Syria has been devastated by a bloody civil war since 2011 which has its roots in a failed uprising against Bashar al-Assad as part of the Arab Spring anti-government protest movement that swept across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s.
While many of the regions’ rulers, from Libya to Tunisia to Egypt, either stepped down or were forcibly removed, Assad hung on.
He directed the military to launch a brutal crackdown on the unrest with an estimated 3,500 thousand protesters killed.
After months of violence by the security services, armed rebel groups began forming across the country and what started as an insurgency had, by 2012, escalated into full-blown civil war.
The UN Refugee Agency says that more than 14 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes to escape more than a decade of fighting. More than 7.2 million of those remain internally displaced inside Syria, the rest have fled abroad.
While many settled in the countries closest to Syria – Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt – many chose to seek asylum in countries across Europe and the news of Assad’s downfall has been met with a mixture of disbelief and joy.
France
“We can’t even believe it because it was a dream, really a dream. We’ve been waiting for a very long time. Sixty years of humiliation, of dictatorship. We’re free, we can’t believe it. I’m afraid to sleep to get up and realize it was a dream. No, we believe it now. We’re free. We’ve always wanted to know what freedom means.” Amal Rifard
“It’s like tears of happiness today. Like, we did not imagine. I lost my family, I lost my father, mother, brother, I lost many of my friends in Syria for this day. I wanted to celebrate this day in Syria today. Unfortunately I’m a refugee now in France. But we will go back. We will rebuild our country. This day will come.” Thabet Fared Al Aech
Belgium
“We’d all like to go back there. It’s our country, it’s our territory, it’s where we lived, it’s where we grew up, it’s where we really want to live our lives peacefully, without having any problems.” No name given
“We’ve been waiting 14 years for freedom, asking for freedom, and now we’ve finally got it, and we’re very happy to be here. In fact, all we want is peace.” No name given
Finland
“I can’t express how happy I am. All Syrians feel the same way. If you ask them how they feel, they’ll say ‘I can’t describe it, I’m just happy’. Now we have freedom, now we have democracy, we can be how we want to be, everyone can be how they want, everyone can be as they like. I can’t say more about what’s happening in Syria, but from the bottom of my heart, I hope for peace in Syria.” Diyaa Mouhamad
United Kingdom
“I cannot imagine we will arrive to this moment. You know what happened now? The dictator is done. Sorry this is, the freedom for Syria, we paid a huge price.” Amina Khoulani
“We hope that everything should stop now and we should start a new future for Syria, democratic Syria.” No name given
“Really, I’m very, very happy to to stay here, but I’m looking for the first flight to Syria to go back.” No name given
Austria
“We might go back, but we don’t know yet. Until everything is good again and the country is rebuilt – then we’ll go back for sure. We are also very happy.” No name given
“And now, it’s our time. Now, it’s our moment. Do you understand us? Now is our moment. Now. It is a revolution. It’s not a civil war in Syria. The media in Austria say that there is a civil war in Syria. But it’s not a civil war. It is a revolution. And now it’s finally finished. Assad’s regime is finished. It is over.” Hussain
“We say thank you to Austria and the whole of Europe for helping us for more than 14 years. We can say nothing but thank you.” No name given
Switzerland
“I’m very happy. This is the happiest day of my life. This is the freedom of my people. It’s people of all faiths, of all religions, gathered here together under one flag. We’ve never had a single demonstration where we had a single flag, and here we have a single flag. It’s the flag of Liberation, the flag that we’re going to put up at the UN, in place of the flag of the regime that died and fell. And look, there are Christians, Muslims, people, Kurds, Arabs, everyone is there and we are all together and we are a united people.” Shady Ammane
The Netherlands
“I’m really happy. And super proud too, that Syria is finally free. This is a celebration for us.” No name given
“It’s all a bit uncertain just now. We will have to wait and see how they handle this.” No name given
“We are all optimistic. We are all Syrians and together we will rebuild Syria.” No name given
Germany
“That day was a dream for me and for everyone else too. Believe me, al-Assad has left something in every family, whether in prison or displaced or battered. That’s why you will experience this joy and all the people here, no matter what religion, we all want to live together again.” No name given
“We are definitely very happy that we have freedom after 14 years. Al-Assad has now flown to Russia with his family. And believe me, all Syrians in Germany and all over the world will return to Syria to rebuild our country. Of course, we will not forget that Germany helped us, gave us a lot. I myself have studied, medical technology, completed my studies. I have citizenship but I will also return to Syria to rebuild my country.” No name given
