Joy, life, and freedom from fear took center stage on Monday as flag-draped Syrians celebrated one year since ousting a brutal dictator and beginning to shape their own destiny.
Celebrations large and small marked “Liberation Day,” when Ahmed al-Sharaa, now interim president, and a coalition of rebel forces swept into Damascus and authoritarian leader Bashar al-Assad fled the country by plane to Russia.
Syria still faces a host of challenges – from a war-shattered economy, stalled reconstruction, and energy shortages to sectarian violence, an Israeli occupation in the south, and the question of integrating the predominantly Kurdish northeast, where public gatherings were banned on Monday amid “security” concerns.
Why We Wrote This
One year after rebel forces overthrew a dictatorship and ended a long and costly civil war, Syria still faces many challenges. But hopes for the future, and gratitude for newfound freedoms, fueled a day of joyful celebrations.
Yet, for one day at least, Syrians celebrated the promise of a better future and the chance to rewrite their relationship with their own country.
One year on from a civil war that cost more than 400,000 lives and from a dictatorship that disappeared an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 people, the day rekindled hopes created by the dictatorship’s fall.
At the formerly feared Qutayfah checkpoint 25 miles north of Damascus, from which thousands were disappeared and where mass graves have been unearthed, police and local activists handed out sweets, mini-flags, and gift bags to smiling, peace-sign waving motorists.
“This checkpoint was known as the checkpoint of death, and Qutayfah, like many places in Syria, became associated with atrocities,” says Abdullah Sheikh, a Qutayfah resident and activist as he handed out baklava to a bus driver.
“Today is another opportunity to move past death and fear and associate Qutayfah, and the rest of Syria, with life.”
“We want to move beyond terror that was associated with the police, particularly in this spot,” says Hussein al-Qubeis, head of Syrian security forces in Qutayfah, who is also handing out sweets. “Before Syria had security that was afraid of its own people. Now we have security forces that care for its own people.”
The pull of Damascus
Tens of thousands of Syrians across the country, honking their horns, waving flags, and flashing peace signs, all flocked to Damascus on Monday to celebrate.
At the city’s iconic Umayyad Square, which saw protests demanding democracy – and violent crackdowns by the Assad regime – hundreds of thousands of Syrians gathered with bullhorns, fireworks, drones, and flags of all sizes.
“I feel a patriotism, a loyalty to our country I never felt before,” says Manal Shalasi, as she and her sisters watch the festivities from lawn chairs.
“We don’t support a man or a dictator or a family. We support our nation.”
“Can you imagine before it was forbidden to even sit here in Umayyad Square and enjoy an afternoon?” remarks her sister, Bassima Sahalasi. “Everything in our country was closed to us. Now, it is all open.
“Just to no longer have fear and for once in our lives to have hope,” she continues. “Hope for our children, not afraid for their lives. Even if you are starting at zero, hope nourishes the soul, it breathes life.”
Meanwhile, former rebel fighters, many now integrated into the armed forces, held parades and reenactments of their push to Damascus.
Abu Marouf Misto, a former revolutionary who helped liberate the capital a year ago and is now commander of the 70th Battalion of the Syrian Armed Forces, led one such military parade.
“We prayed to God that this day would come, but on Dec. 7 of last year, I could have never imagined we would be sitting in Damascus, celebrating our own liberation,” he says from an SUV in front a long convoy of armored cars, pickup trucks, and tanks. “Now, we celebrate our nation, with our families, united.”
A revolutionary fighter aligned with Mr. Sharaa’s organization who gave the name Obaid and who rushed from northern Syria to help seize Damascus one year ago, sums up the last whirlwind year in the country’s history with one word, “freedom.”
“Every day since then, I have been on cloud nine. We can say what we want, we have freedom to move. Syria is for us, the people, no longer for a family or a dictator,” he says from the window of his armored car.
“This was the day we Syrians took our country back with our own hands,” he says. “Now, the future is ours to shape.”
At Damascus International Airport, immigration staff offered a secondary, commemorative Dec. 8 “Liberation Day” stamp in the passports of hundreds of arriving Syrians, some weeping with joy, and non-Syrians.
Resilient hope
As they enter the second year of a post-dictator transition, Syrians are no longer on a honeymoon, but many still hold a resilient hope.
In an Arab Barometer survey released last week, 50% of Syrian respondents said their lives are worse than their parents’ were, yet 76% said they expect their children’s lives to be better than their own.
In the survey, conducted across Syria between late October and mid-November, approximately 76% expressed satisfaction with the interim government’s performance.
Yet on the economic side, just 17% see the economy positively; 86% say their household income does not cover expenses, and 77% are dissatisfied with the government’s efforts on job creation.
A large majority, 81%, said they have a high level of confidence in Mr. Sharaa. But in the Alawite-majority regions of Tartous and Latakia, and in predominantly Druze Suwaydah, that number dropped to 36%, highlighting dissent among some minorities following sectarian violence that has killed more than 2,000 people.
Ibrahim Hamidi, Syrian analyst and editor in chief of Al Majalla, an Arab current affairs magazine, explains this dual mood in Syria.
“One year after the liberation, things could have definitely been worse and things could have been better,” he says. “Right now, you have security issues with Israel and the northeast, the economic situation is bad, the standard of living is not improving quickly.”
But, with the lifting of most sanctions and investment promises, “people’s expectations have been raised.”
“Syrians have learned to be patient,” says Mr. Hamidi. “The real question is how long Syrians are willing to wait.”
The long view
On Liberation Day, Syrians say they are still patient.
The country has a parliament, though not directly elected, and Mr. Sharaa vowed on Saturday that the country would hold direct elections for president and Parliament after a five-year interim period expires at the end of 2029.
Mohammed Abu Dharaa, who works in decor, says he has been supportive of President Sharaa and government efforts to improve infrastructure with “actions, and not just promises.”
Among many others, he notes that Damascus and several cities now receive up to 12 hours of electricity per day, up from one to two hours a year ago. Fuel and food also are more available, even if work isn’t.
“It has been a tough year, economically, there hasn’t been work. But we know once reconstruction starts the economy will get back on track,” Mr. Abu Dharaa says, waving a Syrian flag at Umayyad Square with his two young daughters.
“We know we cannot rebuild a nation in one or two years. We were patient through 14 years of war and displacement and 50 years of dictatorship. We can certainly be patient to rebuild our nation.”
