Syria: Schools reopen for the first time since Assad’s fall

A week after the overthrow of ruler Bashar al-Assad, students across Syria returned to their classrooms for the first time, while Christians took part in Sunday services for the first time. Officials said most schools in the country opened on Sunday, which is the first day of the working week in many Arab countries. The new rulers had previously ordered the reopening of schools. However, some parents have not yet sent their children back to class due to the uncertain situation.

The streets in the predominantly Christian Damascus neighborhood of Bab Touma filled with believers coming from church on Sunday morning. “We’re scared, we’re still scared,” said local resident Maha Barsa after attending a mass
had. She has hardly left her house since the Islamist rebel group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) came to power a week ago. However, nothing happened to justify their concerns. “The situation is unclear,” added.

Even in the coastal town of Latakia, which was an Assad stronghold for a long time, many Christians are still very distrustful. “Thank God we received a lot of assurances and we saw that HTS members contacted our priest,” said Lina Akhras, secretary of the parish council of St. George’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

Syria is home to numerous ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians, Armenians, Kurds and Shiites. The Assad family itself belongs to the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, in predominantly Sunni Syria. Students waited in the courtyard of a boys’ high school in Damascus on Sunday morning and applauded as school secretary Raed Nasser hung the flag introduced by the new authorities. “Everything is good,” emphasized Nasser. “We worked for two or three days to equip the school so that students can return safely.” The Jawdat al-Hashemi school was not damaged during the dramatic events.

In a classroom, a student taped the new Syrian flag to a wall. “I am optimistic and very happy,” said Salah al-Din Diab. “I used to always go out on the streets worried that I would be drafted into military service. I was always afraid when I reached a checkpoint.”

In Syria, after Assad’s fall, a transitional government led by Mohammed al-Bashir took over. The previously little-known al-Bashir wants to lead this until March 1, 2025. An offensive led by the rebel group HTS led to the overthrow of Assad on December 8th, who fled to Moscow. The HTS is a former offshoot of the Islamist network Al-Qaeda. Although it claims to have broken away from these origins, it is classified as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, the USA, the EU and Turkey.