Syrians across Germany rejoice at demise of despised leader al-Assad

Germany’s Syrian migrant community took to the streets in their thousands over the weekend to celebrate the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, whose brutal attacks on civilians drove hundreds of thousands towards Europe in search of safety.

At the height of the country’s civil war in 2015, Germany admitted some 890,000 Syrian refugees into the country under the so-called Willkommenskultur (“welcoming culture”) immigration policy spearheaded by then chancellor Angela Merkel.

Almost a decade later, police across Germany were counting thousands joining marches to celebrate al-Assad being driven from Damascus – 11,000 in the city of Essen, 6,000 in Munich, 5,000 in Berlin, 3,000 in Mainz and thousands more in cities like Hamburg, Nuremberg, Hamm, Wuppertal, Düsseldorf and Dortmund on Sunday.

In Berlin’s Kreuzberg district, home to many Middle Eastern migrants, thousands cheered, set of firecrackers and waved Syrian flags – many with “Free Syria” written on them.

The night before, as news of Damascus falling to rebel forces broke, spotaneous celebrations erupted in the nearby district of Neukölln, home to many migrants and Syrian-run shops and restaurants.

The same area has seen repeated protests against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in recent months, many ending in violence between police and pro-Palestinian protesters. Police reported no major incidents over the weekend, however.

Meanwhile in Hamburg, where around a thousand people celebrated Syria’s change in power at the northern port city’s central train station, one young Syrian said she had dreamed of this day for a long time, a day when she could finally return to her home country.

Another Syrian, who had come to the rally with his 11-year-old son, said he saw his child’s future in Germany. “Everything in Syria was ruined by al-Assad,” the man said. Others said they wanted to wait and see how things develop in Syria.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also welcomed the end of al-Assad’s rule in Syria, pointing to the brutal oppression of his own people and countless deaths that he on his conscience, driving many Syrians to Germany.

“The Syrian people have suffered terrible hardships. The end of Assad’s rule over Syria is therefore good news.” Now it is important for law and order to be swiftly restored in Syria, he said.

Berlin’s Senator for Integration, Cansel Kiziltepe, told the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper that she was “happy for the people who are out on the streets of Berlin celebrating freedom and democracy.”

Leading voices in Germany’s Syrian community also joined in the celebration, with human rights lawyer Michal Shammas calling on Facebook: “Let us reconstruct our Syria together.”

Since Saturday, Syrian opponents of the toppled regime have been publishing videos showing the liberation of prisoners. They are reported to include political prisoners detained under the rule of Bashar’s father Hafez al-Assad, who died in 2000.

Hassan al-Aswad of the Syrian Democratic Alliance called on Syrians to forgive those who had been part of the old system but who had not committed serious crimes.

The lawyer from the south-western Syrian city of Daraa, who lives in exile in Hanover, published a video in which he praised the fact that the rebels had not destroyed state infrastructure during their advance on Damascus.

“I forgive the person who has occupied my house since 2012.” He added: “May God forgive you. I don’t want anything from you.”

Syrians were facing a major test, al-Aswad said. “War is not easy, but peace is more difficult,” he said. Those guilty of crimes should face a fair trial – something Syrians had not experienced in the past, he added.