Demonstrations in favor of the Syrian rebellion broke out in several parts of Europe and elsewhere in the world this Sunday, December 8. Despite the uncertainties hovering over the future, it is a time of joy among all those people who hoped one day to experience the fall of the Assad regime, while the deposed president fled Damascus to take refuge in Russia.
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Hundreds of Syrian refugees in France gathered this Sunday on the Place de la République in Paris for victory. Between friends or family, they came spontaneously to express their joy.
They sang and danced. They are relieved after the fall of Bashar el-Assad, even if they still have difficulty believing it, like this student, who confides, on the microphone of our colleague Sylvie Koffi : “ I breathe the air for the first time, it’s a special day. I didn’t imagine we were going to get to this. We didn’t know it could happen one day. »
He also has difficulty realizing. Arès is a political refugee and remembers all these years he spent demonstrating on this same Place de la République for his country. “ It reminds us of the first demonstrations we held at the start of the war, he said. Even we don’t believe it. The Syrian people won this war, and for us, it is a source of pride. »
Everyone hugs each other. They are finally free. “ This is the first time we can say “Assad is no longer here“, says a woman. It’s a day you can’t describe. For the first time we can say “Assad does not rule us. Assad’s family is no longer there.“ »
Even if they know nothing about the future that awaits them, many of them now say they wish to return to their country to help rebuild it.
It is a moment of joy, fear, worry and certainty that there is hope, the hope of building a democratic Syria.
Rudi, president of the “Union of Exiled Students”
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“It’s time to party. After 60 years of repression »
Germany has welcomed a million Syrian refugees since 2015 and the opening of the borders by Angela Merkel. Thousands of them also expressed their joy this Sunday at the announcement of the fall of Bashar, throughout the country. In Kreuzberg, in the center of Berlin, a spontaneous demonstration brought together thousands of people.
The crowd was still jubilant, the families were laughing, reports our correspondent in Berlin, Nathalie Versieux. Dozens of cars with hoods draped in the colors of Free Syria passed back and forth, greeted by the crowd, in the streets of the city.
Sabah and her friends drove with their windows wide open, hair blowing in the wind, singing at the top of their lungs. “ No, it’s not Islamists, it’s just the population who are against Assad! And the German media present it as if it were Islamist soldiers…” “It’s time to party. After 60 years of repression. »
“ Two of our cousins who we thought were dead for twelve years, today we found their names on a list of living people who have just been released from prison », even confides a man in the crowd.
Assad’s defeat also took the political class in Berlin by surprise. If Olaf Scholz welcomes the fall of the dictator, his Green Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock warns of the risk of Syria falling into the hands of even more radical forces. While Bavarian conservatives are already discussing the possibility of sending back to their country thousands of refugees who no longer need protection.
Just a week ago, we would never have imagined that such a thing could happen, that we would one day be free. We had completely lost all hope. And suddenly, everything changes!
Mohammed, 29 years old, on the Oranien square
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“I fear that these different groups will clash for power »
In the Greek capital, several hundred Syrians also took over Syntagma Square to joyfully celebrate the new deal. But if the atmosphere was jubilant, some Syrians were once again wondering about the political future of their country, preferring to be cautious before considering an immediate return.
It was in Greek that a Syrian in his sixties, dressed in a slightly old-fashioned blue suit, launched the festivities. But in the central square of Athens, it was mainly young men who, as in Paris, sang and danced.
Maram, a high school student, stood a little behind. She and her family have been in Greece for seven years. “ We are extremely happy with what is happening in Syria, she confided to our correspondent, Joel Bronner. Our country is returned to us and things are finally getting better. No one wants to live in a country at war. »
Further away, a group of fifty-year-olds, with ecstatic smiles, spoke of the end of a “ terrible situation “. They say they have waited all their lives for the fall of the dictatorship.
At 40, Abdulrahman Al Diab remains above all realistic: “ I dream about it but I wonder if it is the right time to return to Syria. Currently, there are different opposition groups everywhere in the cities of Damascus, Aleppo, Hama and Homs. In the days to come, when everyone will demand the liberation of the country, I fear that these different groups will clash to obtain power. »
Throughout Europe, demonstrators know, the stability of the new Syria is still far from guaranteed. But for now, it’s time to celebrate.
My mother is free for the very first time in her life. On the phone, she said to me “my son, I want to see you again, I want you to come home!” It’s been thirteen years since I left my country.
Malik Al-Zaraï, 31, from Damascus
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