It was supposed to be a glorious victory for the Syrian regime, one which it would relish and play out to its full propaganda potential, but the praise lavished by the 13 Malula nuns after their release on their Islamist captors has backfired. What was meant to further reinforce the Syrian regime's own narrative of being a stalwart protector of Syria's minorities against terrorists didn't quite work out as planned. Indeed the whole affair was somewhat of an embarrassment for the government of Bashar Assad. The nuns were kidnapped from their monastery of Mar Takla in the historic Christian town of Malula north of Damascus about 3 months ago, when fighters from the Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Nusra Front overran the place, taking 13 nuns and 3 others captive. A video was released shortly after and aired on Al Jazeera, in which the nuns appeared, sans their crosses, and declared they were being treated well. Their captors of course claimed they had taken them for their own "protection", but no one was buying that. In Syria's dirty war, kidnappings were common place, and the nuns were a valuable asset, a bargaining chip which the rebels would undoubtedly use to wrest as much as they could from the regime. The regime for its part saw in this high profile case a chance to further enhance its image globally as the bastion against extremism. And so started a series of intricate and meticulous negotiations to secure the release of the nuns, who were initially transferred to Yabrud, a rebel held town near the Lebanese border, and then inside Lebanon itself. The painstaking talks eventually yielded results, especially after a high level Qatari intelligence official, Ghanem el Kabaisi, got involved, as well the Lebanese intelligence Chief Abbas Ibrahim. The Qataris have good relations with Al Nusra, and through the Lebanese were able to finally pull off the deal, just as they had previously negotiated the release of the captured Turkish pilots. In the end, the nuns were released in exchange for around 153 women held in Syrian regime jails. There may have been money paid to the hostage takers, although they deny it. Interestingly, the Syrian government down- played the pivotal Qatari role through its information minister Omran el Zoubi, while Saudi media ignored the news of the release altogether, highlighting the deepening spat between the two Gulf states. The controversy started when the footage of the nuns' release aired. In it could be clearly seen the praise which Mother Superior Pelagia Sayaf lavished on her former captors, the Al Nusra fighters. That definitely came as a shocking surprise to the Syrian regime and their supporters, as it ran contrary to the established narrative of Islamist rebel groups persecuting minorities, which is not to say they don't, but apparently not this time. Sister Pelagia could also be seen sending her thanks and regards to an Al Nusra commander who wasn't at the hand over, but presumably was also one of her captors. The Syrian regime simple brushed this incident aside as a case of Stockholm Syndrome, but loyalists were incensed at the nuns' actions. Reportedly, residents of Saydnaya, a predominantly Christian town near Damascus, have refused to allow the nuns in, while others have openly called for them to be expelled from the Church. The reason this debacle hit a raw nerve has perhaps less to do with the rather ill thought out way in which the nuns conducted themselves at the hand over, and more to do with the frustration and anger felt by the family members of kidnapped soldiers, who feel the Syrian regime devotes more attention and resources to high profile media grabbing cases than they do to ordinary soldiers and officers. There are thousands of those in rebel captivity, and their continued detention only increases the bitterness and hatred of their loved ones with time, some of which invariably gets directed at the Syrian government, whom they feel isn't doing enough to secure their release. It is the plight of the many kidnapped, disappeared and incarcerated on both sides of the Syrian conflict that is the true thorn in the side of any meaningful future peace process, as it further alienates and widens the gulf between Syria's myriad social groups, especially when such acts are done on a sectarian basis. The nuns' case serves to highlight that for now at least, in Syria there are no truly happy endings.
