Asma’s deal | We call her Emma Ep4

**SPEAKER_2** (0:04)
Tortoise Investigates.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:12)
For those wondering what President Bashar al-Assad and his wife are doing as the world watches in shock the brutal suppression of the Syrian people, there appears to be an answer.

**Chloe Hadjimatheou** (0:23)
Since the start of the war in 2011, Asma had largely been silent and hadn't been seen much in public. But in March 2012, information began leaking about what she'd been up to.

**SPEAKER_5** (0:35)
The cache of emails, the private communications of the dictator of Syria and his wife, hacked emails, leaked to CNN.

**Chloe Hadjimatheou** (0:43)
According to the Syrian opposition, a mole in the president's inner circle had handed the personal passwords for Bashar and Asma's emails to a cell of opposition activists. And for months, they'd been monitoring their messages.
The emails revealed a lot. While bombs were killing civilians across the country, Asma had been indulging in one of her favorite pastimes.

**SPEAKER_5** (1:11)
In an email on August 4th, Assad's wife Asma ordered jewelry from a cousin's boutique in Paris, writing, one, turquoise with yellow gold diamonds and small pave on side. I don't know what a pave is.

**Chloe Hadjimatheou** (1:24)
More than 50 emails she sent and received were about shopping.
The sanctions placed on Syria meant she couldn't make international purchases herself. So she was asking her friends abroad to help her buy, among other things, a fondue set, thousands of pounds worth of furniture, including a chandelier and a ming vase, and handmade jewelry from a Paris workshop.

**SPEAKER_5** (1:48)
One corneline with yellow gold diamonds, one full black onyx with yellow gold diamonds, and one amethyst with white gold diamonds.

**Chloe Hadjimatheou** (1:59)
I remember reading those emails at the time, and it felt like a Marie Antoinette moment. At this point in the war, Syrians were becoming citizen journalists, and telling the world what was happening in their neighborhood.

**Sarah Dardouche** (2:16)
We can already hear the shelling. How regular is that bombing?

**SPEAKER_7** (2:20)
It's constantly.

**Chloe Hadjimatheou** (2:22)
In one hour, in one minute, we can count more than 10 But the thing is, for most of the war, central Damascus where Asma lived, would have seemed a world away from the rest of the country.
Apart from a few bombings of government offices and the odd mortar shell in the first couple of years, life in the heart of the capital, at least for many of Syria's regime elites, went on pretty much as normal. People still went to dinner parties and concerts. Ladies had their hair and nails done. You could hear the war going on in the suburbs nearby. Occasionally, you could even smell the explosions. But actually, most of the time, you could kind of shut it out.
So maybe it didn't feel that weird to be shopping while the country burned. And it seems likely that since becoming First Lady, Asma had kind of got used to shutting things out.

**SPEAKER_8** (3:18)
Next, it's Kevin James.

**Chloe Hadjimatheou** (3:21)
Meanwhile, Bashar was sending his wife video clips of a magic show on America's Got Talent, another funny YouTube content.
There's something tawdry in catching these stolen glimpses of the daily lives of a dictator and his wife, a peek inside their gilded bubble.
Those emails also provide a snapshot of how Asma's friends were reacting to all the violence in Syria. One person with whom Asma regularly corresponded was the daughter of the then leader of Qatar, al-Mayyasa al-Fani. Like Asma, she was glamorous and was involved in philanthropic work, and she was trying to warn Asma about the violence. December 7th, 2011, 1843 GMT. Subject, hello. I can't imagine you agree with what's going on. You've done such great work. It can't all be lost on the basis of weeks of bad policy. Honestly, how can we be of help? Those leaked messages also show that Asma's friend was telling Asma to get out of Syria and offering her a safe place to go. Hey, subject, hey! Every day I think about the thoughts running through your head and the safety of your children. I only pray that you will convince the president to take this as an opportunity to exit without having to face charges. It's not much of a spoiler alert at this point if I tell you that Asma didn't take up this offer. What I have discovered is that Asma did actually try and leave around this time, but she didn't make it out.
I'm Chloe Hadjimatheou, and from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer, this is We call her Emma. Episode four, Asma's Deal.
Okay, so we're, I think, we're about half an hour from the border. For years, I've been reporting on Syria from a distance. It just felt too dangerous for me to go there myself. Then, a year and a half ago, the regime collapsed. Almost overnight, Syria became accessible in a way that it hadn't been for more than a decade. For the first time in years, I could get a visa. More importantly, for the first time in years, people inside the country were free to talk openly. So in April, my producer Gary and I flew to Lebanon and set off for Damascus by road. Interesting to see if we'll see any Hezbollah flags anyway. Although, if you're Hezbollah putting a flag out right now, probably not a good idea, is it?