DAMASCUS — As Syrians flood the streets to have a good time a turning level of their nation’s historical past, their feelings are a mixture of pleasure and sorrow. The jubilance of newfound freedom is tempered by the haunting reminiscences of Assad’s prisons and detention facilities, casting a shadow over the festivities. There may be additionally a way of uncertainty on what may come subsequent, however many are cautiously optimistic over the comparatively peaceable transition of energy within the final two weeks.
Other than a lucky few, many who disappeared into the regime’s jail system have but to return. In the meantime, the charred our bodies of these executed within the regime’s remaining days have begun arriving at Damascus hospitals, forcing Damascenes to confront the horrors of Assad’s focus camps.
Among the many survivors is 28-year-old Muhammad Shelleh from the Damascus countryside. Held within the infamous Sednaya jail for six years between 2018 and 2024, he considers his survival nothing wanting miraculous. Talking to Al-Monitor, he recounted his ordeal:
“I’m from Harasta, and my crime was escaping from the regime military. Damascus was an enormous open-air jail — they might take anybody from the streets for something. The safety forces typically had quotas to fill.”
Shelleh described the horrors of Sednaya, the Syrian regime’s most infamous jail. “I used to be taken at a checkpoint. Once we had been despatched to Sednaya, we knew immediately it was a termination heart. We needed to cowl our faces, stroll chained and endure beatings for any motion. The initiation there may be notorious.”
He paused earlier than persevering with. “600 strikes with cables on my toes — my pores and skin opened, blood poured and the guards saved beating me. They stripped us, poured soapy water into our cells and laughed as we slipped and slid.”
He went on, “We got little to no meals. You get used to the beatings, however the hunger kills you. One egg for 3 individuals — that’s all we had. Anytime a guard entered, 20 or 30 of us would rush into the small rest room to cover.”
Shelleh typically thought he would by no means go away alive. He mentioned, “Sednaya isn’t a spot you escape. We’d hear somebody had a courtroom date, solely to later study that they had met their maker. You don’t kind simply friendships there; we’re all household, and we’re more likely to meet once more in heaven quickly.”
He added, “It’s a miracle I survived, however most didn’t. What occurred inside is past description — it’s a spot you couldn’t think about may exist.”
Testimonies from Sednaya have revealed systemic torture and mass killings. The proof of those atrocities lies within the our bodies now being returned to households. At Damascus’ Mushtahed Hospital, employees have begun receiving corpses from the detention facilities, amongst them that of activist Mazen al-Hamada.
Hospital employees {photograph} the scarred our bodies and show the pictures on the entrance for households to establish their family members.
Alaa al-Qabouni, a 23-year-old medic volunteering at Mushtahed Hospital, described the scene. “Folks ought to come and see these our bodies. They’re burned, bruised and abused. That is one thing solely monsters would do.”
He continued, “We’re coping with accidents from stray gunfire, however the true devastation comes from the our bodies arriving from the safety branches. Tortured and brutalized — they’re not even human anymore. The world must see this.”
The hospital is overwhelmed by the amount of instances. Al-Qabouni added, “We desperately want medical provides and extra docs. That is one in every of Syria’s largest hospitals, however with the regime gone, we should come collectively to deal with these wants.”
For a lot of Syrians who’ve lengthy saved silent about shedding family members to the regime, a brand new sense of freedom has introduced the possibility to grieve overtly.
Abdul Hadi Safi, a Syrian influencer, shared his story with Al-Monitor. “My brother was taken in entrance of my eyes once I was younger. We didn’t know who took him. As I grew older, I found it was our regime. They took him and my uncle at a checkpoint — no purpose, no weapons, no medication. My brother was 16, my uncle 50. We searched for 3 years, however in the long run, we acquired a dying certificates. I grew to become an solely little one.”
Triumphant temper in Damascus
Regardless of the ache, the streets of Damascus are stuffed with hope and pleasure.
Syrian content material creator Naya Zowa mirrored on the second. “As a brand new chapter unfolds in Syria’s wealthy historical past, I hope for stability, peace and safety free from injustice, bloodshed and battle. It’s essential to protect Syria’s unity and sovereignty, making certain it doesn’t change into a battleground for worldwide disputes.”
She added, “We should additionally enhance residing circumstances and facilitate the secure return of refugees, who will play an important position in rebuilding the nation.”
Unity has emerged as a defining function. Sharief Homsi, the creator of Syria’s well-liked stand-up comedy present “Styria,” captured the temper: “There’s a sense even higher than concern that we’re seeing in individuals — a shared sense of function. I’ve by no means felt something like this.”
He concluded, “I hope this nation turns into a spot the place we are able to create artwork and actually specific ourselves. Individuals are nonetheless scared, however I see one thing optimistic on the horizon.”
In Damascus, a way of freedom is palpable, although the scars of atrocities stay seen. Pleasure and reduction combine with deep sorrow for many who suffered or perished, paving the best way for this second of change.
