I received a British education, what I did have though was a Syrian environme...
it.
So I was very aware of Syrian values and cultures and traditions.
“This is Emma, or at least that's how this softly spoken British woman was once known”
to friends and family. She was a middle class Londoner with a bright future ahead of her. I remember like just laughing really hard with her. She's totally charming and she knows how to light up a room. In the late 90s Emma played tennis at the weekends and she was a high-flying banker,
but all of that changed when she married the president of Syria and moved to Damascus.
There she became known as Asma Al-Assad. Her looks, learning and style have made her an icon in Syria.
“She's been compared to Princess Diana and Jackie Kennedy.”
Asma Al-Assad is different, the darling of Damascus. She's like a supermodel and he's like I've nerd. She and her husband were the face of a new Syria filled with hope.
He is so easy to talk to.
You can talk to him about anything and everything and that's great. It was a long fall from grace to where she is now. Hiding with her husband from the alleged crimes against humanity committed during a brutal 13-year conflict.
“It is estimated more than 100,000 people disappeared, being detained, torture and forced”
disappearances were a family business. I wondered how this English woman I had met who's so believed in the youth of Syria could stand by and not do anything. I really wondered about it. For months now I've been investigating this mysterious woman and I've been trying to understand
how she went from a comfortable life in London to being accused of war crimes on the other side of the world. Because not only did she stand by her husband throughout the war, she's been accused of getting her own hands dirty in the process. But what did she really know about the atrocities her husband's regime was carrying out and
what choices did she really make? I got the sense that if she tried to leave, she'd be knocked off or something. I don't think she had a choice. Some of the people I've spoken to think she should face trial, that she profited from the war, and that she was intimately involved in the regime.
She solved her thought to the devil in exchange of the money. Others are convinced she's been misunderstood. It seems to me completely at odds with the person that I dealt with in Syria. So who is the real Emma? On new series, we call her Emma, is coming out on Tuesday, July 7th.
To get early and add free access to episodes when the series launches, you can subscribe today wherever you're listening. You can also subscribe directly on our website at observador.co.uk/subscribe and use the code "Audio50" for 50% off.
