in Syria, the police launch a major recruitment to turn the page on Assad

In Syria, the new leaders are beginning to reorganize the administration and main public services. One of their major projects concerns the overhaul of the police, which was extremely repressive under the Assad era. It is now necessary to recruit heavily to replace the personnel of the old regime.

In front of the rebels in fatigues and Kalashnikovs, who guard the entrance to the police academy, there is a permanent parade. “We come to ask if we can join the police. I don't have any diplomas, we'll see if they accept us.”explains one of the candidates. “The guy there says we can start training tomorrow. In the civil police, it's not complicated. They tell us it's a matter of five days because they need a lot of people !”

The registration form is circulating on social networks. Walid, a young lawyer, has already filled it out. “Being an officer has been my dream since I was little. But under Bashar, it was chaos : bribes, cronyism… The Alawites were favored. When they applied, they were accepted straight away. While I was asked for ten gold coins to become an officer !”he remembers.

“Today, I want to improve things, to make things go better than during Assad’s time.”

The announced salary is around 250 euros per month for the lowest grades, which is more than comfortable, but it is not our main motivation, assures Redouane. “Before, people enlisted because they had no job, no money… They had no other choice if they wanted to have a small salary. But today they do it because they want to protect and defend the country.”

At the Damascus police headquarters, everything reminiscent of the old regime is thrown away. In the offices, some are at work, like deputy commander Mohamed Abdel Menhem. This colossus in a djellaba, full beard, behind a huge marble desk arrives from Idlib, a laboratory city for Islamist rebels. “We are working 24 hours a day to restore the security and stability of the country, regain people’s trust, and be at their service”he promises.

And he has a mission : to reassure. “Our organization is modeled on international standards. At the Ministry of the Interior, for example, our police services are the same as in France, the United States or in large nations”assures the deputy commander. But the rebels also promised to reactivate the morality police, which had almost disappeared under Bashar.