Damascus is not what it used to be. Over the past two months, we can see the rich go shopping, have dinner, and enjoy the holidays. There are no traffic snarls any more. We have gotten rid of broken, ugly, and noisy vehicles. You see nice, modern cars now. Suddenly, everybody has a car.

Yes, Damascus has become so beautiful now without people frantically rushing for their jobs and businesses. Falafel shops, a traditional food, are closed as today’s Syrians have lately discovered its ill effect on their stomachs. In Bashar al-Assad’s land, meat and neo-western salads have replaced the old-fashioned Syrian cuisine. We don’t see vendors selling Tamer hindi, juice, or coffee. Such unhygienic drinks are history.

Foreigners speaking other languages and bringing other cultures to our street are also extinct. Neither foreign journalists nor human rights observers can be seen to undermine our great republic where emergency laws have been lifted. The government does not let noisy youth disturb business in the name of peaceful protests and young girls can shop easily as handsome Syrians don’t bother them. The nuisance of eve-teasing has been eliminated too.

Schools, colleges and universities really needed a break from hectic and boring classroom routines. Classes in schools, universities, and in foreign institutes were cancelled after brave Syrian soldiers came to save people from foreign terrorists spoiling our peaceful atmosphere. Now is the time to travel to other countries, even if it is as refugees to Lebanon and Jordan. Finally Syrians can travel too!

Syrians were sick and tired of social relationships. Now is our chance to watch our favorite series on television. We cannot resist tempting soap operas on Arabic channels. These dramas entertain us 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

It is true that everything is more expensive but it is important to know our limits while spending. The rich and the poor in cities should not buy same stuff, as class difference is a beauty of Arab society.

The same is true for the landlords and poor farmers in villages. The poor should not improve their lifestyle, as it is not good for their bodies or mind.

Just wait a second here! Who brings milk to the city and who produces all kinds of cheese? And what about vegetables destroyed this year because of the military operation “Kill-and-Cover” in Duma, Mouadmiehya, Dariaa, Latakiya , Banyias, Homs and Daraa. Military General Maher al-Assad’s tanks leveled vegetable fields and orchards while ensuring “security” of Syrian people.

Daraa municipality has started to discover mass graves. The taste of vegetables in this agrarian town will never be the same again. The men, brutally killed by the Syrian military and disgracefully dumped in pits, were working hard for a better harvest to feed their countrymen.

Dariaa might have enjoyed the repute for the best meat at affordable prices. Today, its people are starving to death after military besieged the city a month ago to eliminate “the agents of Israel and America.” The impressive and all-purpose commercial hub of Duma does not exist anymore.

Homs has been home to well-educated and intelligent men for centuries. Jealous compatriots always cracked jokes about them. Over the last eight weeks, amusement has turned into tearful mourning after losing unaccounted genius Syrians there. If you are heading to Homs for cheese, cancel your plans. The “terrorists” have not spared our cheese makers.

Latakiya and Banyias used to offer jobs to the poor in harvest season to pick fruits. In armored action against “foreign agents” the military could not protect the orchard. Even if the miscreants are nipped, unemployment would flourish.

Over 1,000 Syrians have been killed. Tanks, shells, and straight fire of automatic weapons killed them as they gathered after Friday prayers. We don’t hear voices of children, who always played in streets, as they are either in homes or in graves.

Prior to the unrest, Syrians needed more policemen on roads to manage traffic and control crime. Their prayers are being answered as no one can move without carrying his or her identity card and we have to prove our identity at each turn and in every square.

Damascus may look empty these days but it shows the real face of today’s Syria. After all Syria belongs to the Assad’s who have been running it like a fiefdom since 1970. 'Long live' the King. Welcome to Bashar’s Syria!

Aloosh Devrim is a young social media activist whose family struggled against Hafiz Al-Assad's rule and policies. She has traveled to the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East for her work.