Your support helps us tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to big tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the finances of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word,’ which shines a light on American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know the importance of analyzing the facts of messaging. .
At such a critical moment in American history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to continue sending journalists to tell both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to exclude Americans from our reporting and analysis with a paywall. We believe that quality journalism should be available to everyone, and paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes a difference.
The new security chief arrived at Damascus International Airport with his men, a bearded fighter who had marched with other rebels across Syria to the capital. The few maintenance personnel who had shown up for work huddled around Maj Hamza al-Ahmed, eager for answers about what was going to happen next.
They unloaded all their grievances, shelved for years during the President’s rule Bashar Assadwhich is now, unimaginably, over.
They told him they were being denied promotions and benefits aimed at pro-Assad favorites, that their bosses were threatening them with prison for working too slowly. They warned him of die-hard Assad supporters among the airport staff, ready to return whenever the facility reopened.
As al-Ahmed tried to reassure them, Osama Najm, an engineer, admitted: “This is the first time we are talking.”
This was the first week of Syria’s transformation after Assad’s unexpected fall.
The rebels, who were suddenly in charge, met a populace bursting with emotion: excitement over new freedoms; grief over years of repression; and hopes, expectations and worries about the future. Some were moved to tears.
The transition was surprisingly smooth. Reports of reprisals, revenge killings and sectarian violence were minimal. Looting and destruction were quickly curbed, rebel fighters disciplined. On Saturday, life went on normally in the capital, Damascus. Only one van of fighters was seen.
There are a million ways for everything to go wrong.
The country is broken and isolated after five decades of rule by the Assad family. Families are torn apart by the war, former prisoners are traumatized by the brutality they suffered, tens of thousands of detainees are missing. The economy is devastated, poverty is widespread, inflation and unemployment are high. Corruption permeates everyday life.
But in this moment of flux, many are ready to feel forward.
At the airport, al-Ahmed told staff: “The new path will have challenges, but that’s why we said Syria is for everyone and we all have to work together.”
The rebels have said all the right things so far, Najm said. “But we won’t be silent about anything bad anymore.”
Idlib comes to Damascus
At the burning police station, pictures of Assad were torn down and files destroyed after rebels entered the city on December 8. All police and security personnel from the Assad era are gone.
On Saturday, 10 people who served in the police force of the rebel de facto “salvation government”, which for years ruled the rebel enclave of Idlib in northwestern Syria, were working in the building.
Rebel cops keep watch over the station, dealing with reports of petty theft and street fights. A woman complains that her neighbors sabotaged her power supply. The policeman tells her to wait until the courts start working again.
“It will take a year to sort out the problems,” he muttered.
The rebels sought to bring order to Damascus by replicating the structure of its administration in Idlib. But there is a problem of scale. One of the officers estimates the number of rebel police at only about 4,000; half are in Idlib, and the rest are tasked with maintaining security in Damascus and elsewhere. Some experts estimate the total fighting strength of the rebels at around 20,000.
Most bearded fighters come from conservative, provincial areas. Many are hardline Islamists.
The main rebel force, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has renounced its al-Qaeda past, and its leaders are working to reassure Syria’s religious and ethnic communities that the future will be pluralistic and tolerant.
Syrians remain suspicious.
“The people we see on the streets, they don’t represent us,” said Hani Zia, a resident of Damascus. He was concerned about several reports of attacks on minorities and revenge killings. “We should be afraid.”
Some restaurants continued to serve alcohol openly, others more discreetly to test the mood.
At a sidewalk cafe in the historic Christian quarter of the Old Town, the men were drinking beer when a patrol of fighters passed them. The men turned to each other, uncertain, but the fighters did nothing. When a gun-wielding man harassed a liquor store elsewhere in the Old City, riot police arrested him, one officer said.
Salem Hajjo, a theater teacher who took part in the 2011 protests, said he disagreed with the rebels’ Islamist views but was impressed by their experience in running their own businesses. And he expects to have a voice in the new Syria.
“We’ve never been this relaxed,” he said. “The fear is gone. The rest is up to us.”
Fighters make a concerted effort to die.
The night after Assad’s fall, gunmen roamed the streets, celebrating victory with deafening gunfire. Some buildings of security agencies were set on fire. The public remained indoors.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham set out to restore order. A night curfew was ordered for three days. It banned celebratory shooting and moved fighters to protect property.
After a day, people started showing up.
Tens of thousands went to Assad’s prisons to search for their loved ones, mingling with the rebels, some of whom were also searching.
Amidst the celebrations, the gunmen invited children to jump into their armored vehicles and posed for photos with the women, some of whom had their hair uncovered. Pro-revolutionary songs blared from the car.
The transitional government called on people to return to work. The rebels deployed people to be traffic police. The volunteers picked up the garbage, because the municipal workers did not return to their workplaces.
Officials say they want to reopen the airport as soon as possible, and this week maintenance crews inspected several planes on the runway. The cleaners removed trash, broken furniture and goods.
One cleaner, who identified himself only as Murad, said he earns $15 a month and has six children to feed, including one with a disability. He dreams of getting a mobile phone.
“It’s taking us a long time to clean this up,” he said.
___
Associated Press writer Ghaith Alsayed contributed.