ADam Honoré is still on cloud nine. “My wife woke me up in the night to tell me it was happening. I wondered if I was dreaming. » This Syrian from Hama, a few dozen kilometers north of Homs, on the road leading from Aleppo to Damascus, still does not realize: the regime of Bashar al-Assad has fallen. “I've been waiting for this for almost fourteen years! »
The man offers his services as a caterer in the Bordeaux region and sells his Syrian specialties on the markets of La Réole and Libourne. He was stationed in the bastide this Sunday, December 8. “I am so happy that I offered my merchandise to customers…”
The people of Libourne did not shy away from the event. Shawarmas, falafels and boureks from the Cuisine Nour stand (1) went away in a breeze. The news catches up with him. “It’s a total victory,” he comments as he tidies up his stall. Russia, Iran, Europe and the United States have failed Assad. And above all, it is a victory for the Syrian people. No foreign army intervened…” He still can’t believe the speed with which the rebels arrived at the gates of Damascus. “A little over a week!” December 8 will be a day of national celebration for many in Syria. »
Free the prisoners
Arrested for demonstrating, he fled the country via Turkey, passing through Greece and Italy before settling down in 2016 in Gironde. He denounces the violence, imprisonments, rapes committed by the police and the army… “Children are born in prison! » Some speak of 500,000 deaths under the heel of the regime. He fears that this count will double. The priority for him? Free the prisoners. “The conditions of detention are horrendous. And some have been there for decades. »
Adam Honoré runs Cuisine Nour. He sells his specialties on the La Réole market on Saturdays, and on the Libourne market on Sundays.
DR
He himself had to endure the violence of the regime. “I was imprisoned at the Hama military airport. It's a nightmare there, I don't know what state the prisoners are in. » The refugee question concerns him. 6.6 million in 2021, estimate the United Nations, he thinks more like 8 million. One in four refugees in the world is of Syrian origin. “There are three million in Turkey alone. »
“There is so much to do”
A customer comes back to him on purpose to greet him. “I didn’t understand right away,” he smiles. The handshake is frank. Adam Honoré begins to think again about the country. “I haven’t been back there for fourteen years. I plan to go there in a while to see the family again. Find that human warmth again. »
He doesn't know what he will do next. “The country must rebuild itself. I can help there as well as here. We will need hospitals. And we will have to take care of the children, reopen schools, supervise them, provide them with psychological support. There is so much to do. » Adam Honoré hopes to see an end to the suffering of the Syrian people. In the meantime, he is following the progress of the situation in the media, sharing his joy with his customers.
(1) On Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, @cuisine.nour33
