‘A new chapter’: Anxiety and optimism in northeastern Syria

The fall of the Assad regime, celebrated by massive crowds in public squares across Syria on Friday, was no less meaningful for those living in parts of the country’s northeast controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). 

For Kurds, who make up a large percentage of the area, the end of a regime responsible for decades of Arabization policies and suppression of Kurdish language and culture was reason to celebrate. 

But relief at ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s fall and the promise of a new Syria is tempered by uncertainty, as SDF-held territories face the possibility of further incursions by Turkish-backed opposition forces. 

Joy and anxiety, relief and fear, optimism and trepidation: Feelings on the ground are as varied and diverse as the region itself.  

“Conversations—among men, women and children, both in the street and at home—are all about politics and the situation,” Salwa Ali (a pseudonym), a Kurdish teacher in Qamishli, told Syria Direct. “Everyone is asking: What about our area?”

Three days after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other opposition factions launched a shock offensive against the regime on November 27, Ankara-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) factions began a campaign of their own. Their operation specifically targeted SDF territories, and saw them seize many areas, including the eastern Aleppo city of Manbij. In the process, more than 100,000 Kurdish residents of northern Aleppo were displaced, some for the second time in six years. 

Kurds in particular fear a continued SNA advance and abuses by Turkish-backed factions. They remember what happened in the Afrin area of Aleppo in 2018, after an earlier SNA offensive. Arrests, looting and attacks on farmland followed, often justified by blanket accusations that those affected belonged to the Democratic Union Party (PYD).

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the civil wing of the SDF, has expressed a desire for dialogue with the new HTS-led authorities in Damascus about the future of areas they administer. 

Syria Direct spoke to a handful of Kurdish and Arab residents in northeastern Syria in recent days to learn more about what they were thinking and feeling about the sudden changes in Syria, and about what the days ahead could bring. All asked to be identified by pseudonyms. 

Salwa Ali*, 42, a Kurdish teacher at an AANES-affiliated school in Qamishli:

My joy is indescribable at the fall of the tyrannical regime, which separated me from my family and siblings, divided all the people and robbed us of safety, peace of mind and a dignified life. When I found out the regime fell, I video called my brother in Turkey to congratulate him. I told him: The one who kept us apart all these years has fled. 

Still, my joy is incomplete because of fear for the future, and of those who will rule Syria. Conversations—among men, women and children, both in the street and at home—are all about politics and the situation. Everyone is asking: What about our area? We don’t know if we should rejoice and sleep with our hearts at ease, or worry about the future. 

I am afraid of whoever rules Syria in the future having a criminal mentality that exceeds Assad’s rule. We are tired of the killing, blood and criminality. I am also afraid of the factions being aligned with [the Islamic State] IS. We all know the abuses and violations IS committed in the name of religion. 

I won’t stay here if opposition factions take control of our area, for fear of violations. There are indications that there are IS elements among them. Videos and pictures have spread online of fighters from the factions raising the IS flag. 

[Accounts on X (formerly Twitter) posted a number of images over the past two weeks showing what they claimed to be IS involvement in the SNA. A video also circulated showing dozens of members of Hizb al-Tahrir—a transnational Islamist political party—walking through Damascus’ al-Hamidiya Market carrying a black flag, though not that of IS.]

I don’t deny that my biggest fear comes from being an AANES employee. I have heard reports that workers in AANES institutions have faced repercussions. I don’t regret my work—I am proud to have studied at the AANES’ Rojava University and become a teacher. At the same time, I am afraid of being harmed by the factions. 

In AANES areas, the situation has been safer compared to the rest of Syria. The cost of living is high, true, but we live in safety. 

Since the regime fell, and the threat of Turkey and the [SNA] factions invading our area, I’ve started to sleep anxiously. Sometimes, I dream our skies are full of warplanes coming after me and bombing me. I’ve become terrified of the sound of gunfire and aircraft. 

We hope the next government will be democratic, far from religious fanaticism. We are now in an age of openness and development. I don’t want to go back to the era of ignorance and outdated and incorrect interpretations of religion, scriptures and hadiths that could be imposed on us once again, especially women. 

I hope my children have a bright future. I hope they will not experience another tragedy. I hope we will remain under the banner of the SDF. 

Kamal Muhammad*, 25, a Kurdish shop owner in al-Malikiyah (Derik): 

As a Kurd, I celebrated the fall of the regime, rejoicing in that very much. There is no ethnicity, minority or any other party that was safe from the Assad regime. Power was concentrated solely among Assad’s family and relatives. His fall means the end of an era of injustice and suffering, and the beginning of a new chapter in Syria’s history. I hope this chapter will be as we want it to be, or as it should be. 

