Enab Baladi – Hassan Ibrahim
As soon as you enter the old markets of Damascus, your eyes are caught by images of Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher, and their father Hafez; however, they are not on the walls or shop doors or market entrances, but rather embroidered on socks and mats, crowding the street stalls, displayed for sale at prices ranging from 7,000 to 15,000 Syrian pounds.
“Bathroom mat for 15,000,” “Step on al-Assad for 10,000,” “Al-Kur and his father for 25,000,” the vendors loudly call out with unusual phrases inside the Hamidiyah historical market, attracting customers with products bearing the images of the Assad family. This scene began to escalate gradually since December 8, 2024, alongside the dramatic end of half a century of Assad family rule in Syria.
There is notable demand from passersby for both purchasing and photography, driven by mockery, sarcasm, revenge, and a desire to break the symbolic “eternity” that the Assad family has long promoted, as they transformed their names over 53 years into “sacred symbols” greater than the citizen, the homeland, and even God. Any engagement with them or violation is considered tantamount to destruction.
Vendors: “Stay tuned for shoes and underwear”
In a tour by Enab Baladi in the Hamidiyah market, there are more than 30 stalls selling socks that bear images of the Assad family, often accompanied by phrases like “Abu Raqaba,” referring to the ousted Syrian regime leader Bashar al-Assad, “King of Captagon,” and “the biggest Captagon dealer” along with images of Bashar and some featuring Maher, and “This is how lions stand,” showing a nearly bare image of Hafez al-Assad.
With the phrase, “This is your end, beneath our feet… go to the dumps of history,” followed by laughter mixed with feelings of vindictiveness and revenge, Mohammed, a seller in the Qaimariyah market, summarized the reasons for the presence of Bashar al-Assad’s images on the socks he sells, pointing out that they symbolize humiliation and retribution.
Mohammed told Enab Baladi that Syrians love those who respect their dignity and uphold their freedoms, proving that no matter how long it takes, oppression must end. He considers the images on the socks to represent a deeper significance indicating the end of anyone who sees themselves as above the people, someone who believes they are a god, and who cannot even spare kind words for them.
As for Alaa, he sells 10 to 15 pairs of socks (bearing images of the Assad family) daily at a price of 15,000 Syrian pounds per pair in his stall in the Hamidiyah market, stating to Enab Baladi that he is preparing to print their images on men’s underwear (boxers) and shoes (flip-flops).
The seller noted that the price of socks varies from one vendor to another, and they are more expensive than regular socks, which sell for 3,000 to 5,000 Syrian pounds a pair.
He attributed the interest in both purchasing and photographing to people’s desire to reclaim their rights symbolically through mockery and ridicule, adding that people are oppressed and have reached a lamentable state under Bashar al-Assad’s rule, needing some form of vindication, even if it’s through images.
“Erasing the dictatorship”… a reaction against deification
Syrian journalist Ahmad Haj Bakri bought a pair of socks featuring an image of Hafez al-Assad in underwear only with the phrase “This is how lions look,” intending to embody the slogan from the Syrian revolution chants “We step on them, we step on them,” and sees it as a means of psychological revenge against the dictatorship, saying, “With every step we step on them.”
The journalist who traveled to Syria concurrent with the commencement of the “Deterrence of Aggression” operation, which led to the fall of the previous Syrian regime, pointed out that fear of al-Assad still lingers in many Syrians’ minds, emphasizing the need for counteraction in both media and intellectual realms to break this image and change the concept of the security grip that dominates many Syrians.
Haj Bakri commented to Enab Baladi on the use of images of Bashar, Maher, or Hafez on products like “socks” or “bathroom mats” as part of erasing the dictatorship and “turning every criminal into a mop under the feet of the people,” which reflects the expressed joy of victory from the local populace.
Wail Abdul Haq, a passerby in the Hamidiyah market, sees the images of the Assad family on socks or even on bathroom tissues and other products merely as a form of humor among Syrians, considering that these appearances are not vindictive, as they do not quell the fires of revenge and grievance suffered by the people under the rule of the Assad family.
