Damascus, Syria – Nizar al-Madani, 34, stood with tears in his eyes as he appeared round Qaboun.
After seven years of displacement, he returned on Tuesday to his neighbourhood in Syria’s capital, Damascus, solely to seek out it levelled.
“We’d heard that the regime demolished the neighbourhood, however seeing it with my very own eyes was completely stunning,” he mentioned.
When al-Madani and his household had been displaced from Qaboun in 2017, most of the neighbourhood’s buildings had been broken.
“But in the present day, there is no such thing as a hint of those buildings… The regime has obliterated the neighbourhood’s options.”
He was not the one one who got here out to Qaboun to see what was left after the regime of Bashar al-Assad fell.
Several residents of Qaboun who had additionally fled for his or her lives are strolling round, making an attempt to determine the place their homes might have been.
Revenge and destruction
The al-Assad regime would intentionally destroy areas that rose in opposition to him after regaining management, using numerous legal guidelines to legitimise that.
Chief amongst these was Law No. 10 of 2018, which authorised the institution of recent city zones in war-damaged areas and gave Syrian refugees solely 30 days to show possession of their property. Failure to take action would end result within the property being confiscated.
Many individuals had been too afraid to return again to Syria or to their neighbourhoods, fearing that they’d be arrested and charged with opposing al-Assad.
Nadeedah Hannawi, 50, advised Al Jazeera that her household was unable to show possession of their house, having fled to the north the place there was no regime-controlled forms, and since they didn’t have their possession paperwork with them.
“The fallen al-Assad regime didn’t simply displace us; it sought to steal the properties we had constructed with our life financial savings,” mentioned Hannawi.
“Identifying the place my house and my husband’s store was once was no straightforward job,” she added. “Even the cemetery holding the graves of our family members has been destroyed.
“The most necessary factor in the present day is that the legal Bashar al-Assad has fled, his regime has fallen, and our land has been returned to us. Together, we are going to rebuild it,” Hannawi mentioned.
Mahmoud Jahbar, 53, echoed her sentiments.
“Al-Assad’s regime destroyed our properties and reminiscences, however we’re hopeful that we’ll rebuild so our youngsters have a spot to name house.”
