This weekend is the last day for former Bashar al-Assad faithful to hand over their weapons and request amnesty with the new board in Syria.
Those who choose not to come are at risk of legal action.
– Then they have chosen to live outside the law and will be treated accordingly, says Walid Abdu Raboh, responsible for a reconciliation center in Damascus.
Outside the Atonement Center in Damascus, hundreds of people are crowded to enter. The time to submit their weapons and other belongings and few amnesty is running out and the press is great.
– At first not so many came, but when we put a deadline it became full. We have the capacity for 1,500, but there will be 5,000, says Walid Abdu Raboh, responsible at the Atonement Center in Damascus.
The opportunity concerns military, persons who worked in the defense, state media and members of the Al Bath Party.
-When they come here they get an ID card that is valid for six months, then we will look at their case again. If they have taken care of themselves and have not done anything unfairly, they can get a job back in the new administration, says Walid Abdu Raboh.
Happy to release the military
Jaffar Chater who performed the compulsory military service when Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell is happy to avoid the military.
-I hope I will get an ID card, passport and can restart life from the beginning again. I will try to have a better life.
But in the queue there is great concern, not least for the economy. Those who have been employed by the state authorities have previously received salaries, schools and care paid by the regime. Reem Saleh, formerly hired the Ministry of Defense, does not know if she can keep the job.
– Until now we do not know if we are still employed and we have not paid our salaries. But we hope to get our salaries and keep the jobs because we are only civilian employees at the Ministry of Defense. Our fate is still unknown.
Reports of sectarian violence in homs
At the same time as some submit their weapons, there will be more and more reports of murder, kidnappings and clashes between different groups, especially the city of Homs. This creates a concern whether the new board is able to control security throughout the country.
But at a cafe in Damascus, where most are happy for Bashar al-Assad’s case, you think the sectarian violence will end.
– Syrians love each other a lot but unfortunately sectarianism has been planted between us and we have started to hate each other without knowing why. I completely oppose you take your own revenge. I trust the process that is going on now, says Abdullah Khabas, dentist.