Syrian Journalist Bushra Al Zoubi on Post-Assad Syria and Refugee Rights

Mixed Feelings on Assad's Fall

• 💡 The fall of Bashar al-Assad is celebrated as a victory against one of the century's worst dictatorships, but the past year has been challenging.
• 😔 Sadness stems from continued kidnappings, killings, displacement, and incarceration of people.
• ✈️ Despite the difficulties, the speaker was able to travel within Syria for the first time in 14 years of exile, witnessing the country's transformation.

Rebuilding and Division

• 🗺️ The speaker's village in eastern Daraa was a starting point for discovering the rest of Syria, a journey previously hindered by Assad's systematic division tactics.
• 🤝 Travel allowed for meeting diverse Syrian communities (Alawites, Jews, Christians), previously difficult due to conservative backgrounds, poor transportation, and propaganda.
• 💔 Many areas, like the center of the speaker's village, are completely destroyed, with significant damage in Damascus outskirts due to the Assad regime and its allies.
• ⚠️ The coast region evokes discomfort and fear for those with a Sunni background due to ongoing violence and terror, contrasting with a more comfortable feeling in Damascus or Daraa due to perceived institutional changes.

Lingering Violence and Ambitions

• 😨 Fear persists in coastal and Druze areas due to recent kidnappings and killings, dimming initial post-Assad ambitions.
• 💪 Despite setbacks, trust in Syrians remains, with the hope that 14 years of sacrifice will prevent a new dictatorship.

Women's Rights and Resilience

• 🚫 Syria's future should not be reduced to a single government or person; Syrian women possess natural rights that cannot be taken away.
• ✊ Syrian women have shown immense courage and resilience, taking on significant roles in managing the situation, the war, and supporting families, despite invisible suffering and lack of international recognition.
• 🗣️ Women are essential to Syria's life and revolution, and they will not allow their rights to be compromised.

Personal Journey and Refugee Advocacy

• 🏃 Fled Syria in 2012 due to escalating air strikes, living in Jordan for nearly nine years before receiving a scholarship to study in France.
• ✍️ Now an independent journalist and human rights defender, using her platform to advocate for important subjects.
• 📢 Led a campaign for Syrians abroad to be granted a one-time visit to Syria, a right that is being granted by France but with inconsistent application across prefectures.
• 🏠 The right to visit is seen as natural and necessary for Syrians invested in foreign countries, as Syria cannot currently receive millions of refugees back.

Future of Syrians Abroad

• 🗳️ Advocating for the right of Syrians in the diaspora to vote in Syrian elections (legislative and presidential) and to be consulted on all decisions.
• ⚖️ The speaker seeks guarantees for freedom of movement and the ability to return definitively, balancing the desire to reconnect with family in Syria with the security of her current life in France.