Damascus students say ‘finally feel free’ after Assad’s ouster

Hundreds of students at Damascus University trampled on a statue of one of Syria’s former rulers on Sunday, expressing jubilation as they returned to class a week after rebels ousted Bashar al-Assad.

“The atmosphere is extraordinary. Everyone is happy — look at how joyful people are,” said medical student Rinad Abdallah, 18.

In front of her stood a large statue of Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria after seizing power in a bloodless military coup in 1970, vandalised and brought to the ground.

“I have an old photo where I’m posing in front of the statue. Now, I’m going to pose at the same place, but without the statue,” Abdallah said with glee.

Bashar al-Assad ruled from his father Hafez’s death in 2000 until last week when rebels took the capital Damascus, more than 13 years after his repression of pro-democracy protests sparked Syria’s civil war.

Ali Allaham, dean of the arts faculty, told AFP that courses resumed Sunday with around 80 percent of staff and “a large number” of students.

In the courtyard, hundreds of students gathered, chanting revolutionary slogans and brandishing the three-starred independence flag, a symbol of the uprising that began in 2011.

“We’ve waited a really long time for this moment,” said Yasmine Shehab, 29, an English literature student.

Now, “there is no longer this statue that was oppressing us with its presence”, she said.

“We finally feel free! We can finally say what we think without fear,” added Shehab, expressing confidence in Syria’s future.

“There will be a place for all the communities who will go forward, hand in hand,” she said.

– Schoolchildren back –

In a spontaneous rally, thousands of students headed towards the central Ummayad Square, where Syrians for days have been celebrating Assad’s fall.

Head of the transitional government Mohammad al-Bashir this week said the coalition led by Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham would “guarantee the rights of all people and all sects in Syria”, a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country.

School students too, some in uniform, returned to class on Sunday for the first time since Assad’s ouster.

On their way to school, a group of girls gestured the “V” for victory sign. One had drawn a three-starred flag on her cheek, while others proudly waved one in the air.

Mother of three Raghida Ghosn, 56, said that “the school has asked us to send middle and upper pupils back to class. The younger ones will go back in two days”.

Inside a classroom, a large three-starred flag now hangs on the wall — a sight unthinkable in government-held areas during Assad’s iron-fisted rule.

An employee at one school said that “no more than 30 percent” of schoolchildren were back in class on Sunday, but that “these numbers will rise gradually”.

Business life has resumed as well, with many people going to work as normal early on Sunday, the first day of the working week in Syria.

An AFP journalist saw around a dozen people queueing outside a bakery in the city’s Rokn-Eddine district.

Street vendors selling cans of petrol were also plying their trade, in a country hit by fuel shortages and where power cuts remain common, with some outages lasting up to 20 hours a day in some areas.

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