The heart-rending photos of dead children in the wake of a chemical attack in Syria last month could hardly come in starker contrast to new information on the lavish lifestyle of Syria’s first lady, Asma Assad, and her family.
According to the British newspaper the Daily Mail, Assad has begun searching for a European school for the couple’s 10-year-old son, Hafez, whom she is grooming as heir to the Syrian throne.
“She wants to be certain her son, Hafez, will take over as president one day, even if this means hiding him in a school or college in Switzerland or Britain for a time,” said Ayman Abdel Nour, a former adviser to Bashar Assad.
Asma Assad, who grew up in London and attended the prestigious King’s College before working for J.P. Morgan, continues to travel back and forth to Lebanon to visit her parents, the daily reported.
While living in a bombproof shelter ahead of an anticipated American-led attack on Syria, Asma Assad reportedly continues to shop for extravagant designer goods, food, and health products online.
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“Asma still loves her shopping and buys as much as she can to keep her mind off the chaos around her. The idea that she is under Assad’s control and can’t leave is nonsense, but her ability to watch Western media is strictly controlled,” an unnamed “critic of the regime” told the daily.
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