Syria’s minorities seek safety as country charts new future

Driving toward Mezzeh 86, a working-class neighborhood in western Damascus, we are waved past a checkpoint manned by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters.

The buildings are dilapidated and in need of repairs.

This area is dominated by people from Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite sect, a branch of Shiite Islam whose members make up one of Syria’s largest religious minorities.

Alawites controlled power in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country during the Assad family’s 50 years of rule, holding senior positions in the government, military and intelligence services.

Now, many community members fear reprisals following the overthrow of the Assad regime by rebels led by HTS, a Sunni Islamist group that was once an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

Dozens of Alawites we had contacted by phone refused to talk to us, and many said they were scared.

In Mezzeh 86, the presence of HTS fighters at a checkpoint did not appear to be a cause for anxiety.

Many Alawites came to talk to us, eager to distance themselves from the Assad regime.

“During the Assad regime, the stereotype about Alawites is that they had all the job opportunities and that they were rich. But in fact, most Alawites are poor and you will only find one in a thousand who is rich,” said Mohammad Shaheen. , 26-year-old pharmacy student.

“Even when HTS went to the Alawite villages near the coast, they discovered that they were all poor. Only the Assad family amassed wealth,” he added, referring to the Alawite heartland in the west of the country.

Hasan Dawood, a trader, chimed in: “We were slaves to him: drivers, cooks and cleaners.”

There is also a sense of betrayal.

“Bashar was a traitor. And the way he fled was cowardly. He should have at least gone to the people and told us what was happening. He left without saying a word, which made the situation chaotic,” Mohammad said.

But people from the Alawite community, and indeed from this neighborhood, served in Assad’s brutal security forces. Do they fear reprisals against them? we ask.

“Those who were in the army and did bad things have fled. No one knows where they are. They are afraid of revenge,” said Thaier Shaheen, a construction worker.

“But people who don’t have blood on their hands are not afraid and have been left behind.”

There have been reports of some retaliatory killings in some parts of the country, but so far there is no evidence to suggest they were carried out by HTS.

“So far, we are fine. We are talking to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and they are respectful. But there are people who are not from HTS but pretend to be them and who are making threats. They want our society to fail and they are the ones who scare us,” Mohammad stated.

After taking control of Damascus, HTS and its allies said that those members of the deposed regime who had been involved in torture and murder would be held accountable, although it is so far unclear what form that justice will take.

HTS also said the rights and freedoms of religious and ethnic minorities would be protected.

The group has a jihadist past from which it has distanced itself. But it has an Islamist present and many wonder what that will mean for Syria’s plural society.

“I am very happy because the Assad regime fell. This is like a dream come true. Nobody wants to live under a dictatorship. But there is concern. I have to be realistic,” said Youssef Sabbagh, a Christian lawyer.

“The HTS are here now and they are an Islamic militia. That’s what they are. Hopefully, I pray that they are a modern Islamic militia.”

“I’m not just speaking as a Christian, many Syrians, Muslims and everyone, we don’t want Syria to become another Afghanistan, we don’t want to become a new Libya. We have already suffered a lot.”

Syria’s Christian community is one of the oldest in the world and the country is home to some renowned holy sites.

When the uprising against Assad began in 2011, Christians were initially cautious about taking sides, but eventually members of the community fought on both sides of the conflict.

Last week, the Archbishop of Homs, Jacques Murad, told the BBC that there had already been three meetings with HTS and that they had been able to express their views and concerns honestly.

So far, the signs are reassuring for many Christians.

In the Christian quarter of Old Damascus and in other parts of the city there are bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. Christmas decorations are also present in many places.

In a restaurant in the Old City, we met lawyer Ouday al-Khayat, who is a Shiite Muslim.

“There is no doubt that there is anticipation and anxiety. The signals coming from HTS are good, but we have to wait and see,” he said.

“It is not possible to know the opinions of all Shiites, but there is concern that a scenario similar to that of Libya or Iraq will occur. However, I think Syria is different. Syrian society has been diverse for a long time.”

We drove about 110 kilometers (70 miles) southeast of Damascus, through black volcanic hills, to the city of Suweida, where most of Syria’s Druze population lives.

The Druze faith is another branch of Shia Islam, but it has its own unique identity and beliefs.

Many Druze were loyal to the Assad regime, which they believed would protect minorities.

But opposition grew steadily during the war and there were frequent protests in recent years.

The last one began in the central square of Suweida in August 2023 and continued until the day the regime fell.

Activist Wajiha al-Hajjar believes the protests were not brutally repressed like others in Syria, because Assad wanted to show the world and his foreign allies that he was protecting minorities.

“They tried to suppress our protest, but in a different way: not with weapons or bombing, but by depriving us of passports and civil rights, and access to official documents. It became difficult to leave Suweida and a kind of siege was imposed,” she said.

Hundreds of people still gather in the square every day. When we visited, there was an air of celebration. Songs were blaring from a loudspeaker, and boys and girls were doing a gymnastics performance, while their families applauded and cheered.

“We are celebrating the fall of the regime, but this meeting is also a show of strength. In the event that there is an extreme regime with extreme laws, we are prepared to stay in this square and demand our rights and demand equality.” Wajiha said.

Suweida had almost autonomous status under Assad, and the Druze want that to continue.

It is just one example of the diversity and complexity of Syrian society and the challenges facing the country’s new government.

Additional reporting by Aamir Peerzada, Leen Al-Saadi and Sanjay Ganguly