Damascus, May 13 (Xinhua-ANI): Despite mounting suffering of Syrians in restive areas and the unrelenting cycle of violence, people at some upscale districts of the capital appear to have distanced themselves from the crisis and chosen to maintain their lifestyles.
At the luxurious Massa Mall in the wealthy neighborhood of Malki in Damascus, affluent residents practice their lives as usual. The 14-month-old crisis in their country hasn't impinged on them.
Customers at the fancy cafes roar with laughter and its supermarket is teemed with shoppers despite its exorbitant prices. The price of a cotton jacket is sold at about 300 U.S. dollars, an amount spent by a middle class family in a month.
Elegant girls and boys with spiky haircut styles roam the area and make jokes. Yet, the situation few kilometers away is not a joke at all.
On Thursday, two thunderous explosions struck Qazzaz neighborhood in Damascus, claiming the lives of at least 55 people and critically injured hundreds others.
The al-Nusra Front to Protect the Levant, a Jihadist group affiliated with al-Qaida, claimed responsibility on Saturday for the twin blasts, thus supporting the government's repeated accounts about the presence of al-Qaida members and salafists in the country, whom, it said, are working to undermine the state's stability and security.
Seven booby-trapped cars were detonated across the country over the past months, killing tens of Syrians and causing huge damages.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad still enjoys the backing of the moneyed classes in the country, in part because those merchants and businessmen don't trust the opposition or their agendas and also because their businesses have boomed during Assad 's rule.
"They took to the streets by themselves demanding freedom and they should bear the consequences alone," Hanya said while sipping a cup of Nescafe.
"What are the gains they have achieved," she added. "They lost everything, the foremost of which is their security and we don't want to lose ours."
Some observers believe that recent bombings in Syria have further bolstered Assad's popularity among his supporters and even among those who are best known as the silent majority in the country.
Zuhair Awad, a merchant, said "we want to live peacefully as we were ... we will step up our support for President Assad more than before if the alternative will be al-Qaida and the salafists." (Xinhua-ANI)
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