3 days ago
8
There was a snarl of cars erstwhile we arrived. We could perceive chanting. Someone was waving a rebel flag. Overnight quality that Damascus had fallen and Syria's president had fled spurred Syrians successful Lebanon to unreserved to Masnaa, the borderline crossing closest to their capital.
We'd been readying to walk a time reporting from there, but packed a tiny overnight container erstwhile we heard the Syrians had abandoned their side. Maybe we would beryllium capable to get to Damascus ourselves.
Amid the excitement astir america was a gangly antheral with curly hairsbreadth who was trying to spell the different way. I could spot helium was crying.
He told maine his sanction was Hussein and that helium was a protagonist of President Bashar al-Assad. He was afraid.
"We don't cognize thing astir what is going to hap inside. They mightiness termination us, it's chaos," helium said.
"Anybody who utilized to enactment with the authorities oregon the army, they accidental they are going to springiness them a harmless exit, but cipher knows. If it's not going to beryllium true, they're going to wage the consequences."
He had brought his household with him, but didn't person the documents to transverse into Lebanon.
An hr later, we entered Syria. The roadworthy to Damascus was wide open. As we neared the superior we could spot signs of an service successful retreat – subject jeeps and tanks, abandoned. Army uniforms littered the roadworthy wherever soldiers had torn them off.
There was postulation successful the streets but shops were closed. People had gathered successful the cardinal Umayyad Square, flooded by the bonzer extremity to much than 5 decades of authoritarian regularisation by the Assad authorities – begetter and son.
Armed men were firing into the aerial successful a changeless cacophony of solemnisation - we saw 1 small lad who had been injured carried away.
Civilians were driving astir successful their cars, flashing bid signs, saying things would beryllium truthful overmuch amended present that Assad was gone. One aged pistillate was crying.
"Thank you, convey you," she exclaimed arsenic if praying. "The tyrant has fallen. The tyrant has fallen!"
Many successful her household had died nether Assad's rule, she said, immoderate successful prison.
I approached a mates with 4 young children, their parents reasonably bursting with joy.
"It's an indescribable feeling. We are truthful happy," said the man. "After each the years of dictatorship we person lived successful our lives! We were successful situation successful 2014 and present we're retired convey God. We won due to the fact that of our men, our fighters, and present we are astatine the infinitesimal that we are going to physique the top Syria!"
"We telephone our sisters and brothers who near the state to travel back," helium added. "Our hearts and homes are unfastened for you."
The whereabouts of Assad were a enigma until Russian reports said he'd turned up successful Moscow. We made our mode to his Damascus residence - present a tourer attraction, stripped bare of thing valuable, of thing astatine all.
We saw radical carrying retired furniture, with nary 1 trying to halt them. The rebels whitethorn person brought freedom, but not security.
Looters had besides been breaking into different buildings adjacent – deepening anxiousness astir this in-between-time without a authorities successful charge.
"The modulation has to hap successful a due and close way," said Alaa Dadouch, a 36-year-old begetter of 3 lasting extracurricular with his neighbours. "And the information that helium conscionable left, you know…"
"Bashar al-Assad?" I prompted.
"Yes, you spot I'm inactive frightened to adjacent notation this," helium said. "But the information that helium conscionable left, that is selfish. Our president should person taken the due measures that are needed for him to springiness astatine slightest the service oregon the constabulary power implicit those areas until a caller presidency comes in."
He paused. "You know, 2 days back, I wasn't capable to accidental that he's selfish, it would person been a large problem. A batch of everything is different.
"You tin really breathe, you tin locomotion around. You tin really springiness your opinion. You tin accidental what bothers you without being scared. So, yes, determination is simply a change. I anticipation it's a bully change. But we've been surviving nether mendacious anticipation for 13 years [of civilian war]."
This state is caught betwixt joyousness and fear, hoping for bid and disquieted astir chaos.
English (US)