Syrians vow to rebuild their town after Assad's brutality

Bel Trew in Jobar, north of Damascus, meets residents returning home for the first time in more than a decade

- Bel Trew

For miles, the bleached ribcages of bombed-out buildings on either side of the main highway north of Damascus flick past as you drive – a grim monument to some of the fiercest battles that took place between Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebels at the start of the revolution more than a decade ago.

None of the residents of Jobar – once a revolutionary heartland – were able to return to or rebuild their homes as Syria’s civil war rolled on, even after the regime retook control.

Now, after Assad’s stunning defeat, families, some of whom returned from fleeing the country, pick through the dust-choked rubble of what was once their homes. They gather at Jobar’s chewed-up central graveyard to host the first funeral here in 13 years.

“We will have to start rebuilding from scratch,” says Ayman Abash, 54, shell-shocked in the dust-choked remains of his home. He was jailed in 2011 by the regime for two years on trumped-up “terrorism” charges due to his involvement in the protests here.

“This region was under siege. The bombardment was relentless – we had to hide in our basements. They used us as a testing ground for any kind of weapon they had... this is the first time I’ve come here and seen it. It was completely destroyed.”

The enormity of the destruction here is a stark reminder of one of the immense challenges now facing Syria, a country that must rise from the ashes of more than half a century of Assad family rule, including more than a decade of civil war and, in recent years, a total economic collapse.

This is the focus of discussions in the long bread queues across the capital.

“We have just one or two hours of power a day at the moment,” says one woman, explaining the difficulties of winter and bread shortages. “We hope for change,” says another.