Reflections: Syria After Assad
9 February 2025 // Written by Ayaa Dakkak
Dummar, Damascus, Syria // Photo by: T Foz
It has been 12 years, 6 months, and 20 days since I last set foot in my beloved homeland, Syria. The regime I lived under has now fallen. Last December, in less than two weeks, the rebels stormed across the country and collapsed the regime forces like a house of cards. My city, Aleppo, was the first to be liberated. I walked Aleppo’s streets as a protestor in the early days of the revolution, not realizing the long struggle my people would endure for freedom.
After forcing millions of us to flee – leaving behind the homes we grew up in, the land we tended to, and the loved ones who raised us – Bashar Al-Assad and his elite are now the ones living in exile. We, the Syrian people, now have hope to return.
And yet, the realities of returning is fraught with complications. Images of prisoners climbing out of dungeons in the ground at Sednaya prison and of mothers embracing sons they thought had been forever lost long ago remind us that we are a nation with deep wounds. Frequent power cuts, water shortages, poverty and insecurity remain. The task before our new leaders is enormous. They must not only rebuild basic infrastructure but also establish governance and draft a constitution to reflect the desires and needs of our diverse country. Most certainly, it will take us time to heal and rebuild.
In addition to the practical challenges of returning, my heart is also now torn between two places – my homeland, and my country of refuge. Like many Syrian refugees, I have established a fulsome life abroad since I was forced to flee. While part of me will always long to return to Syria – to the sounds of Fairouz in the early morning and the azaan from atop the minarets, to the smells of my dusty neighbourhood and fresh baked bread from the bustling market – Canada is now my home too. It is a country I love and one that granted me, along with thousands of other Syrians, protection and opportunity when others closed their doors.
So, although return to my beloved Syria still seems elusive, I will remain steadfast, as my people have for so long, and continue to advocate for the rights of Syrian refugees and other forcibly displaced people here in Canada.