A visual memory Hafez Assad no more in Syria. Image by Rami Alhames, made on Canva Pro.
Residents of the town of Deir Atiyah, 88 kilometres north of the capital Damascus, toppled the statue of former President Hafez al-Assad, located on one of the town's hills. It is the largest of many statues of Hafez al-Assad erected in Syria by the regime over five decades.
On the morning of December 8, 2024, with the fall of the Assad regime and the escape of deposed president Bashar al-Assad to Russia, videos spread on social media showing residents of the town located in the Qalamoun Mountains heading to the “statue hill” as it is known, in order to topple the statue using heavy machinery.
Why Deir Atiya?
At the heart of Hafez al-Assad’s rise to power was Mohamed Deeb Daboul (known as Abu Saleem), a close confidant and office secretary of the late Syrian president since the late 1960s.
Daboul was born in the city of Deir Atiyah in 1935, before becoming director of Hafez al-Assad's office, when the latter briefly assumed the position of prime minister and minister of defence after the success of his coup against President Noureddine al-Atassi in November 1970.
Daboul’s influence within the Ba’ath Party and the Syrian government cannot be overstated. As one of Assad’s earliest and most trusted aides, he played a pivotal role in consolidating the president’s authority during a period of intense political volatility.
Behind the scenes, Daboul orchestrated key decisions that safeguarded the regime against both internal and external threats. When Bashar Assad succeeded his father, Daboul continued to serve as a crucial figure within the administration. Drawing on his vast experience, he helped guide the younger Assad through the complexities of governance and international relations.
Abu Saleem Daboul’s death in 2021 marked the end of an era for Syria’s political elite. To some, he was a patriot who ensured stability in a turbulent region; to others, he symbolized the authoritarianism that suppressed dissent and stifled progress. It is noteworthy that his son, Salim Daboul is one of the businessmen included in the Caesar Act sanctions.
Symbols of the regime falling
Since December 8, 2024, many videos have been posted on social media showing the destruction of several symbols of the old regime, aside from the biggest statue in Syria. Within the first two weeks, Hazfez al-Assad's tomb was also burned in his hometown Qardaha, while more of his statues were taken down in Tartus, a coastal city with an Alawite majority, in Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus, on the local square in Hama, and by Damascus university students in the Syrian capital, who toppled the statue of the late Syrian president, before standing on it and dragging it through the streets of the city.
The weapons of dictatorships
Statue of Hafez Assad in Aleppo, Krokodyl, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dictators and authoritarian regimes frequently erect numerous statues and monuments as instruments of propaganda to project power, establish legitimacy, and reinforce their dominance over society.
According to Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman, modern dictators survive by cooptation, censorship, propaganda, and repression, therefore, these statues serve as constant reminders of the leader's authority, embedding their presence into the daily lives of citizens and fostering a cult of personality.
