The week-long transition went incredibly smoothly. Reports of reprisals, revenge killings, sectarian violence and looting were all kept to a minimum.
advertisementJust a week after President Bashir al-Assad’s regime was toppled by Islamist HTS rebels, people were going about their lives as usual, shopping and socializing in the Syrian capital Damascus. There were surprisingly few armed rebels patrolling the streets.
At Damascus International Airport, a new security chief, one of the rebels who marched across Syria to the capital, arrived with his team. The few maintenance workers who showed up to work gathered around Major Hamza al-Ahmed, eager to know what would happen next.
They quickly addressed all the grievances they had been too afraid to express during President Bashar Assad’s rule, which has now ended inconceivably.
They said the bearded fighter had been denied promotions and perks backed by Assad supporters and that superiors had threatened to jail them for working too slowly. They warned of hardcore Assad supporters among airport staff ready to return whenever the facility reopens.
“This is the first time we’ve talked,” said engineer Osama Najm, as Al-Ahmed tried to reassure them.
This week marked the first week of transformation in Syria since the unexpected fall of Assad.
The rebels, suddenly in control, were met with a population filled with emotion. Excitement of new freedom; Grief over years of oppression; And hopes, expectations and worries about the future. Some were moved to the point of tears.
Despite the calm, there are many things that can go wrong.
After 50 years of Assad family rule, the country has become divided and isolated. Families are torn apart by war, former prisoners are traumatized by the atrocities they suffered, and tens of thousands of detainees remain missing. The economy is broken, poverty is rampant, inflation and unemployment are high. Corruption is seeping into everyday life.
But in this transformative moment, many are ready to feel a way forward.
At the airport, Al Ahmed told staff: “The new path will have its challenges, but that is why we say Syria is for everyone and we must all work together.”
Everything the rebels have said so far is correct, Najm said. “But we will not remain silent about wrongdoing in the future.”
After rebels entered the city on December 8, Assad’s photos were removed and files destroyed from a burned police station. All the police and security guards from the Assad era are gone.
On Saturday, the building housed 10 staff serving in the police force of the rebel de facto “salvation government” that ruled the rebel enclave of Idlib in northwestern Syria for years.
Rebel police keep watch over the station, dealing with reports of petty theft and street brawls. A woman complains that her neighbors have disrupted her power supply. The police tell her to wait until the court is back in operation.
advertisement“It will take a year to solve the problem,” he muttered.
The rebels sought to bring order to Damascus by replicating Idlib’s governance structure. But there is a problem of scale. One of the police estimates that the number of rebel police is only about 4,000. Half are based in Idlib, while 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.
The rebels and the public are still learning about each other.
The fighters drive large SUVs and late-model vehicles that are out of reach for most residents of Damascus, where tariffs and bribes make them ten times more expensive. Instead of plummeting Syrian pounds, the fighters carry Turkish lira, long banned in government-held areas.
Most bearded warriors come from conservative provinces. Many are hardline Islamists.
advertisementThe main rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has renounced al Qaeda’s past and its leaders are trying to reassure Syria’s religious and ethnic communities that the future will be pluralistic and tolerant.
But many Syrians still have doubts. Some fighters wear ribbons with Islamic slogans on their uniforms, but not all of them belong to HTS, the most organized group.
“The people we see on the streets do not represent us,” said Hani Zia, a Damascus resident from Daraa, the southern city where the anti-Assad uprising began in 2011. He was concerned about reports of attacks on ethnic minorities and revenge killings.
“We should be afraid,” he said, adding that he was worried that some rebels feel superior to other Syrians because of years of fighting. “Out of respect for those who sacrificed, we all made sacrifices.”
advertisementBut fear is not rampant in Damascus. Many people claim that they will no longer be oppressed.
Some restaurants began serving alcohol openly, while others served it more discreetly to test the atmosphere.
Men were drinking beer at a sidewalk cafe in the Christian quarter of the historic Old City as a fighter jet patrol passed by. The men looked at each other with uncertain expressions, but the warriors did nothing. Rebel police arrested a man brandishing a gun as he harassed another liquor store in the Old City, an officer said.
Salem Hajjo, a drama teacher who participated in the 2011 protests, said that while he disagreed with the rebels’ Islamist views, he was impressed by their experience running their own business. And he looks forward to having a voice in the new Syria.
advertisement“We have never been this comfortable,” he said. “The fear is gone. “The rest is up to us.”
The night after Assad’s fall, gunmen roamed the streets, celebrating their victory with deafening gunfire. Some MSS buildings were burned down. People ransacked the airport duty-free shops and destroyed all the alcohol bottles. The rebels blamed some of this on fleeing government loyalists.
The public stayed indoors to catch a glimpse of the newcomers. The store is closed.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham issued an order ordering a night curfew for three days. Celebratory shooting was banned and fighter jets were moved in to protect property.
advertisementAs the day went on, people started showing up.
For tens of thousands of people, the first stop was Assad’s prisons, especially Saydnaya on the outskirts of the capital, in search of loved ones who disappeared years ago. Few people have found any traces.
It was painful, but it was also unifying. Some of the rebels mingled with relatives of the missing in the dark prison cells everyone had feared for years as they searched.
While celebrations took place in the streets, gunmen encouraged children to climb into armored vehicles. The rebels posed for pictures with the women, some with their hair exposed. Songs supporting the revolution rang out from the car. Suddenly every store and wall was plastered with revolutionary flags and posters of activists killed by the Assad state.
advertisementTV stations didn’t miss a beat as they switched from praising Assad to playing revolutionary songs. State media reported numerous declarations issued by the new rebel-led transitional government.
The new government is urging people to return to work and calling on Syrian refugees around the world to return to help rebuild. It announced plans to rehabilitate and vet security forces to prevent the return of those with blood on their hands. One employee said the fighter jets reassured airport workers – many of whom are loyal to the government – that their homes would not be attacked.
But the problem in Syria is not yet resolved.
While agricultural prices have plummeted since President Assad’s fall, while traders no longer have to pay hefty tariffs and bribes, fuel distribution has been severely disrupted, driving up transport costs and causing widespread and prolonged power outages.
advertisementOfficials have said they want to reopen the airport as quickly as possible, and this week maintenance crews inspected several planes on the runway. Cleaners removed trash, damaged furniture and merchandise.
One cleaner, who identified himself only as Murad, said he earned the equivalent of 14 euros a month and had to support six children, including one with disabilities. He dreams of getting a cell phone.
“It’s going to take a long time to sort this out,” he said.
