Dec. 8 is a day Fatma Merie will never forget.
It’s the day she and other Syrians all over the world watched, on their televisions, cell phones, and social media — witnessing a moment they have been waiting for over 50 years: the fall of the Assad regime.
As the news unfolded of fighters ousting Bashar al-Assad and cries of freedom were heard on the streets of Damascus, the capital of Syria, Merie intently watched with her children and husband from their Dallas apartment.
“I called my mother and father and they couldn’t believe it,” Merie said.
Merie, now in her 30s, left Syria with her husband in 2012 and stayed in Jordan for 10 years. She and her family have lived in Dallas for the last year and a half.
She said in all that time, she couldn’t talk freely to her parents out of fear they had been wire-tapped.
“Just, ‘how are you? What did you eat today? What do you do today?’” she said. “Just like this – not about situation, no.”
Merie said she couldn’t even talk to her children about what was truly happening in Syria.
“We can't talk with our children about Bashar because we scared, because the kids maybe say something wrong and maybe we go to jail in Syria,” Merie said.
“But now we talk, talk, talk.”
Assad’s ouster marked the end of his 25-year rule marked by civil war and brutal acts against his own people, and the end of decades of his family’s reign in the country.
That Sunday, as news spread, Syrians from all over north Texas shared the word on social media and met for an impromptu celebration in Richardson. Several generations came together to share expressions of joy and jubilation, chanting and singing in Arabic. Merie said the words “I am free” resonated continually throughout the celebrations.
She said Syrians are celebrating in her native country and all over the world — from Jordan to Eastern Europe to the U.S.
“Because more than 50 years, more than 50 years,” she said. “Nobody can imagine. Can't imagine this moment will happen — but it's happened.”
Hopes of returning home
When Merie fled Syria more than a decade ago, leaving her parents behind and not being able to return is what hurt her the most. She said she and her husband had been waiting for the moment to come back — but it never arrived. After Dec. 8, many people immediately began the journey back home. She said Syrians living in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey were making their way back as soon as Dec. 9.
“Many people waiting this moment because most of Syrian people leave Syria without want to leave Syria,” she said.
Merie said the decision whether to move back isn’t easy. She’s in the process of getting her green card; she and her family have settled in Dallas, and her children like their schools. Her hope is to return someday — if not to live, then to at least see her parents.
Having the freedom to visit is something Bryan Tony, a housing advocate in Dallas, hopes for. His father’s family is from Syria, and he has heard stories about the country he traces his ancestral roots to.
As a third-generation Syrian American, Tony said he too feels the joy and jubilation felt by other descendants like him throughout the world.
“Syria felt really far away at times," he said. “I still have a dream of going back one day. Especially now that the country is free.”
Tony, 30, has hopes for what’s to come.
“It's more so, I think, important for the Syrian people to and other descendants like myself to dream about a new future, what the democracy could look like for Syria," he said, "and hopefully keep that dream alive of one day getting a chance to visit.”
Rebuilding Syria
Anas Alomar has plans to return to Syria in early January for the first time in 14 years.
Alomar, an interventional cardiologist and medical director at a Southlake hospital, was born in Texas but grew up in Homs, Syria. Today he is a member of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), an organization of health care professionals who have been involved with humanitarian relief efforts since the revolution began in 2011.
He and his team will visit multiple cities this month to assess the situation, help rebuild hospitals and train medical staff
"Refugees are going to see their homes that for many, many years and felt that they lost their homeland and they didn't feel that they have a home anymore,” he said. “Now they're able to go back. So it's ecstatic. Everybody is happy.”
Alomar said it’s it was a long road ahead to rebuild the country after 14 years of war and 50 years of corruption and dictatorship.
“This is the beginning of rebuilding a free and modern country for all of its people,” he said. “And we're ready. We're ready to rebuild it.”
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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