Under the former regime, the walls had ears and anyone could be listening on a street corner or the other end of the phone line. Now, with the House of al-Assad in exile, a sudden freedom burst through that had not been possible in the last five and a half decades of dynastic family rule.
Syrians I met understood how fragile and fleeting such freedom of expression could be — many telling me a few days of experiencing it were enough to never want to go back. It was surreal, something I could never have imagined even two weeks earlier. I began to imagine an alternative reality where my wife and I would take day trips to Damascus from Beirut to visit friends or marvel at the historic neighbourhoods, or even drive through Syria to Iraq, Jordan or Turkiye.
Syria is free and open, and in this renewed nation, there is much hope. But with new freedom, there are concerns and pitfalls. After all, any Syrian in the country who is less than 60 years old will not know what life is like under anything other than a repressive, autocratic authority.
The cult of personality around the al-Assads must never be replicated with a new leadership, he said. While US dollars and Turkish lira are now being accepted in establishments around the country, there are still concerns that free expression and other hard-won rights will be lost. Many were euphoric, speaking of the need for a democratic Syria that represented all its sects and ethnic groups. One older couple had come to the square with their adult son to check out the atmosphere.
They told me they were happy to be rid of the regime. Still, as Christians, they worry about their vulnerability as minorities. At a bar in the city, people joked about armed fighters shooting up their establishment. A few people, dressed conservatively, had come around to ask if the bar served alcohol, the owner said, adding that he was never sure if they were coming for a drink or for less amicable reasons.
