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Crossing the Lebanese border into Syria, one of the first sights I saw along the roadside was a man with a bucket of green paint crouched over and painting Syria’s new flag on a wall, replacing the old red stripes with green. It was a symbolic image of the change that was sweeping the country when I visited Damascus, just a month after the government of Bashar al-Assad collapsed.
One morning walking through the old city of Damascus, where Christians and Muslims have lived side by side for hundreds of years, and taken in by the bustle of the markets, its famous Souk Alhamad with its covered roof and long alleyways — which take you past seemingly endless stalls of fruit, vegetables, spices, beans, coffee and dates — I find it hard to believe the country was essentially shut off from the outside world for the best part of 14 years.
I’m going to meet Syrian journalist Nagham Kudsiyeh in Bab Touma, the historic Christian quarter. We meet at the beautiful black-and-white stone Greek Melkite cathedral, called Our Lady of Dormition. It’s considered one of the most beautiful churches in Syria.
Nagham is one of the few dozen tenants of the Sisters of the Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary. She’s studying journalism in Damascus and is from Aleppo. I ask her about how Christians are feeling under the new Islamist authorities, H.T.S., and she says that although times are uncertain, she’s optimistic.
Ms. Kudsiyeh: Actually Christians, they don’t want to leave their country. They love their country, but they need to live in a calm way, in quiet lifestyle while waiting to be economically and daily life go better. And we are optimistic about that, maybe because we are now keeping in touch with Europe, with America, they are visiting us. They are, they can see the situation in the field. They met public people, not only decision-makers.
Ms. Crean: Sitting in the peaceful courtyard at the church, it’s easy to forget that just two months ago it was considered a crime for Syrians to talk to international journalists, as Nagham and I were talking. Even working as a translator for foreign media was criminalized under the regime. In fact, it’s one of the reasons that she says the future can only be better than the past.
Ms. Kudsiyeh: I think it will not be worse from the past because we, in the past, we was in the worst situation. There is no, there is no worst though. There is no worst about from that. Now we can express our opinion, for example. Maybe as a journalist, now I can say that decision-makers may do this or not do that, but in the past, we can’t express our opinion.
Ms. Crean: I heard many similar views to Nagham’s, that although the future is uncertain, and the new authorities have a huge task ahead — like rewriting the constitution, laying out elections and addressing the overwhelming humanitarian needs of the population — people are relieved that the repression and cruelty of the Assad era is over. Of course, the plethora of religions and ethnicities in the country means everyone has a different opinion, but for now at least, there is one main issue that everyone has agreed on: the vital need to improve the economic prospects of the country and ensure that in every Syrian home there is food on the table.
To read more about what Christians in Syria are facing, read “In Need of a Lifeline“ in the June issue of ONE magazine.