DAMASCUS' YOUNG ELITE BACK IMPROVED TIES WITH U.S.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000056 SIPDIS LONDON FOR LORD, PARIS FOR NOBLES E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/18/2020 TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL SOCI SY SUBJECT: DAMASCUS' YOUNG ELITE BACK IMPROVED TIES WITH U.S. REF: DAMASCUS 28 Classified By: CDA Charles Hunter for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. The Syrian Young Entrepreneurs' Association (SYEA) celebrated its sixth anniversary with a gala dinner in Damascus on January 14. The group's founders said the organization, which seeks to strengthen the entrepreneurial capabilities of Syrian young people, has evolved beyond young businesspeople to include a range of Syrian young people involved in the country's civic life including journalists, NGO members, and artists. Attendees expressed enthusiasm for an improvement of U.S.-Syrian bilateral relations, the potential arrival of an American ambassador in Damascus, and the eventual end of U.S. economic sanctions. However, opposition to the TSA's enhanced screening requirements for travelers coming from Syria and 13 other countries continued to dominate conversations regarding U.S.-Syrian relations. END SUMMARY. A GROUP FOR "SYRIAN YOUNG PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THINGS" ¶2. (C) Members of the Syrian Young Entrepreneurs' Association packed a ballroom at the Sheraton Hotel in Damascus on January 14 to celebrate the organization's sixth anniversary. Abdulsalam Haykal, SYEA's 31-year-old president, said the group continued to make progress towards its goal of helping young Syrian businesspeople "launch projects that help make them job creators." (NOTE: Haykal has been selected to attend the Presidential Summit for Entrepreneurs later this year.) Since its inception in 2004, the organization has opened three branches in Damascus, Aleppo, and Deir Azour. ¶3. (C) Attendees at the event related that while SYEA focused on its stated objective of deepening entrepreneurship among young Syrians, the organization's membership has extended beyond young businesspeople to include Syrian movers and shakers under 35 from a variety of fields, including writers, NGO activists, and artists. "Forward" magazine editor-in-chief and prominent journalist Sami Moubayed is a founding member. Anas Abu Qaws, the 33-year-old son of one of Syria's leading tenors, sang at the event. Several Syrian employees of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) attended. "This is an organization for young Syrians involved in things," opined Rashid Mallah, who works for the British Council. "It's a great place to meet the people active in Damascus," business analyst Adnan al-Jarrah agreed. ¶4. (C) SYEA's membership is generally well-educated and upwardly mobile, and attendees at the anniversary event frequently sprinkled their conversations with English and French. While women were present, more than 75% of the attendees were men. But the organization's members stressed the group cannot be stereotyped as an organization for rich young Syrian men. "Most of the people involved in this group are playing a role in Damascus, but they're not all businessmen and they are not all rich," one attendee said. Businesswomen Farah Sudki and Ghazal Tabbal organized the event, highlighting the role women play in the organization. "WE WANT GOOD RELATIONS WITH THE U.S." ¶5. (C) SYEA members told Emboff they supported closer Syrian-U.S. relations. "These are the people who know America and its culture, and generally like the United States," businessman Nawar Rai said. Rai, who lived in Maryland for a time, said young Syrians still hold enthusiasm for the Obama administration. "We felt there was so much damage during the previous administration, and people are still hoping that everything will change," his brother Kinan said. ¶6. (C) SYEA board member Michel Arcouche said better bilateral relations would be good for Syrian businesses, and the organization's members were anxious to see an end to U.S. sanctions against Syria. The 29-year-old banker added additional American tourists would support the country's tourism industry, which many young Syrians believed held enormous promise. "When is your ambassador coming?" was a frequent question at the event. "Wallah (By God),we hope it will be soon," one attendee declared. ¶7. (C) Numerous SYEA members said the ultimate benefit of improved U.S.-Syrian relations would be the end of U.S. sanctions. "There are so many people in this room waiting for sanctions to end and to jump on the opportunity to build relations with American businesses," a construction contractor said. "The Syrian economy has opened up under our current president, but the sanctions are holding things back for us," his friend agreed. DAMASCUS 00000056 002 OF 002 CONTINUED ANGER OVER ENHANCED TSA SCREENING ¶8. (C) While attendees generally supported better relations with the U.S., the most common complaint about U.S. policy centered around the enhanced airport screening requirements for travelers from 14 countries, including Syria, recently instituted by the Transportation Security Administration. Syrians from a wide variety of backgrounds have reacted harshly against the measures (reftel),and SYEA members described them as "discriminatory" and "a form of humiliation." ¶9. (C) Numerous attendees related stories of mistreatment at U.S. airports. Mouhanad Chebib, who went to the U.S. as part of a MEPI program last summer, said he was consistently delayed at airports while in the United States after he presented his Syrian passport as identification. "There were so many times when the whole group was delayed because of me and another Syrian. It was embarrassing," he related. Several SYEA members said they had determined to avoid travel to the U.S. because of the new measures. ¶10. (C) COMMENT: While the SYEA continues to do important work promoting entrepreneurship among young Syrians anxious to continue the process of economic liberalization in Syria, it has evolved in its six years beyond its goal of creating "job creators, not job seekers." Many of Syria's movers and shakers under age 35 view the group as a forum to interact with the next generation of Syria's economic, political, social, and cultural leaders. As such, the organization has become one of Damascus' most important networking fora for the city's young, upwardly mobile set, as well as an important institution for Post to continue to cultivate and partner with. HUNTER