Hundreds of Syrians stuffed the streets of Damascus on Thursday, marching within the funeral procession of Mazen al-Hamada, a outstanding anti-government determine, who died in jail in the course of the last days of Bashar Assad’s rule.
The procession, unimaginable only a week in the past, mirrored the early days of the Syrian rebellion – when funerals morphed into protests.
For many, it was a second of liberation, the worry of Assad’s retribution lastly lifted.
But others remained cautious, questioning if this newfound freedom would final beneath the anti-regime forces who now management Damascus.
“We will not forget your blood, Mazen,” chanted the group, largely younger folks, outdoors a mosque whereas al-Hamada’s household held funeral prayers inside.
Some even referred to as for Assad to face trial, others demanding his execution.
Al-Hamada, 47, had been a part of the preliminary anti-government protests, arrested a number of occasions earlier than fleeing Syria in 2013.
He turned an emblem of the anti-Assad motion whereas residing within the Netherlands, the place he uncovered the torture he endured in jail.
Yet, regardless of the hazards, al-Hamada returned to Syria in 2020, solely to vanish upon arrival.
His physique was later found in a Damascus hospital, alongside others who appeared to have been tortured.
His sister, Amal al-Hamada, had dreamed of his launch, however as a substitute, she was heartbroken to study he had been executed.
“There are many like Mazen,” mentioned Zeina Baaj, a local of al-Hamada’s hometown, Deir al-Zour. “His story is just the tip of the iceberg.” Torture, she added, was Assad’s methodology of management for many years, a coverage that also haunts Syria immediately.
Thousands of households are nonetheless trying to find lacking family members, many having scoured prisons and morgues for years.
Fares Abul-Huda, who joined Thursday’s procession, had been trying to find his brother, a hospital employee detained in 2012.
Despite listening to rumors of his brother’s detention in Saydnaya jail, one in every of Assad’s most infamous services, he discovered no hint of him among the many lately uncovered our bodies.
For some, Thursday marked a return to activism after years of suppression.
Mohammad Kulthum, 32, marched together with his mom, recalling how unimaginable such rallies have been beneath Assad’s brutal regime.
Bayan Andoura, who was simply 14 when the rebellion started, mentioned she needed to remind her associates to not whisper anymore.
Marching together with her associates, she reveled within the probability to chant once-banned slogans: “We couldn’t chant them before. Now we want to.”
Hani Zia, a bystander, watched with tears in his eyes.
The march stirred a mixture of feelings – pleasure, ache and unhappiness.
Zia, who fled Daraa to flee the violence of Assad’s crackdown, had misplaced 60 folks from his village of 5,000 in the course of the battle.
“Freedom is expensive,” he mentioned. “We had to pay the price.” Though he joined the march with hope, he fears it might be short-lived. “I’m not sure what Syria will look like after today,” he mentioned. “I’m not sure we will see this again.”
Zia longed for a Syria the place he may stroll the streets with out worry, free from the questions on his id, faith and allegiance. “We wish to stroll within the streets with nobody asking, ‘Why? Where? Who are you? What is your sect?’” he mentioned.
Source: www.dailysabah.com