Kentucky Fried Damascus – The Colonel Comes to Syria

Today I could smell the 'spicy-style' KFC chicken a full block away from the new, shiny, fast-food place to arrive in Damascus. Yes, the Colonel has landed and unlike the normal Syrian distain for/ignorance of the concepts of intellectual-property and copyright law, this is a REAL KFC. (Syria has many places that openly rip-off western/american companies and chains – a place called 'Pizza Hot' that sells a similar product; a place called 'Subway' that is a sandwich place and nothing close to the chain; inhouse-coffee, which has shamelessly ripped-off the color-scheme and aesthetic of Starbucks. Furthermore, any average joe/khalid/ahmed can open a Harley Davidson, Diesel, or other kind of Western brand-name clothing/gear store by hiring someone to make a sign that proclaims this affiliation – can you smell the lawsuits? I love the smell of litigation in the morning, it smells like . . . . . . democracy!?!?!)

Anyway, KFC in Syria is a big deal. WHY? Well, to the best of my knowledge, KFC is now the first and only American-based company to open its doors in Syria. Owned (I think) by Pepsi – a product that I've heard was banned in Syria until recently due to alleged ties to the State of Israel – the KFC here is owned and operated by a major middle east franchise company based out of Kuwait and responsible for (according to what I've been told) Hardee's, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell in Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab countries.

Oh, dear reader, if you are unaware of my family 'roots' . . . . well, they go deep into a wonderful soft serve, fast-food franchise that gives the makers of Crack and Paxil a run for their money. Obviously, I find the interaction of fast-food and politics particularly interesting.

So? What was the 'scene' at KFC? How are the Syrian masses reacting to this new business venture? Well, on one of the most important days of the Islamic calendar – the first day of Eid . . . . . . I stumbled into the KFC and found that the target market of KFC in Syria differs greatly from that in America. Parked outside included la parade of luxury vehicles – Land Rovers, BMW, Benz , a Porsche or two. The people parked inside included veiled and unveiled women, some with fur coats and south-east asian maids in tow. Their hands were greasy and mouths full of chicken while they spoke with their equally overdressed husbands: who smoked, wore designer sunglasses, and fumbled around with cellphones and spicy-fried-chicken thighs. Another demographic was groups of hip and wealthy teenagers who went crazy on their dinner combos and sucked down Pepsi and 'slaw' . . . . I've never felt 'under-dressed' for a KFC in my life . . . . . until I went to Syria.
Make no mistake – this isn't merely the opening of another fast-food restaurant, but rather an event ripe with political and social symbolism. I want to applaud the Syrian government, actually, for opening itself up for such investments. With all of the international attention directed toward Syria these days, it would be easy for the government to fall-back upon safe-historical precedents and shut out the rest of the world. Granted, this 'opening' may work as part of a stragedy to fight Syria's current plight – or perhaps the wheels were in spin far before such problems started - I don't know. I do know, however, that the spicy chicken is a winner.

(I'm waiting for my far-lefty friends in Seattle to start e-mailing me in mass about the world-wide evils of fast-food . . . .)