– What is happening now is like a dream. It’s hard to believe almost. This is a great joy, says Nawar Alnaddaf (30). news meets Nawar Alnaddaf in her home in Høvik, together with her friend Nansi Ahmad Alhosin. The two met at an asylum reception in 2015 when they fled to Norway from the war in Syria. On Sunday morning, what they have been waiting for for the past nine years happened: Rebel groups announced victory over President Bashar al-Assad on Syrian state television. Nawar Alnaddaf Photo: Øzgur Tufan / news – Did you think this day would come? – We really hoped so, but it was difficult to imagine that it would happen, Alnaddaf says with relief. – No communication The friend Nansi Ahmad Alhsoin is nervous. This could be the day she finally talks to her brother for the first time in over 12 years. Nawar Alnaddaf (tv) and Nansi Ahmad Alhosin (th) Photo: Øzgur Tufan / news – I have so many mixed feelings. I am very pleased, what is happening in Syria makes me really happy. But I’m also stressed, because I’m waiting for my brother to contact me at any moment. His brother Tarek Ahmad Alhosin was 20 and a law student when he disappeared. Nansi says that they never found out why he was imprisoned in June 2012 in Aleppo. Tarek Ahmad Alhosin has been imprisoned since he was 20 years old. He is now 32 years old. Photo: Private – He doesn’t even know I’m in Norway. We have had no communication whatsoever since he disappeared. But this does not only apply to my brother, she says, and adds: – There are many Syrians who do not know where their family members are, who are now finally getting in touch, she says. More than 3,500 inmates have already been released, according to Reuters, which quotes rebel commander Hassan Abdel Ghani. DECLARED VICTORY: An opposition soldier steps on the head of the statue of late former Syrian President Hafez Assad in Damascus. Current President Bashar al-Assad is said to have fled the country. Photo: Hussein Malla / AP – I am very happy that we have finally gained freedom. We have been afraid to say that word. Freedom a bit like a dream, all the way, ever since 2011. Now we have made it happen. Below you can read more about what is happening in Syria: Uncertain future The friends still talk about mixed feelings after the night’s news – the fall of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. – As I said, it is a great joy, but also a concern. Who will rule the country? We also all have a sorrow for the soldiers who have fallen in the war. They thought they were protecting their country, but they were exploited by the regime, says Alnaddaf. Nawar now hopes that all minorities can work together. Here an opposition fighter sits behind the desk in the president’s office. Photo: Omar Sanadiki / AP – I hope those who rule will take care of all Syrians. That we take care of each other, with all minority backgrounds. That we are together to become a better country, says Nawan. – Who do you hope will rule Syria from now on? – It is absolutely Syrians who should govern Syria going forward, says Nansi. – A big caveat news has spoken to several Syrians on Sunday afternoon. Many express great joy at the fall of the Assad regime, but many are also afraid. Some do not want to share their skepticism about the new regime, until they know what this entails. The Syrian-Kurdish politician Mani Hussaini (Ap) fled from Syria to Norway in 1998 when he was 11 years old. In recent years, he has given up the idea that Syria will ever become a democratic and equal country: Mani Hussaini was the leader of the Labor Party’s youth team from 2014 to 2014. Today he is a parliamentary representative from Akershus. Photo: Private – I really thought this country was ruined forever. So when we wake up this morning with news that the Assad regime had fallen, one of the most oppressive and thoroughly corrupt regimes in the world, I glimpse a little hope, says Hussaini to news on Sunday. His family fled in the 90s because of the security police. His father was detained after working as a journalist and organizing political meetings. Although he now hopes for a more united Syria, he highlights the uncertainty surrounding what the rebels want to achieve: – You don’t quite know who these rebels are, what their motivation is or who they represent. So I have a big caveat, although this gives hope for change. Mani Hussaini lived in Syria until he was 11 years old. Pictured here with his mother, Janar Mousa. Photo: Privat Finally visiting Syria again Hussaina says that he himself has not visited Syria since the family fled from there. – I have a dream to show my wife and children Syria. That dream has been put on hold for many years. It would have been nice to one day show them where I was born and raised, and I might be able to do that soon. The 30-year-old students Nawar Alnaddaf and Nansi Ahmad Alhosin also dream of returning to their homeland, and say they are looking forward to going back. – You have now been here in Norway for 9 years. Is it tempting to think that you will soon be able to visit Syria again? – Yes, absolutely. I have thought that I may never visit Syria again. Now I can’t wait to go to Syria. Visit family and friends. I am very happy, says Nansi. Nawan studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, and says that his dream is to travel to Syria to perform his music. – I want to play in Syria with my friends, preferably those I have studied with. Serve the people there, as I do here. Playing on the big stages, she says, and adds: – Inshallah. Published 08.12.2024, at 17.58
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