Carl asked a few posts back:
I knew Col. Q was doomed in Libya when I saw the type of people many who were opposing him were, doctors, small business men, grad students coming back from abroad, middle aged family men-guys who had a lot to live for and chose to risk it. Very high quality guys.

Does anybody know offhand if the same type of people are opposing Assad?
I have yet to see any reports of the Syrian diaspora returning home. I guess the diaspora is similar in skills to that of Libyans, a good number of them living in the UK for many years. Where does the Syrian diaspora live? I expect very small numbers in the UK, even fewer in the USA, more in France and the bulk are scattered in the oil-rich sheikh fiefdoms - that may not allow return.

There is a partial answer in this BBC report, from Damascus:
Saab was in his mid-40s, a father of three children and an inspirational member of the peaceful protest movement in the suburbs of Damascus, they said. According to fellow activists, some of his family members had been victims of repression during the rule of President Bashar al-Assad's late father, Hafez, and had been forced to live abroad. After several years working as a construction worker in the Gulf to save money, Saab had returned to Syria 10 years ago, intent on building a comfortable life for his family.
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19046521

Reflecting for a moment back to the start of the protests, what has happened to Deraa, where the protests started?

Secondly all Syrians knew the real nature of the regime and had few outlets to escape if they wanted to. I expect they had access to a variety of media sources and simply thought it was time for a change - eighteen months ago. Very quickly the brutality of the regime was clear, remember the child protester who was tortured, IIRC in Deraa and his body returned to his family.