After Assad, these 3 women are working to build a just and peaceful Syria

As Alma Salem crossed the border from Lebanon into Syria, she asked the driver to pull over.

She fled the country 13 years ago when the authoritarian government of Bashar al-Assad opposed pro-democracy protests with military force, plunging the country into civil war. AND the collapse of the Assad regime In December, he allowed her to return home from Montreal, where she had been living, for the first time since the beginning of the war.

Stepping out of the car, she knelt down and kissed the ground, breathing in her familiar scent.

“I thought I was [would] Just go back to Syria buried, you know, right on the ground. But I came to life and I was able to hold it in my hand,” said Salem, executive director of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement, said CurrentHosted by Matt Galloway.

“I felt that I owned the land. I felt … that all of Syria was mine.”

For Syrians like Salem, the end of the war brought joy and renewed dreams of what the future might look like. Current spoke with Salem and two other Syrian activists about their visions for the country’s future and the obstacles that remain.

Alma Salem

Since returning, Salem says the celebratory feeling in Syria is like “endless fun.” It is often noisy, filled with the sound of drums and voices, she said. For the first time, people can speak freely without fear that their views might get them into trouble Assad’s secret police.

“I believe we’ve taken over public space again,” Salem said.

Salem says now is the time for Syrians abroad to come home. Some six million Syrian refugees have moved around the world since 2011 and the transitional government called on the 1.5 million or more in Lebanon to return earlier this month.

Those who return could participate in building a new Syria from the ground up – something that all the citizens fought so hard for and shared in the victory, Salem says.

“It’s a country that’s ours now, and we deserve a chance,” Salem said.

Salem says it is crucial that women have a role in Syria’s political structure as its population builds a new, post-Assad society. But it’s also something he worries about.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that overthrew the government and became the de facto leadership of the country In December, they have a poor record when it comes to women’s rights, including reports on Blocking women’s access to education and requiring women to be accompanied by a male guardian in public in the past.

Aisha al-Dibs, the new head of the women’s affairs office in Syria, al jazeera said that her government was committed to the inclusion of women in social, political and cultural institutions – but caused the utterance When she said that women “should not overstep the priorities of their God-nature” and remember the educational role they play in the family.

The words sparked a wave of anger among Syrian feminists, according to Salem. Despite this, she remains optimistic that they with Power listens to women in her country.

Salem organized a conference This month, which was attended by around 300 politicians, political representatives, journalists and members of civil society groups, who shared the ideas of women involved in Syrian politics.

“This is, you know, a good sign that they have recognized our … statements and demands for women’s political participation,” Salem said.

Noura Aljizawi

Noura Aljizawi, a Syrian human rights activist who played a Key role in the 2011 uprisinghe also fled to Canada from Syria during the war. She has not yet left Toronto to visit home, but is planning a trip there soon.

It will be the first time her daughter will ever see the country and meet Aljizawi’s father – a dream their family thinks may never come true.

Before the power changed hands in December, Aljizawi was losing hope of ever returning home or seeing his family again.

“But now anything is possible. And the dream is now true,” she told Galloway.

He says that the first step towards rebuilding Syria must be accountability.

Amnesty International estimates that tens of thousands civilians disappeared after political protests in 2011. Many were thrown into prison to be tortured, starved or executed. As many as 13,000 people were executed In the notorious Saydnaya prison between 2011 and 2016 according to Amnesty International.

When the old regime disappeared, prisons full of prisoners were liberated. But Aljizawi says many people are still missing – including some in her own family. People deserve answers about where their missing relatives are, she says.

“The truth must be told and the victims must be heard,” Aljizawi said.

“The alternative to justice is revenge. And we don’t want … victims who take revenge on the perpetrators.”

Still, Aljizawi says the most difficult work is being done – to root out an authoritarian regime. “After that nothing is impossible.”

Azza Kondakji

Azza Kondakji was persecuted by the Assad regime for his activist work. But she never left the country, choosing instead to stay and help other Syrians through the civil war.

She also wanted to be there to witness the moment her country was liberated – which she says she always believed would come. “Hope kept me in the country,” Galloway said.

With that moment finally in the rearview mirror, Kondakji says the cleanup and rebuilding efforts will be a mammoth task—as much of the country’s infrastructure and basic services have been decimated by years of fighting.

AND 2022. World Bank analysis They estimated total damage across the country at US$8.7-11.4 billion (CDN$12.48-16.35 billion). Kondakji says rebuilding Syria will require other countries to provide economic support and lift their Assad-era sanctions.

Kondakji hopes that with some support, the next generation of Syrians will carry the torch in building a peaceful future.

Estimated 2.4 million children are still out of school in Syria – either because their families have been displaced, they can no longer afford to be in the classroom, or their classrooms have been destroyed in the fighting, according to Kondakji. Many suffer from the emotional weight of witnessing war and will need psychosocial support.

Kondakji envisions a future where Syrian children can grow up in schools that encourage creativity, as opposed to fear, and where dreams of becoming a scientist or an artist or a world leader can be a reality.

“The next generation of Syria has the potential to redefine what it means to be Syrian – not through pain, but through pride and hope,” Kondakji said.

“They embody the dream of a nation that can stand tall once more, like the Phoenix reborn.”