Translated by Pascale Menassa
This article 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.
Social relations within the Shwam [Damascus citizens or Damascenes] community—and likewise between them and their fellow Syrians—are marred by rising tensions based on class, religion, regionalism and gender.
