The particularities of Syrian politics are so removed from everyday life in Brazil, that the Middle Eastern republic may as well be in another galaxy. But in 1964, a sleepy farming town in the Center-West of Brazil became the focal point of Syria’s sectarian struggles when former dictator Adib Bin Hassan Al-Shishakli — exiled in South America — was shot dead in broad daylight.
The perpetrator of the attack was Nawaf Ghazaleh, a Syrian-born member of the Abrahamic Druze faith — a sect that was violently persecuted during Mr. Shishakli’s rule. The assassination of the former leader is remembered today by the progressive opposition in the Levant.
Adib al-Shishakli was born in the Syrian city of Hama in 1909. He spent his career in the army and, thanks to his reputation as a military strongman, he took power in a 1951 coup. His right-hand-man Fawzi Selu was installed as a figurehead prime minister, before Mr. Shishakli staged elections in 1953 to make himself president.
However, little over a year later, Mr. Shishakli left the way he came in: through a military coup. Syria had become increasingly unsatisfied with his military autocracy, taking particular exception to the shelling of the Druze minority on Jabal Druze mountain in the south of the country — who Mr. Shishakli believed were undermining his administration.
The government was toppled and Adib al-Shishakli fled the country, fearing assassination. He first went to Saudi Arabia, before moving to Paris to live with one of his sons. Between 1954 and 1960, he spent his time in France and Switzerland, where he met his German second wife Therese Flav. On the advice of friends, the couple moved to Brazil.
They spent eight months in Rio de Janeiro, before Mr. Shishakli bought a farm in the town of Pequizeiros, which today is a part of the state of Tocantins. But after upping sticks once more, the former dictator realized he had made a bad piece of business, owning a farm with poor land in a less-than-promising part of the country. Once again heeding the advice of friends, they moved to the town of Ceres, in the Center-West state of Goiás.
In his new home, Mr. Shishakli planted rice and became a...
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