Personally, I have no problem if the opposition controls our area. What is most important is the fall of the Assad regime, which is known for its injustice. But I am afraid the factions will remain in their old mentality, and not keep up with the development happening all over the world. I am afraid that power will be confined to religion, and of [the new authorities] repeating the same mistakes of the previous regime by handing over their affairs to foreign countries. 

In the last two weeks, I noticed varied opinions among the people around me. There are those who are afraid, worried about the situation and anxiously waiting to know the fate of the area. I didn’t think about its future so much as I thought about the displacement of residents of al-Shahbaa and Afrin to the Jazira region. [Jazira refers to an area of northeastern Syria that includes land in Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir e-Zor provinces.] I especially thought of those from Afrin, who went through displacement for a second time. I was depressed. 

I am optimistic, overall, about our area’s future and Syria’s future. I believe there will be recognition of minorities and all components [of society]. Most importantly, us as young people are free from fear and conscription. 

Raising the revolution flag in AANES areas was necessary, because our area was and remains part of Syria, and the [HTS-led] Military Operations Department [MOD] mentioned the Kurdish presence in Syria several times. Raising the flag is a purely necessary and political step. [The AANES announced it adopted the revolution flag on December 12, stressing that its areas are an integral part of Syria’s geography.]

We, the Kurds of Syria, are part of this country. No Syrian state can be established without the Kurdish presence and Kurdish forces. 

Abdulmajid Omar*, 45, a Kurdish man displaced from Ras al-Ain (Serekaniye), currently living in Qamishli: 

I have concerns about the opposition taking control of our region—specifically Islamist-oriented factions [referring to Ankara-backed SNA]. In the past, they committed terrible violations against the Kurds. It may be different with HTS [which gave assurances], but it isn’t possible to live in the area without implementing these guarantees. 

My hope, like many Syrians, is that the end of the regime will be the beginning of a beautiful stage, and that the conflict with the former regime will not turn into civil war. [It is necessary] for the parties to sit down together quickly and give the transition from the regime to a new stage a proper beginning, with reassuring steps. 

The past days flew by, filled with events and surprises—especially the fall of the regime. But they were disastrous for more than 100,000 Kurds in the al-Shahbaa areas, [not to mention that] battles between the SDF and SNA left celebration of the regime’s fall incomplete. 

We are witnesses to a complex system based on oppression, tyranny and suppressing the other. While Kurds suffered like the rest of Syrians, we were subjected to discriminatory policies we experienced daily. This created a double injustice for us as Kurds in Syria. 

[Thousands of Syrian Kurds are stateless, stripped of their citizenship during a sweeping 1962 census. Under Hafez al-Assad’s 1973 Arab Belt initiative, Kurdish lands were seized and redistributed to Arab communities as part of policies aimed at changing demographics in the Jazira region. Under both Hafez and his son Bashar al-Assad, Kurdish culture was suppressed, with the Kurdish language banned in public settings, schools and government offices. Kurdish-language publications were illegal.]

During the war, we were victims of a mentality caused by the regime. With its fall, the situation has changed. We are at a crossroads in Syria: Either we will manage to rebuild our country through consensus, realize everyone’s rights and remove injustice, or we will fall into the trap of feuding and civil war. 

People are trying to hold on to the hope of living in a new country, without fear of the other. But there are fundamental issues, including the possibility of Turkish-backed factions continuing their offensive, as well as displaced people returning to their homes with dignity and serious guarantees. 

I hope we will not experience a new displacement, and that my children will be able to study in peace, with no obstacles.

Ali Ahmad*, 35, an Arab farmer in Hasakah city: 

I am very happy Syria has been liberated, after we had lost hope in the fall of the Assad regime. People have gone through years of injustice, and many lost their children in prisons and detention centers. 

Thank God we lived to see this day. The Syrian revolution was a revolution of blood. For 13 years, many people were martyred until this tyrannical, authoritarian regime fell. 

Personally, I have no concerns about the HTS or SNA controlling our area. HTS is no longer part of Al-Qaeda. They fought the Assad regime, which means they felt the injustice practiced against the Syrian people. This is a positive point, in my opinion. 

There are those who are worried and afraid. I can’t blame them. After many years of the Baathist regime’s rule, they have lost hope and trust in liberation and change. As for me, I am optimistic about Syria’s future. I am optimistic that things will improve at every level: [cost and quality of] living, education, services, security and reconstruction. 

They must hurry to rebuild, so all refugees return to their country, while improving livelihoods and education and making radical changes. This would help change perceptions of those who rule the country. 

This piece was originally published in Arabic and translated into English by Mateo Nelson.