Syrians face a new day, and remind us of our freedoms
Americans love to talk about liberty. But if we’re completely honest with ourselves, the bulk of our conversations about individual freedom, or more precisely, the loss of it, are abstract — most of us, thankfully, have known nothing else but unfettered self-determination.
We may be frustrated with government policies as varied as pandemic-era restrictions on gatherings, red light cameras, taxes, or any other perceived breach of our “liberty,” but we also possess the right to vote, the ability to stage protests in the streets, or make our voices heard in the press and online.
Under the brutal dictatorship of the Assad family, Syrians have long gone without these fundamental rights. When demonstrators sought to participate in the regional push for freedom and democracy in 2011 that became known as the Arab Spring, President Bashar Assad turned the military’s guns on them. In the years since, more than 300,000 Syrians have been killed by the regime.
Now, Syria’s multigenerational nightmare is over, as opposition forces seized control of Damascus over the weekend prompting Assad and his family to flee to Moscow. The jubilation of many Syrians has been inspiring.
At Sednaya Prison, a facility called the “human slaughterhouse,” scenes of joy were intermixed with ones of heartbreak, as children who had spent their entire lives within the walls of the women’s prison, old men who had entered as teens, and long-lost relations believed to be dead poured out of the complex’s gates and subterranean dungeons.
This is also an occasion when Americans should be hoping for the release of Austin Tice, the freelance journalist from Houston who was seized by the Syrians in 2012 and disappeared into one of their prisons. American officials believe firmly that he is still alive but they do not know yet how to find him. One can only hope that his family will also soon be able to rejoice that he, too, is free.
For Americans, the scenes of jubilation playing out across Syria should serve as a reminder of what we take for granted. Our nation still has work to do to fully achieve the lofty goals set out in the Declaration of Independence, but we also benefit from the work already done by many others.
For Syrians, this moment has become a call to action. Many among the millions of Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, and elsewhere have pledged to return home, with hundreds already having done so. Despite the sectarianism that still divides Syrian society, there is unity in hatred of Assad, a despised leader. The opposition has ridden that discontent to stunning victory.
Still, a natural question remains: What’s next for Syria? The opposition leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has sought to present a moderate and pragmatic face to Western media and leaders, pledging three years ago that he hoped for a new relationship with America. Still, al-Golani is a former leader of the Syrian branch of al-Qaida. How can the many Syrians who are not hard-line Sunni Muslims trust in the leadership of a former jihadist? Will women’s rights and freedoms in the country recede, as they have in Afghanistan?
Another complication is the role of Turkey, a NATO ally that has increasingly gone its own way. With Assad out of the picture, might Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seek the opportunity to crush the Kurdish minority in the northeastern corner of Syria, or to otherwise dominate the newly liberated country’s politics, as Iran and Russia once did?
These fraught questions are for Syrians to answer in the coming weeks, months, and years. For now, after six decades of suffering, the nation is entitled to celebrate a few moments of joy.
