Reports | 25 05 2020
Ali Al-Jablawy, Latakia || As the sectarian strife in Syria intensifies and the gap between the different sects widens, peaceful coexistence between the sects is becoming more of an impossible utopian dream. Yet, every while and then we come across Syrians who have decided to transcend all of the political and religious complications for love. Mohammed, a young Sunni from Latakia, has fallen in love with an Alawite girl before the revolution, they got married later after the revolution with the full consent and support of their families. "We haven’t encounter real problems in our marriage, possibly due to the situation in Lattakia. Interfaith marriage is not uncommon nor frowned upon here. I have to admit that my wife being pro opposition has made life easier for both of us. Add to that the open-mindedness of her family in regard to politics and religion.” Rima, a Sunni pro-opposition young woman from Lattakia, has managed also to maintain her relationship with her Alawite, pro-Assad boyfirend despite their political disagreements. Rima is proud of their ability to keep their relationship intact, especially that she has witnessed the breaking up of many similar relationships under the pressure of the sectarian strife. "We were able to find a way of understanding, and after all what happened and all the bloodshed in Syria, we decided to stay away from the “loyalist” and “opposition” labels; we’re just two lovers in love with Syria.” The Revolution killed me! However, the conflict and the subsequent political and religious divisions had a devastating effect on Kamel, a young man from the Lattakia’s countryside who is married to a Sunni woman ."I was happily married , our families understood our love and supported our marriage; the sectarian issue meant nothing to them back then. But as soon as the revolution started, we became victims of our families’ religious and political disagreements. It was so awful that we were forced to stay away from them and from our friends to protect our marriage.” Kamel prefers not to disclose his political opinion, he decided with his wife to stay away from politics to protect their marriage, especially that he has lost his friends and family already. They accused me of murdering my husband! Lama from Jableh is a victim of both the war and sectarian. She is the widow of a soldier from the Syrian army who was killed during clashes with the Free Syrian Army in the countryside of Idlib. Since Lama is a Sunni, she was mistreated by her late husband family. "From the moment we received the news of his death, they turned into monsters. His mother is even accusing me of murdering him because I am, like his killers, is Sunni. It didn't stop there; they throw me out of my house and didn't even allow me to take anything to remind me of my late husband .