This weekend, a historic moment took place across the world—one that, quite frankly, I never really thought would be possible, at least not like this. The brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad collapsed, and the effects are being felt around the world. The collapse of the evil regime happened with lightning speed, with Assad taking his family and fleeing to, where else, but into the arms of Vladimir Putin in Russia.
As a Syrian, this weekend—really, these past 10 days—have been euphoric, not just because Assad is gone but because of the way this all unfolded. It was not bloody, it was not violent; the rebels advanced city by city with virtually no resistance. So, the conspiracy theorists and the cable news "experts" who have never set foot in Syria or spoken to a Syrian are salivating at the chance to give their two cents—so let me give you mine.
This did not happen overnight. Over the past several years, the province of Idlib (where my family originates) has been controlled by a de facto Syrian/Turkish-backed coalition. During that time, Idlib has been flourishing—hospitals, schools, malls, and infrastructure have been built.
Electricity and water ran unabated, and the rest of Syria took notice. At the same time, the Syrian government was providing virtually nothing to the rest of Syria, and it became a safe haven for drugs and violence. The Syrian government essentially became a drug manufacturer and distributor to Europe and the Middle East.
Syrians took notice, and the rumblings of discontent started picking up again. Ironically, as this was taking place, Bashar al-Assad was on a PR rehabilitation tour with the rest of the world, including the Arab League. Normalization was underway. After all, he was producing billions of dollars for himself from this drug trade.
The Syrian refugee crisis was getting worse across the Middle East. Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan all had taken in more Syrian refugees than their economies and infrastructure could handle, and ripple effects were showing publicly. As Americans, we can relate. We are seeing similar stories here with our guests and how some among us refer to them, treat them, and want to handle the situation.
Then, of course, there are the other wars going on—Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Iran, Hezbollah-Israel. All of Assad's backers were preoccupied, and so an opportunity arose. A once-in-a-generation opportunity, and the Syrian people took advantage of it.
Let’s talk a little about who led the movement, but more importantly, how they led it. The first thing the rebels did when they took back Aleppo was to go to the Christian community, promise them security, and name one of the Christian leaders the temporary governor of all of Aleppo. The news media never mentioned that, did they? Repeatedly, every city they went to, the same thing would happen: rally the local leaders and appoint one of them to lead the transition.
One other very important element took place that the media never discussed. As this was unfolding, and the opposition troops were getting closer to each city, the people took to the streets to clear the way. Many cities were liberated even before the rebels reached them because the people saw their opening, and Assad's forces and police were no match. They didn’t even try; they fled the cities before any kind of military engagement could take place. Remember, Syria had become a drug cartel. Assad’s army was not training or preparing for this—they were manufacturing, distributing, and likely addicted to the product they were poisoning the rest of the region with.
The march to Damascus was the most gratifying and suspenseful moment of my life. I could not sleep, checking social media every 5 seconds for updates. If this is how I felt, I can only imagine how Syrians living in Syria must have been processing those hours. The fight for Damascus was just like every other Syrian city: The people flocked to the streets and cleared the way for the opposition forces to take over, and the cowards fled. Now, what we are seeing is bumper-to-bumper traffic at the border of Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey of Syrians returning home.
No one is naive enough to believe the future will be easy, but it is possible. Freedom is possible. A better future is possible. The horror stories coming out of those dungeons are too dark to share, and still, thousands are trapped in layers and layers of concrete below ground. But rescue efforts are underway, working around the clock to get those political prisoners out. I share with you this: The future is bright for Syria, and this can be a pivotal moment—not just for Syria but for the world to see. When people unite, embrace one another, anything is possible, and tyrants will fail.
