Reports | 25 05 2020
Compared with last year, there is less Valentine’s Day red on the streets of Damascus this February. The dominant color is that of death in all its different forms. And those signs of Valentine’s Day that do remain seem ridiculous.
Traditions organized around Valentine’s Day, February 14th, were very shy this year. Concerts and performances were monopolized by high-end restaurants and hotels that booked all of the famous singers and celebrities. Smaller restaurants desperately tried to advertise their events, and promote the obscure singers they had hired.
Concerts and performances offered by luxurious hotels and restaurants in Syria are not limited to Valentine’s Day. These events have not stopped through the years of war, and luxurious hotels and restaurants have been organizing such events without reason. This year for example, Valentine’s Day concerts started on February 10th.
George Wassouf Returns to Damascus
One exception this year was the return of the famous singer George Wassouf to sing in Damascus after a three-year absence. His Valentine’s Day concert, which was actually held on February 12th, was heavily advertised.
According to Huda, a female student living in Damascus University’s dormitories, attendance was limited to an upper class audience, despite the broad advertising campaign, and the many billboards showing him with the beautiful singer ShahdBarmada, who joined him for the concert.
Ticket prices were outrageously expensive, which made it impossible for Huda to even think about attending. “Tickets for the concert held in the Dama Rose hotel were set between 50, 65, and 80,000 Syrian pounds,” Huda explained.
The concert included a fancy dinner, but that was not enough to lure people, because even with the cheapest tickets, a couple would spend 100,000 Syrian pound to attend one concert. Fouad, a civil engineer, is not willing to even consider attending such “ridiculous events,” whether to see Wassouf or any other singer. He would rather use the money to buy food and clothes for his children. “These concerts are not for people like me, and they never have been,” he explained.
Concert Monopoly
The Dama Rose hotel in Damscus hosts many concerts by both famous and unknown singers. “Why not? The hotel’s administration knows that they have costumers who are willing to pay. These customers are government officials, businessman, and powerful figures. These people live on the suffering of other Syrians, who celebrated love without electricity nor heat, and without even being able to afford a flower for the ones they love,” said George, who works in the private sector.
Ticket prices for famous or even semi-famous singers were too expensive for George and his fiancé. Tickets for the concert of Hussein al-Deek and Muhammad Majdhoub, for example, were between 25,000 and 30,000 Syrian pounds, while George’s salary is 23,000 Syrian pounds per month and his fiancé’s is 25,000. “I tried to find concerts with reasonable prices,” he said, so they planned to go to a small restaurant in the neighborhood of Baab Touma, which was holding a concert with an obscure singer.
Valentine’s Day: a Trap for Young Men
“Al-Mashrabiyya” Restaurant in Baab Touma is famous for offering regular concerts. It advertised two concerts this year, on February 13th and 14th, by two obscure singers; Wael Khoury, and KinanHammoud. Tickets went for 6,000 Syrian pounds with dinner and “open drink” included. Although this price is doable, Muayyad, who works in the private sector, was not able to go. “12,000 Syrian pounds for me and my girlfriend was not very bad, but I was scared of the check points. The security forces are everywhere, especially on such days. They raid restaurants, arrest young men in order to force them to serve in the reserve military service,” he said. Muayyad believes that the situation is very bad and that there are more important things to worry about than where to go for Valentine’s Day. There is love between me and my girlfriend, but “there is no love in the hearts of those controlling the streets.” This is why Muayyad prefers to stay home. He talked to his girlfriend on the phone, and after Valentine’s Day, he will see her in a café and give her a present.
Imad, a student in a private university, has enough money to attend George Wassouf’s concert, because he manages his own business while he studies, but he is also scared of possible explosions, and that he might get arrested at a check point. Therefore, he will go to Dahab Ateeq, a small restaurant next to his house in Jaramana in Rif Dimashq (rural Damascus). He says he will feel safer if he stays in his own neighborhood. The tickets are very cheap, costing only 4,000 Syrian pounds. There will be a local singer, and Ismat Rasheed will sing for one hour too.
Red is No Cause for Celebration
Iyad has not celebrated Valentine’s Day since the war started in Syria. He says that the red color that fills the streets around this day reminds him of his brother, who was killed while serving his mandatory military service.
Iyad wonders how people celebrate Valentine’s Day, a day of love, while blood has been covering the streets. He thinks that celebrating Valentine’s Day in Syria is a kind of schizophrenia. In Iyad’s opinion, there are people who cannot afford to buy food, and others are sleeping in the streets. There are many families who have lost beloved ones, so people.