[This article by Mohammad Dibo forms part of a special series focused on Oral Culture and Identity in Syria. It is the outcome of an ongoing partnership between SyriaUntold and openDemocracy's North Africa West Asia in a bid to untangle the roots of sectarian, ethnic and other divides in Syria.]
When my grandmother got a taste of the bitter and pungent onion that made my tears fall, she cried out, “Ouch! This onion is definitely Sunni!” When I failed to understand what she meant, she clarified her idea, saying, “This onion is bitter and pungent like Sunnis.” Noticing that I still did not understand, she avoided the explanation and just said, “When you grow up, you will find out for yourself what this means.”
Indeed, when I grew up, I understood, but not completely on my own. I heard words here and there in the village and in closed same-sect circles, where people talk freely about “the others” of a different sect and ethnicity. In the presence of strangers, such talk would disappear. Proverbs and famous sayings along the lines of “trust a Sunni with dinner, but trust a Christian with your life” were popular in these circles. The proverb meant that Sunnis’ food is pure and resembles ours, but one cannot trust to sleep at their house. Christians’ food is impure because they eat rabbits and pork which are forbidden to Alawites and Muslims. But, one can trust to sleep at a Christian’s place because his life wouldn’t be threatened, while a Sunni can kill you as per the common belief.