Journalist and social researcher Sultan Jalabi believes that the popularity of these products is a backlash against “decades of glorification and deification of Hafez al-Assad and later Bashar.” It also reflects a response to the more loyal social classes who had previously exhibited these symbols in a manner that was “deific and legendary,” without relying on logic and reason.
Jalabi told Enab Baladi that this is a counter wave to the deification, manifesting in “ridiculing these figures, humiliating them, and symbolically seeking retribution for the profound injustices inflicted upon Syrians,” who had been unable to criticize or oppose in any form.
Socks featuring images of the Assad family are sold on street stalls in Damascus – February 2025 (Enab Baladi)
Business as well
Through observations and surveys since December 8, 2024, traders began printing flags of the revolution and re-producing various goods as requested by the street, whether in necklaces and chains featuring the flag and map of Syria, while keeping the original old colors (red) and adding new colors to them (green).
Journalist Ahmad Haj Bakri pointed out that the enhanced presence of these products in the markets stems from the traders’ desire to exploit any opportunity to market a new attractive product for customers, transforming any material into a commercial commodity.
Social researcher Sultan Jalabi believes that the element of “business” has also played its role in the emergence and popularity of these products since many traders and industrialists follow the “trend” and quickly link people’s interests with their products.
He noted that the vendors might not carry any symbolic motivation for associating the political situation in the country with their products, aside from selling their goods out and promoting them, even at higher prices than similar items in the markets.
Jalabi emphasized that the machines that used to print “We love you” t-shirts with Bashar al-Assad’s image and “We will rebuild it,” along with other images and writings that praised and glorified symbols of the previous Syrian regime, are the very same ones now promoting and producing these products today.
Fear has disappeared and statues have crumbled
Following the launch of the “Deterrence of Aggression” battle, statues associated with the Assad family, which were present in every city and town, have been increasingly toppled. This practice has been a course set by the family since Hafez al-Assad seized power through a military coup in 1970 and assumed the presidency in 1971. This trend expanded under his son Bashar after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011.
Syrians tore down images of the family and the Baath Party and brought down scattered statues throughout the country. On the day Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow, residents of the town of Deir Atiyah in Qalamoun toppled the largest statue of Hafez al-Assad in Syria.
There are no official statistics on the number of statues of the Assad family in Syria, as protesters, military personnel, locals, and activists dismantled them, dragging some through the streets in celebratory displays. Cleaning companies, municipal councils, and local entities oversaw the removal of their remnants, while estimated figures suggest that the number of statues exceeds 3,000.
The Assad family’s cemetery in Qardaha was also subjected to burning and vandalism of its marble. Civilians and military personnel trampled on the graves of Hafez al-Assad and his wife and burned their memorials.
These actions reflected the collapse of the kingdom of fear and terror and the iron grip of security in Syria, marking the end of an era of national dependency on a person or a family and tearing apart the images of the Assad family that once accompanied Syrians everywhere.
Before al-Assad’s downfall, while the Syrian people faced successive crises in terms of living conditions, economy, and society, the Syrian regime was rebuilding statues as a message of “strength, intimidation, and glorification.” The latest of these was in November 2024 when a statue of Hafez al-Assad was erected in the center of Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib—a city that suffered the horrors of his forces’ fire and endured a massacre using chemical weapons in April 2017, resulting in the deaths of 91 civilians and injuring around 520 others.
With Bashar al-Assad fleeing to Moscow, images from a family album of his spread, leading to waves of mockery, ridicule, and astonishment, some depicting him wearing only underwear in the kitchen, in the yard, on a yacht, and with his father, who also appeared in underwear showing off his muscles.
Angelique Haugerud, in her book “No Billionaire Left Behind,” notes that humor can be more powerful than animosity. Even commissioners in authoritarian regimes may accept citizens’ hatred; however, they fear their laughter as it highlights the limits of propaganda and repression.
Political theorist Hannah Arendt considered that “the greatest enemy of power is contempt, and the safest way to undermine it is through laughter.”