In a few days, Syrian rebels, led by a coalition of Islamist groups, conquered Aleppo, Hama then Homs, after the withdrawal of troops from the Bashar al-Assad regime. On Sunday, December 8, they announced that they had entered the capital Damascus, fleeing, according to them, President Bashar al-Assad and putting an end to five decades of rule by the Baath party.
This situation is being closely monitored by Syrian refugees in France. In the Parisian restaurant Le Daily Syrian, Alani, the cook, tidies the counter and folds the napkins, between glances at the screen of his phone. He thus follows the progress of the rebels in Syria. “We are really happy“, confides the refugee. He, who has lived in France for five years, claims to have left because of the regime of Bashar al-Assad. So he only feels one desire, to return to his native country: “I want to see my family, my cousins, my friends… They are all there, in Syria.”
Hassan also harbors hopes of being able to return home. Owner of the Shawarma Lovers restaurant, he fled the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad twelve years ago. “Until now, I still haven’t seen my motherhe laments. I also left my little sister, she is married now. I would like to see what she is like, my little princess.” This is why, every day, he watches the flights while waiting for his visa. “I cannot enter Jordan, I need a visa because I have a travel document in France”explains Hassan.
Others like Suleyman, the waiter, say they will have to wait, perhaps several weeks. “I think the situation will not be directly stable in Syria”he blurted. Despite everything, he already feels like he's living again. “We are happy to see that after fourteen years we have won, Suleyman explains, his voice trembling with emotion. All the deaths, the bombings, the war, it wasn't for nothing.”
-“We had our freedom, we brought down this regime.”
SuleimanWaiter in a Syrian restaurant in Paris
Suleyman, who already imagines a Syria without Bashar al-Assad. His only wish now: “Live in peace with all our neighbors. I hope that everyone, and especially the European Union, will stay with us and help us rebuild our country.” A Syria that he dreams of seeing become a democracy to honor, he says, the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who died in his name.
