Slaf Fawakherji in a bold interview: No one prevents me from entering my country

In a frank and open dialogue, Syrian artist, Sulaf Fawakherji, revealed hidden aspects of her personality and life, in the podcast “I Have a Question” with media figure, Mohammed Qais. The interview was divided into three parts: in the first, Fawakherji discussed her upbringing, the second will be about the influential men in her life, and the third will be her view of the political situation in Syria.

Growing up in a cultured family

“I have many blessings in my life, such as health, family, work, the love of people and friends, and the satisfaction of my family, which are the most important and the secret in which I live,” Fawakherji began her speech. She then spoke about her upbringing in the city of Latakia, and about her educated family that had a great influence on her personality. Her father was one of the founders of the Arab Socialist Baath Party, and her mother was a writer and journalist.

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“I am from Latakia, born in 1977. My father is one of the founders of the Baath Socialist Party, and my mother is a writer and journalist. The fact that I live in this family means that I was raised on its beautiful goals, which are unity, freedom, socialism, and Arab nationalism. My father is considered very important in politics and the ideology of struggle. We were also raised on literature, art, culture, politics, and constant discussion. The sense of homeland was very important in our home.”

Fawakhirji described her home as a "home for the homeland", where she was raised on the values of unity, freedom, socialism, and Arab nationalism. She also spoke of her father's great influence on her, and of his wisdom and calm, which she inherited from him.

“I took my calmness and wisdom from my father, so I was very similar to him. We were raised on the basis of dialogue, and this is what made me a free person today, because they respected our ideas as another entity.”

Influenced by art and literature

Fawakhirji talked about her love for art and literature since she was young, and about her influence by black and white films and series. She also revealed her admiration for the artist Nawal Akef, and her parents’ appreciation for the leader Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Regarding her intellectual orientations, Fawakhirji explained that she does not belong to any political party, but she leans towards the Syrian Social Nationalist thought represented by Antoun Saadeh, and she praised the ideas of this party, most notably the separation of religion from politics and reliance on national production.

“I do not like to belong to a party, but my hobby is a Syrian social nationalist. Before Sykes-Picot, Greater Syria was one of the most beautiful periods, and I like the ideology of this party because it contains realistic ideas, feelings, pluralism, democracy, the state of separating religion from politics, and reliance on national production and renaissance.”

Loss of mother and its impact

Fawakhirji also talked about losing her mother, and the great impact this loss had on her, describing her mother as being “everything” to her. She also talked about her strong relationship with her father, and about her family’s role towards her husband Wael Ramadan, saying: “He was like their son, and sometimes they even stood by him in our small disagreements.”

“When my mother passed away, I lost my balance because I said she was everything to me. Our home is very emotional and we always express our feelings to each other with kisses and hugs. I was also a mother to my father and mother, and God decreed that I serve them and they were pleased with me until the last moment.”

Regarding her relationship with her brothers, Fawakhirji explained that she had a strong relationship with them, and that the closest to her heart was her brother Ashraf because they had lived together since they were young. He was a support to her in life, especially after the loss of her father and her feeling of loneliness and emptiness.

Her artistic beginnings

Fawakhirji revealed her humble artistic beginnings, by participating in only two scenes in the series “Al Donia Mudhik Mabki” starring Najah Hafeez and Ali Ghawas, and she retired for a long time after that, and turned to drawing and sculpting.

Regarding her return to acting, Fawakhirji explained that the support she received from her family and the encouragement of Professor Raymond played a major role in her taking this decision, as she had participated in the first film in her life, “Al-Tarhal,” in the city of Palmyra.

“I studied archaeology at university and loved this branch very much, and I supplemented it with my hobby that I love, which is acting. Of course, I was subjected to some harassment because I am not a graduate of an institute, but this gave me an incentive to prove to the world that I am capable, and my first championship was when I was in the fourth year in the seven-part series Oudak Ranan with the late Hatem Ali and the artist Abbas Al-Nouri.”

She also praised the artist Abbas Al-Nouri, saying that he was the one who nominated her for the roles.

Supporting young talents

Fawakhirji stressed her keenness to support young talents, noting that she did not receive enough support in her beginnings. She also talked about her cooperation with the writers Ali and Yamen in the series “Awlad Badiaa” and “Hawa Asfar”, as she helped them develop the ideas for Awlad Badiaa, as it was initially called Awlad Al Hawa and when they agreed on the name Awlad Badiaa, I had a previous character with the same name, and I did not want it to be similar. She confirmed that she had a role in nominating the names of the artists for this work.

Regarding the series “Mal Al-Qaban”, Fawakherji explained that she personally intervened to prevent her character from being modified by the censorship in the series, because she believed in freedom of expression in Syria.

“My character in Mal Al-Qaban as a political refugee received some criticism from the censors, so I personally intervened to not modify it because Syria has great freedom of expression and they trust my opinion because I am patriotic.”

Her vision of the political situation

Fawakhirji expressed her complete dislike for the series “Smile, General,” noting that it carries feelings of revenge and does not present a real artistic message. She said: “The writer Samer is one of the important and bold writers and has many works that prove that, such as “Birth from the Hip,” and Maxim is an actor whom I love and appreciate very much, but they are the biggest ones to enter into a series like this.”

She also talked about the rumors that had been circulating about her, most notably her relationship with Maher al-Assad, stressing that they were baseless rumors.

She said: “They consider that anyone who supports them is close to them, and everyone knows that and that it is not true, but the silence of the people around you may help them believe this and promote it by spreading it widely, and this is wrong.”

She added: "For your information, I saw Maher al-Assad only once, and it was because of a problem I had and I wanted to help him. Despite that, it was not resolved and he did not stand by me. My meeting with him was very respectful. I do not do anything in secret, and my positions are public. Today, I am sending a message: Fear God, especially in regard to my children."

Regarding the artists who oppose the regime, Fawakhirji explained that there is no decision to prevent them from entering Syria, and that the state is smarter than to make a decision that would harm its claim about the freedom of the land.

“There is no decision to prevent them from entering Syria, and no one has the right to prevent them. The state is smarter than to make a decision that would harm it. Even regarding renewing passports, I heard from the embassies that they did not prevent anyone.”

Regarding her opinion of Hassan Nasrallah, Fawakherji expressed her deep sadness for him, describing him as a “leader of a nation.” She stressed that she expected to face criticism because of this opinion, but she respects everyone who stands up to Israel.

He said: "He is not only the leader of a religious state, but he is the leader of a nation, and I am certain that I will face insults after saying this, but everyone works. Anyone who stands against Israel is disgraced, and I respect everyone who said no to Israel."