Pro-regime organizations sponsor mass weddings for Syrian soldiers
LET THEM EAT WEDDING CAKE: A pro-Assad charity thanked members […]
19 October 2014
LET THEM EAT WEDDING CAKE: A pro-Assad charity thanked members of the Syrian army by hosting a mass wedding over the weekend in the regime-controlled city of Tartus for 36 military-affiliated men, including soldiers injured in war and the brothers of soldiers killed in combat.
Here, in the coastal Alawite-majority city, the grooms stand wearing their military uniforms with their new wives on one side and their crutches on the other. Most of the women wear white wedding dresses typical 0f Syrian weddings, although one woman decided to match the groom in style and don an Army-print dress. Another bride wears a dress that resembles the Syrian national flag.
“The goal of the event is to send a message that Syria is immune to its enemies,” said Mona Ibrahim, the director of the charity and the organizer of the event.
The wedding took place at a restaurant along the boardwalk of Tartus, while the grooms came from eight different provinces, reported Al-Wahda, a pro-regime daily newspaper.
“This national wedding is the coronation of the patience of our courageous soldiers and the women who have proven their greatness by waiting and praying for them,” said Al-Wahda.
A bastion of pro-Assad supporters, Tartus has been one of the least-affected cities by war.
Signs of discontent and frustration with the war have been slowly leaking out, however, as last week Alawite protestors held the first demonstration against the Assad regime in the city, reported pro-opposition news agency Siraj Press. Tens of thousands of displaced Syrians from all over the country have sought refuge in the city because of its distance from the fighting.
Last week, a similar mass wedding for 120 regime soldiers took place in Latakia —another regime-controlled, Alawite-majority coastal city – reported pro-opposition news agency Syrians’ News. The wedding was sponsored by a Syrian media company with ties to the Assad regime.
-October 19, 2014
-Photo courtesy of @ceylan1947.
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