Testimonials
Syria: thirteen years after the start of the war, “there is no more hope, there is no more country”
This March 15, 2024, Syria enters its fourteenth year of war, a latent conflict which has left more than 400,000 dead.
Syria remains the world's largest displacement crisis: more than 13 million people have fled the country or are displaced within its borders.
Those who remained live with the fear of speaking out about these recent years.
Anas*, 65, and Maryam*, 49, have just left the country.
They tell.
Souk al-Hamidieh, ahead of the 2021 presidential election, in Damascus, Syria.
REUTERS - YAMAM AL SHAAR
By: Anne Bernas Follow
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RFI: You have just left Syria, for what reasons?
Anas:
I left Syria at the end of last year to reunite with my wife and son who fled the war and whom I have not seen for years.
It was joy... My wife came to France with my child in 2016, they fled the war.
She had a ten-year residence permit.
I stayed in Damascus and there, I really came to join my son whom I did not see grow up.
There, I'm resting a little and I'm going to go back to Syria.
Since the start of the revolution in 2011, I had not left Syria.
Maryam:
I left Syria only a few months ago, with my husband and two children.
We all had hope that the situation would improve, so we were patient.
And then, my and my husband's respective families are there too, in Damascus, so we pushed back the departure time.
But ultimately, we said to ourselves that for our children, for their future, we could no longer stay.
Why did you choose to stay in Syria?
Anas:
That’s a good question….
Perhaps I had the hope of seeing something that I had dreamed of since I was little, like my entire generation.
Have a little freedom in this country.
I decided to stay, because I still had hope, in truth.
Me and my entire generation never knew the word “victory”.
In any case, all the people who are my age, really, we haven't had any victory in our lives, nor freedom, nor anything for fifty or sixty years.
And then I wanted to stay, I had things to do, I was a teacher.
I knew there were always students waiting for me every morning.
It was like a duty for me.
I couldn't leave everything like that, despite the fact that I had really lost my family, that my relationship had broken up because of this war.
But I had a duty to stay.
I love Syria...
Maryam:
At first, I thought everything was going to be better, in every area.
Then I felt that all this was going to turn into a war from which we would not emerge calmly.
It was so sad, we knew it was going to become horror.
All this time, we were afraid of everything.
And I was always afraid for my children, always afraid to move away from home.
But I always had hope that the war would end.
That the country was going to be better, open up to the world, etc.
That we were going to rebuild our country that we love.
That's why we stayed so long.
Also read: Syria: after thirteen years of war, the humanitarian situation is worsening and attacks continue
How have you lived these last thirteen years?
Anas:
Really, it was great joy at the start, but very quickly, it turned into a real war.
And my whole family was scattered all over the world, in Europe, in Egypt, in Turkey.
In Syria, I still have my mother, a sister and a brother.
They can't go out, and my mother refuses anyway.
She is at home, they are at home.
Economically, since 2011, it has been a real disaster, we cannot compare to before.
It's a big change.
I was in France during a certain period of my life, then in 2008 I decided to return to Syria.
I found that life was better there than in France at that time.
Between 2008 and 2011, it was Syria's golden era.
There were tourists everywhere… More than 5 million per year.
Syria was spoken of in glowing terms.
It was wonderful.
When 2011 arrived, we thought everything was going to change for the better.
And war arose.
Daily life has become a real nightmare.
Life has become too expensive.
Poverty has increased incredibly, inflation has exploded.
For example, in 2011, a kebab sandwich cost 35 pounds (€0.0025), today it costs 20,000 pounds (€1.40)….
Today, people don't even have a dollar a day to live on.
From a security point of view, we experienced a period of pressure worse than before, worse than the 1980s, the 1990s. It's really crazy, extremely difficult.
Politically speaking, all those who remained in Syria were even more forced to remain silent.
This is the price of being able to stay.
All forms of expression have been banned, more so than before 2011, or we do so with the fear of suffering reprisals.
I think I was lucky, that perhaps my status as a professor protected me a little bit.
But only a little bit.
And let’s say I spoke “nicely” to express myself.
But everything is worse, worse than before 2011. For example, I, as an artist too, was deprived of my material for more than ten years.
I was banned from practicing my art.
It was impossible.
And it always is, or it requires lots of authorizations.
Also read: Syria: UN ends food aid program in country in tatters
Maryam:
At the beginning, it wasn't too bad, it was good, we worked very well.
But as soon as the embargo happened, it became extremely difficult.
Today in Syria, we cannot live if we do not receive money from outside.
Moreover, if the cafes are full, it is thanks to this, because the price of coffee has increased from 50 pounds to 15,000 pounds (€1).
Before 2011, a bag of bread cost 15 pounds, today 8,000….
And then, there are constant power outages, even in Damascus.
Now, people organize themselves in their building to install, for example, a generator to have TV, internet, etc.
But the problems remain.
In summer it is very hot, in winter it is very cold…
Also, before 2011, we could go out, party, etc., go out with the girls, without any problem.
It was a wonderful country.
After 2011, the fear became real, we dared to go out less, we were often stopped by car, there started to be thefts, etc.
In terms of freedom of expression, since Hafez, we have always been careful not to talk too much about politics or things like that, but today the feeling is even stronger.
We've heard so many stories, people who have spoken since 2011, and who have disappeared... For thirteen years, it's even more difficult because there are two parties in conflict.
Previously, the anti-Assad people did not speak in Syria, today, they are in part of the country and they are asserting themselves, and they are in the streets.
All these people going to prison is very scary.
How do you imagine the future of your country?
Anas:
Since 2011, it's been fear, we've lived twelve years of fear.
Death is omnipresent.
Today, the war is almost over in big cities like Damascus, but the pressure is still present.
Fear is still there, on every street corner.
The only problem is the diet.
And the regime will not fall.
I think it's over for Syria... At least for ten years at least.
There is no more hope, there is no more country.
For example, in Damascus, the suburbs have disappeared, everything has been razed.
All the inhabitants left or took refuge in Damascus itself.
Unfortunately, I no longer have hope.
At my age, I don't think I will have the opportunity to see this country free.
Obviously, Westerners do not want that to change, this regime seems to suit them very well.
Some Westerners don't even know where Damascus is.
It's incredible.
Syria is my childhood, it’s my whole life.
Maryam:
I don't see anything, actually.
Life is very very very hard.
There is no future.
We see nothing.
Now I see everything in black.
But we remain hopeful because we love our country, apart from its president... I don't have hope that the regime will fall, otherwise it would have fallen a long time ago.
My hope is that the country finds peace and opens up to the world.
I hope to return to Syria as quickly as possible... Even tomorrow if I could.
I miss my country, my family, my friends, life there, everything...
*First names have been changed
On the difficulty of obtaining testimonies from Syria
RFI contacted around ten people across the four corners of Syria, from Qamishli to Damascus via Aleppo and Soueida.
Men, women, of all ages and all faiths, all responded to our requests to tell us their story and their daily lives before retracting for fear of having "troubles" later, and this even in the mode of anonymity, by email, by landline, or via platforms such as WhatsApp or Telegram.
Syrian refugees who have fled the country confirm this to us: when they call their loved ones and family back home, every word is weighed.
But the silences say a lot about the situation of theirs.
Also read: Syria: the social roots of the protest movement in the south
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