Syrians drink, dance at US-themed Damascus bar

DAMASCUS - In the heart of Damascus, women and men dance the night away at an American-themed bar adorned with covers of old United States magazines, logos of US states, and American car plates. The bar is called Sugar Man.

The authoritarian regime of Bashar al-Assad, which allowed for social freedoms while severely restricting political ones, has been removed by Islamist groups, including radical factions and an offshoot of al-Qaeda, which is designated as a terrorist group in the West.

The bar owner said they have had no problems from the new authorities. 

“Almost nobody from the Islamic Authority has said anything to us, except for once when two people visited. They were nice. They greeted us, said hello. One of them asked for a permit and we said you don’t need a permit for a bar here. They said ‘okay’, and I felt like I needed to talk to them more, and they made it feel like everything is normal,” said Kifah Zaine. 

A few miles away from the rubble of destroyed buildings, the night is alive at Sugar Man with the sounds of freedom. Tunes that were once whispered in secret under the authoritarian regime of the Assad family now echo through the walls.

But despite this new dawn, uncertainty looms over the horizon.

“There is a little fear and uncertainty,” said Alia Az-Yeux, a dancer born and raised in Damascus. “There are things we don’t understand. We are not sure what’s going to happen but hope for the best.”