Fall of Bashar el-Assad: “I want a country for all Syrians” confides Lama, refugee in Moselle

In the kitchen of his Metz apartment, there are no family photos hanging on the wall. A few magnets on the fridge, one from a visit to Luxembourg, the other from a stay in Alsace or Normandy: “No there are no photos of Syria. She is in my heart” testifies Lama, who arrived in France in 2018 with her husband and her eldest daughter.

Originally from Aleppo, the young woman hastily fled the region because of the war and incessant bombings, but also to protect his life and that of his loved ones : “We were opposed to the Islamists present in the region. This is not how we want to live. We were threatened, and we left as much because of the regime of Bashar Al-Assad as because of Al Nusra” says this 34-year-old woman.

“We are afraid of the future”

The “Front Al Nosra”present in Syria since 2013 before renaming itself “Front Fatah Al-Cham“, abbreviated FTC, is at the origin of the fall of the dictator and now claims control of the country : “The fall of the regime is a great relief yes, but we are afraid of the future“comments Lama. She speaks out loud the demands of her fellow citizens” We want a democratic country with the law that protects everyone, a country for everyone, for all Syrians.”

His parents obtained asylum in Sweden, his sisters in different cities in Europe: “But we are all separated yes. This is unfortunately often the case for Syrian families.“The young woman moved to Metz in 2019, pregnant with her second child:”It was very difficult at the beginning because everything was new to us. But we adapt, we got used to it and we continue to learn a lot.” she explains in French.

Since the announcement of the fall of the regime, her husband looking for news of his brother on social networks “We know that he has been in prison since 2013, in Saidnaya prison, the worst in the country. There are lists of people who have left, but we have no news.” she explains, like tens of thousands of Syrians who are looking for their missing loved ones.

One day return to Syria? “It will be very, very difficult for us and for our children. Two of them were born here and are used to life in France, and here we are at peace. We are against the Islamists coming to power, so it will be difficult to return home” she said.

Rebuild the country

Upon his arrival in Moselle, Lama wascaccompanied by the committee for humanitarian aid to the Syrian people de Moselle, which follows around 200 families in the department. Created in 2012, initially to support local medical teams, it then expanded its missions with the arrival of the first waves of refugees in 2014: “Returning to Syria remains a hope for them. But the situation in the country today is disastrous. They would find nothing of their homes, of their past. Economically it is very difficult. And what's more, some have been in France for 10 years: they have had children, returned to a professional life… It's very difficult to lose everything again.” explains Dominique Cambianica, head of the association.

The committee launches a call for donations to help rebuild the country, which really needs it: “Population movements have already started. People living in tents will try to find their homes. This will disrupt the usual circuits and they will need help immediately, which can be distributed with confidence. Others will cross the borders, from Lebanon” she explains.

A new spirit of freedom

Established in the Aleppo region, which escaped the control of the regime, the association works with a local team of five or six agents, some of whom have established a relationship with France as part of the friendship charter signed between Aleppo and the city of Metzin 2013: “Our association comes at a time when perhaps soon we can simply keep this charter of friendship alive, and the support of despair will eventually cease.” comments Dominique Cambianica.

The fall of the regime is of course a sign of hope for better days : “We will be able to be in direct contact with the needs on site, without this difficulty to control so that our help arrives, so that our agents do not put their lives in danger. It is also a new spirit of freedom that will reign over our work” she rejoices.