Despite the ongoing conflict that has been flooding their daily lives, some determined Syrians have been going out at night to escape the constant fear that comes with living in a war-torn region. Although the conflict in Syria has been going for 30 months leading to the death of over 100,000 people and destruction of the city, several bars and clubs in the capital city of Damascus have managed to stay open.
The brave Syrian clubbers seek a way to forget the war going on around them. In an interview with the Huffington Post, 25-year-old Mohammad says, “I came here for a change of atmosphere. There is joy here. I want to live, I don’t want to hear any more bad news.” A 22-year-old rapper named Mudi al-Arabi has similar sentiments. “Everyone’s going to die some day, but the Syrian people love life and the most important thing is to be happy . . . Guys come here to be happy with their friends or with their girlfriends, to forget the week’s routine.”
A song overheard at the club had political lyrics, “Don’t ask me how or why, it’s the army that protects us . . . You and I salute General Maher,” in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s brother, an army official. Rapper Mudi al-Arabi’s tracks are full of nostalgic lyrics about Damascus before the war, when the local music scene was thriving. Because of the conflict, he has not been able to perform as much as in the past, only once every other week. The Syrian authorities have grown wary about public gatherings and have made it much more difficult for events to get the necessary authorizations.
Some Damascus nightclubs have been hit hard financially and have been forced to close. Others live in constant fear that they will be attacked if the Syrians find out that people are having fun while others are suffering on the streets, but the few establishments that have managed to stay open are truly thriving.
Photos courtesy of the Huffington Post / Getty Images
via Huffington Post