One week into post-Assad rule in Syria

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

It has been a historic week in Syria, the primary week in a half-century that the Assad household didn’t rule the nation. As rebels took maintain of Damascus and Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, 1000’s of political prisoners had been launched into freedom, and Syrian folks had been dancing within the streets.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Whoo (ph).

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

DETROW: Morning Version host Leila Fadel is in Damascus, and he or she joins us on the road now. Hey, Leila.

LEILA FADEL, BYLINE: Hello.

DETROW: What’s Damascus like? Let’s simply begin there.

FADEL: I imply, it is truly actually laborious to explain. It is this place of utmost happiness – folks for the primary time having a style of freedom, having the ability to inform their very own kids what they actually assume – as a result of this was a rustic the place folks mentioned the partitions had ears. They had been afraid even to talk freely at dwelling in case one thing was mentioned in school, for instance…

DETROW: Yeah.

FADEL: …And that will put them in jail – any sort of criticism of the Assad regime – and now folks can converse freely. They’ll chant. They’ll dance within the streets to songs that curse the Assad household. And I wish to speak to you about Friday prayers at this historic Ummayed Mosque within the outdated metropolis the place there’s the Saladin tomb. And folks simply thronged inside, some who may by no means pray there due to safety causes, scared that they’d be taken. And it was simply 1000’s of individuals attempting to get into the prayer room. And we bought ourselves in. We’re sitting amongst these 1000’s of individuals praying. And on the finish of their first Friday prayer on what they’re calling the Day of Victory, the group burst into cheers.

(CHEERING)

FADEL: It nonetheless provides me chills. I’ve by no means heard something like that. However inside this happiness, there’s grief as a result of so many – 1000’s and 1000’s and 1000’s of individuals – disappeared throughout this 14-year civil struggle that began as peaceable demonstrations, was met with violence and changed into civil struggle. And they also’re looking for their cherished one which’re lacking, that went to jail, and they do not know the place they’re. Some are discovering our bodies. Some are discovering nothing. And the actually fortunate ones are discovering their folks damaged however alive. And so these searches proceed for a lot of town. And it is also a metropolis that is holding its breath about what might come subsequent as a result of the brand new authorities are unknown to them.

DETROW: Proper. And let’s flip to that as a result of a lot emotion is being set free, however there are loads of questions concerning the future. With Assad now gone…

FADEL: Yeah.

DETROW: …Who’s in cost?

FADEL: Yeah. I imply, the opposition, which is now the de facto authorities, is being led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group that was as soon as linked to al-Qaida however broke ties years in the past and have kind of rebranded. And now they’ve gone from ragtag fighters born in a brutal struggle in opposition to Assad’s regime to the de facto authorities. And now they’re engaged on governing, securing town. They have checkpoints on the lookout for weapons amongst civilians as a result of so most of the army bases simply opened up, and folks took weapons. They’re – they have a transitional authorities for 3 months, and so they say they wish to deal with Syria and rebuilding and so they wish to be welcomed into the worldwide neighborhood.

DETROW: Have you ever met and talked to anybody from HTS throughout your time in Syria?

FADEL: Yeah, I imply, I’ve talked to loads of the insurgent fighters. And I do not even know ought to – if we name them rebels anymore as a result of they’re actually the de facto authorities, and so they’re at these checkpoints all by town. I used to be on the Air Drive Intelligence constructing in Damascus, and I met this younger insurgent who goes by Abu Mustafa. He is from Idlib, which is in northwest Syria, and he was a toddler – he was 11 years outdated when the rebellion started in opposition to former President Bashar al-Assad’s repressive authorities. And I simply need you to listen to what he says.

ABU MUSTAFA: (Non-English language spoken).

FADEL: So proper there, he is telling me he was 11 when it began, and three years later, he took up weapons with out the permission of his dad and mom, he ran away from dwelling as a result of he says he needed to defend his household, his land, that air strikes had been destroying his metropolis, killing his folks. And so he determined he wanted to battle. And so this younger man, who’s solely 24 years outdated, was normal beneath this type of brutality. And right now, these younger folks, a lot of who had actually by no means been to Damascus, are actually in command of securing the capital metropolis.

DETROW: I imply, Leila, that simply will get to the truth that this has been happening for therefore lengthy now. The preliminary starting of the top of the Assad regime started in Arab Spring greater than a decade in the past. That’s one thing you coated so carefully.

FADEL: Yeah.

DETROW: You have a look at so many different international locations that modified management in very alternative ways throughout that time period. You understand, Assad dug in and keep in energy. However you noticed the completely different instructions that these new governments went. It was loads of wrestle. What do you assume that claims about what may come subsequent for Syria?

FADEL: I imply, there hasn’t been one true success story out of this wave of uprisings at the moment in 2011. Libya – they bought freedom, lived with repression however changed into chaos, and now are a divided state with all these militias. You have a look at Iraq, invaded and occupied by the U.S. after which had its personal rebellion and, once more, remains to be struggling. There’s been inside preventing among the many Syrian opposition. It is not united, and if you happen to look throughout the nation, that continues. There are points with the safety vacuum. Do overseas fighters, do ISIS, benefit from this second? Are there counterrevolutionary forces? So quite a bit may go improper, however Syrians hope that they’re the exception, that quite a bit may go proper.

DETROW: That’s Morning Version host Leila Fadel speaking to us from Damascus. Leila, thanks a lot in your reporting.

FADEL: Thanks.

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