Many Syrians believe they have developed a disaster immunity. Although the Covid-19 epidemic that is sweeping the world today is completely different from the civil war that has torn their country for nearly a decade, some refugees seem confident that their experience in adapting to violence and exile helps them cope with the anxiety caused by the outbreak of the virus. .
And Agence France-Presse interviewed four Syrians in France, who confirmed that the tribulations they experienced in the past, such as imprisonment and exile, gave them skill in dealing with the procedures of the closure and helped them find hope and strength to overcome the challenges.
From the very first moment the commencement of the application of the orders of the French authorities to the residents to abide by their homes, Muhammad Hijazi returned to his memories of the experience of the years of war and the bleak days in the prisons of the Syrian regime, where he was arrested for three months.
The 31-year-old Damascus film director, who was arrested because of his political positions between 2012 and 2013, maintains that maintaining a strict daily routine is very beneficial.
He points out that his experience taught him the importance of social communication, healthy food and self-expression "through singing, drawing and prayer (...), for each of his methods and all of them succeed equally."
"I assume that people who have had experiences of this type have trained more than others on how to maintain a more comprehensive view" of the situation, he told France Press news agency, speaking through an application to communicate via video from Paris, where he has lived since 2017.
He added, "We immediately return to the mechanisms that we used in the past to overcome periods of crisis," stressing, "We know what we have to store."
The closure revived memories of the unit he felt in the first months after his move to France.
Now, with the filming industry stalled, he decided to use his equipment to establish an Internet radio, which he called "Insulated", indicating that it enables him to preserve the spirit of the group and keep him optimistic.
As for Yazan Al-Homsi, he realizes that exposure to the experience of war closely does not make it easier to live in a global epidemic.
He says that the first week of the closure brought him back to the horrific period he spent for more than a year under siege and bombardment in his city of Homs.
Before the movement stopped after the virus spread, the sound of its take-off and landing at Lyon Airport near his new place of residence reminded him of the warplanes that bombed his city.
Homsi, who asked to use a pseudonym for the safety of his family, who is still in Syria, says, "I was waking up every day, wondering where am I? I drowned in this feeling and did not leave the house for a week."
The Internet developer and 34-year-old data analyst is worried about his elderly parents, due to "the absence of any health care mentioned in Syria."
After all that he went through, he says that the most important advice he can give to anxious French is to remember that "their government is working for their safety" and "they have rights."
In difficult times like these, living in a democratic country is reassuring for the world of paint, from Damascus.
"There is a system and a state, and there are people who express their opinions," Al-Dahan, a mother of two children and a PhD student, said.
The woman, who has lived in Paris since 2014, appreciates freedom of expression. She gives an example of a television interview in which a French doctor criticized the authorities for not being properly prepared to deal with the epidemic.
But she admits that the death toll of Coffid-19 "scared her" and prompted her to rethink the heavy loss of life in Syria.
"What really scared me is the news about the deaths and their numbers," said Al-Dahan, 40, who is one of the founders of the Port Auvert-sur-Larte initiative (open doors to art), which supports artists living in exile.
"It shocked me because it made me wonder: How could we have endured it when we were hearing the number of people being killed in Syria?"
More than 380,000 people have been killed since the conflict erupted in Syria nine years ago, while most of the country's infrastructure has collapsed.
Damascene chef Emad Chouchara tries not to allow frustration to be able to manage him, as he used to start from scratch, after several contracts were canceled to provide food service for the spring and summer season, which is usually profitable.
Shushara owned a transport company in Syria, but was forced to change his profession when the war forced him to flee.
He established his new work in Paris in 2015, where he specialized in providing Syrian meals and has a list of clients, starting with wedding organizers and reaching theaters and galleries.
But the emerging coronavirus is a blow to businesses around the world, small or large.
Today, Choucha is spending his day preparing fast videos for recipes for Instagram, like a spiced beet dish.
As we prepare to prepare the roasted octopus, he asserts, "We have a proverb that says," The more it falls, the more it will stop again. "
The 36-year-old chef hopes to record food preparation online to cheer up his followers.
Confirming that facing problems is "not a reason to surrender," he added. "Remember, you are on the path to life and there are obstacles. You may overcome this obstacle and you may fall because of what follows. But whatever happens, you have to go ahead."