Syrian man in Longford overjoyed at the liberation of his homeland

On Sunday, 8 December the people of Syria and people across the world celebrated the fall of the infamous Assad Regime.

A day that many thought would never come had now arrived, one that was hard fought for. Now, more than a decade on from 25 March 2011 that saw the beginning of the revolution, a 12-day offensive beginning on 27 November just two weeks ago led to the fall of Bashir Al-Assad.

For many Syrians, this victory was seen far from their homeland, away from their loved ones and families. Many people have left the country in the past 13 years in the hopes of a better and safer life.

Osama Zarzour is one of these people.

He has lived in Longford for the past three years but has lived in many places since leaving his home in Idlib, Syria, in 2004.

He has lived in Dubai, Turkey and now Ireland in the two decades since he left home. Now, in a matter of weeks the day he and many others have been waiting for has finally come.

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“It was like a dream day,” said Osama, describing what he felt on after hearing the news.

“I could not believe what was happening, the regime was tough and was supported by big forces like Russia and Iran.

“Under the table, we believe he was supported by Israel and the US,” he remarked.

“He was supported by powers around the world, maybe the geopolitical map has changed, and that’s what allowed the revolution to succeed.

“It was a dream day, we didn’t believe it until now,” he said, Osama was elated, while he was speaking through the phone, his joy was palpable as was his relief. It was clear how long he had waited for this moment to arrive.

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While he is far from his home in Syria he plans to visit as soon as possible, alongside his wife and daughters who are in Turkey currently while he works here in Ireland through an employment contract.

As said above, Osama left Syria in 2004 just two years after he graduated from University. He was given a job by the government in the Irrigation Projects Department.

After a year there he had to leave due to corruption he witnessed while on the job.

Osama described the corruption within the organisation, “I had to take bribes, I had to be on a team that took bribes, I didn't accept that so I left the country.

Osama is a civil engineer. While in that job he was expected to cut corners and tell no one.

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“They said that I have to be involved in this, I have to reduce the quality control process.

“If they said the diameter of something was to be 1000 millimetres but only put 900 I should accept this, I could not do that because I would be a liar.

“It would have been a breach of the professional conduct of what I had studied, it would have been a breach of my principles and my religious principles, which are very important to me.”

On Monday, Israel announced they intended to double the size of their occupation at Golan Heights. They then launched a bomb strike so powerful it measured a 3.1 on the Richter scale.

“It’s not a surprise for us,” explained Osama, “Israel is taking advantage and that is very bad, we are freeing the country from the old regime and they bomb us.”

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“They don’t have the right to bomb another country and they’re already occupying Palestine and killing the Gazan people.”

In 2004 after leaving Syria Osama then moved to Dubai. He remained in Dubai for 12 years.

During this time Osama became more active in the Syrian revolution via social media. He would do this through online activism on Syrian Facebook groups dedicated to speaking out against the regime.

“I participated in the revolution,” he said, “In every city in Syria they form pages on Facebook for each City.”

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“Generally there are big pages for the overall news for the whole country.”

Osama explains how he and other activists would speak out on these pages against Assad’s regime.

After his comments were found by the Dubai government (where he lived at the time), he was brought in for questioning.

After a lengthy interrogation, he was then sent home. Then told to leave the country in 48 hours.

One of the major focuses following the victory in Syria is freeing those who have been imprisoned throughout the lifetime of the regime.

Sednaya is one of the prisons being searched. It is dubbed 'the human slaughter house' and is located just outside of Damascus. It has been a place of nightmares and loss for so many people over the past decade.

Osama is one of these people. His cousin's son was sent to Sednaya. It has been confirmed however that he did not survive the torment of the prison and died there.

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“I am in the Facebook group with his father.

“He said “ I hope my son will be found in Sednaya, and I hope he will be there,” recalled Osama.

“He put up a post three or four days ago that read, “My son is gone.”

“This story is beyond the story of Sednaya, beyond any one person, the pain is the pain of the whole people.

“In the last few weeks when the regime fell in Damascus, I was talking to my wife and my eldest daughter and we were so happy, and we were also crying.

“There was huge pain and happiness, exceptional happiness.

“I cannot believe my joy for the fall of the regime is the same joy as my daughter coming into the world,” he concluded.
Syria's liberation is bittersweet there is freedom but there is also loss, for many families this past two weeks have seen their dreams come true, or confirmed their worst fears.

Since 2011 more than 100,000 people are thought to have disappeared in Syria. Now, with the excavation of mass graves they may finally be brought home.

There is still joy in the hearts of the people however, Osama shared a lyric he and his sister have been singing to each other over the phone over 5000 km apart.

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He also explained that relationships that were once strained we're bridged almost immediately.

“My brother-in-law, two months ago we didn't speak, but he was shouting, Osama when are you coming to visit?

“They are dancing there, they are putting on songs we normally sing during the revolution,” he recalled.

“The song means; Raise your head up, you are a free Syrian now.”