assad dynasty.
Writer and journalist Lara Marlowe joins the podcast to reflect on the legacy of the Assad family.
Presented by Sorcha Pollak, produced by Aideen Finnegan.
