Assad Regime

Campaign launched at ancient amphitheatre in Houran, southwest Syria, to honor its legacy and initiate its rebuilding. (SANA)

“Rejoice Houran”: An event honoring the “cradle of the revolution” and igniting its revival

30 August 2025. The “Abshiri Houran” campaign was launched to celebrate Houran, whose people were the first to stand against Assad regime tyranny in March 2011, sparking the revolution that led to the regime’s overthrow. Local leaders and citizens, surrounded by officials of the new Syrian government, pledged to rebuild the region. Performances of poetry and song reflected pride, dignity, and united commitment to the renewal of Houran and all of Syria.Read more at: SANA

A Memoir of Syria

The Home that Was Our Country is a deeply insightful and engaging memoir that interweaves the textures of Syrian history, during the time of the author’s great-grandfather, with her personal experience of Syria in the years following the Arab Spring. Born in the US, she decided to move to Damascus in 2011 when hopes of freedom filled the air, to reclaim the apartment of her grandmother that was lost to the family during the first Assad regime.

Former US Ambassador Barbara Leaf offers insights about Syria’s transition. (Alarabiya English video still, 21 August)

Assessing Syria’s emergence after decades of Assad control

21 August 2025. In a video interview, Barbara Leaf, a high-level US diplomat who met with Ahmad al-Sharaa following the fall of Assad, reflects on the historic Syrian transition, calling it a “once in a generation” opportunity for change. Acknowledging the challenges of reconstruction and reconciliation, given the distrust and sectarian conflict fuelled by the Assad regime, she praises the new government’s avoidance of widespread violence.Read more at: ALARABIYA

The Heart of Syrian Cuisine

In Syria, where the culture has traditionally revolved around sharing food, gracious hosting and generosity have always been highly valued. Meals are seen as occasions for familial and communal closeness. The content of the cuisine was historically influenced by Syria’s unique geography. Lying at the crossroads of trade in the ancient world, interactions with neighbouring countries—along with those as distant as China and Rome—continuously fed into what became the national cuisine.

From out of the Rubble, Life and Hope

The White Helmets lived the meaning of sacrifice—leaving their own families to save others under fire. “It’s hard to be away from your family,” one volunteer said, “but life requires sacrifice.” In a global culture that is shaped by the desire for personal comfort and that exhibits indifference to the suffering of others, their courage stands as a quiet challenge.

Healing From Syria’s Past

Those who liberated Syria from dictatorship face the daunting task of uniting groups that have seen each other as enemies for generations. Ancient resentments and the desire for revenge cannot be erased overnight. The new government is seeking to establish trust in a land and region of the world where there has been little trust in those who ruled, where brutal leaders were frequently replaced by violent coups, and where dynasties held onto power through harsh and often cruel mechanisms of control.

Terrorists or Heroes?

Can a person who committed acts of terrorism become a national leader and a warrior for peace and unity? To most people this would seem like an unresolvable paradox, a virtual impossibility. Yet world history provides numerous examples of individuals who have used violence in struggles for just causes and who later became admired political figures, leading nations and fighting for the welfare of their people.

Syria’s government applauds Dutch and Canadian efforts at ICJ to hold accountable perpetrators of torture under the former regime. (SANA)

Torture and related crimes under Assad are pursued at the International Court of Justice

27 June 2025. On the UN Day for the Convention Against Torture, Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed vigorous legal proceedings by the Netherlands and Canada, at the ICJ, targeting systematic torture and other crimes committed by the Assad regime. The Syrian government is committed to a victim-centered approach to uncovering the crimes. Its newly formed Transitional Justice Commission has guaranteed the non-recurrence of such transgressions against its citizens. Read more at: SANA

For Hassan Ali al-Mikdad, his damaged home in Syria holds more meaning than life in an asylum country, it carries memories of revolution and triumph (Photo: SANA)

A homecoming of hope: Syrian families return to Busra al-Sham, Daraa, after years in exile

13 June 2025. After 12 years in Jordan’s Zaatari camp, Syrian refugees have returned to their hometown of Busra al-Sham in Daraa. The extent of the devastation they encountered was far greater than what they expected to find, yet some have managed to rebuild parts of their homes. One man said the joy of being in his home outweighs the hardships, as it stirs memories of the revolution and the victory. Since the fall of Assad, over a half million Syrians are estimated to have returned as of mid-May.Read more at: SANA

A wide view of the Security Council meeting on chemical weapons in Syria. (UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe on UN website 7 March 2025)

UN disarmament chief praises Syria’s cooperation as chemical weapons inspections move forward, amid ongoing concerns

5 June 2025. Addressing the Security Council, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, commended the commitment of the new Syrian authorities “to fully and transparently cooperate” with UN inspections. She also noted many unresolved issues remaining from the Assad regime’s stockpiling of chemical weapons and urged additional UN support to help rid the country of chemical weapons.Read more at: UN News

Trucks loaded with belongings of residents from the Areesha refugee camp who are returning home. (Photo © UNHCR/Hameed Maarouf on UN News website 27 May 2025)

Belongings of internally displaced Syrians returning home

27 May 2025. Sanctions relief for Syria offers ‘powerful message of hope,’ says UN migration agency. The easing of sanctions sends “a powerful message of hope,” says UN agency. Since Assad’s overthrow, 500,000 refugees and 1.5 million internally displaced Syrians have returned home. In a reel, a woman reflects: “We were displaced for 13 years… now we feel like we’ve come out of a grave.” Read more at: UN News

People celebrate in Damascus on May 13, after the announcement of US lifting sanctions. (Yamam Al Shaar/Reuters)

After 8 years in exile a journalist returns home, calling it surreal

20 May 2025. Living in ruins, cautiously rebuilding their lives, people celebrate the end of US sanctions in May. Most shocking to the writer was the fact that people can now speak openly at public gatherings, voicing political opinions without fear. Read more at: Washington Post Subscription needed to read whole article.

The Appearance of Miracles

In less than six months, a nation that was on the brink of failure has been revived and is undergoing a transformation, an unfathomable occurrence in the normal course of events. Signs point to the presence of a new generation of leaders, whose sole motive is to serve their people and bring peace to a region embroiled in conflict over centuries.

New Face of Syria