KAsem’s adolescence was lived under siege in the city of Homs, where friends and relatives disappeared in the regime’s prisons and his family lived most of the time without electricity, struggling to get food and medicine. Meanwhile, the Bashar al-Assad air force was dropping barrel bombs and cluster munitions in its vicinity.
When the city fell, the Kasem faced a choice that millions more would make during the course of the war: stay and face Assad’s troops, who would treat them as terrorists, or flee to Idlib province – also unstable, but at least out of control regime.
“I thought we were going from one hell to another,” said the 21-year-old student. “But at least when we arrived, I could focus again on my studies and how to help rebuild Syria again. My generation still carries the same hopes for justice and freedom. We are not going to give up what the older generation started. “
After 10 years of war, Assad, with the help of his Russian and Iranian allies, has regained control of most of the country, and the dream of a “Free Syria” is confined to a northwestern pocket formed by the city of Idlib and the landscape surrounding.
An Islamic group with ties to Al Qaeda took control of the area from other opposition factions in 2019; the regime’s air strikes and the possibility of a large-scale attack remain a constant threat.
There are few jobs and a steady stream of aid cuts has made life even more difficult for the estimated 3 million civilians trapped between the two forces. Even so, every Friday, groups of people still go to city and town squares to chant slogans and wave banners in support of the Syrian revolution, reiterating the same demands of a decade ago. Big celebrations are expected on Monday, March 15 – the day’s anniversary in 2011, a few dozen protesters took to the streets of Damascus to call for freedom.
“The price of joining the revolution was not small. We paid a huge price and suffered huge losses. But we are not just victims. We are survivors, ”said Hasna Issa, 36, an activist previously held by the regime who now works on gender equality and female leadership programs at Kesh Malek, a civil society organization working in northwest Syria.
“We are creating the next generation in a way that is unlike anything we could have imagined before. My twin daughters are nine years old. (…) They will not only be able to vote in free elections in the future; they know they can apply. “
Kesh Malek, raised in the early days of the uprising, runs workshops for young citizens in which boys and girls can learn about the principles of democracy, human rights and non-violent resistance that underpinned the revolution. Organizers also see the program as an important bulwark against extremism.
“I didn’t think we would still be fighting for basic rights much later,” said Mohamed Barakat, manager of a Kesh Malek community center in the village of Killi.
“When the revolution started, I thought that what happened in other countries like Tunisia would happen in Syria as well. I thought the regime would step aside and give in to the people’s demand for freedom. Instead, they launched military action and bombing, and I realized that we would fight for a long time.
“We have to keep the dream alive for the next generation … they are so motivated. Working with young people brings me hope and joy, ”he added.
Syrian youth have many scars, both physical and mental. For teenagers and those in their 20s, it is difficult to reconcile the memories of the past of happiness in times of peace with the present.
“I lost a lot in the war. My father, my brother, years of my youth, ”said photographer Hiba Barakat, 23.
“I love my job as a photographer, but it is difficult to earn enough money and the situation here is unstable and dangerous. During the military campaign against Idlib last year, I went to document the bombing of a school, the day the regime targeted five schools in a single day.
“I have to do something in a situation like this. I have to tell the story. But life here is unbearable. Activists, journalists, social workers. Everyone asks for asylum. “
Dima Ghanoum, the principal of a school in Daret Azza, says that all of her students would also leave Syria in the blink of an eye if given the chance.
“Younger children are very curious about life before the war. My own daughter will ask, ‘Did you really go to restaurants where you could order food and sit down? Did you really have electricity all the time? ‘They are the first generation to be born for freedom, but they still don’t understand what it is, nor the price we pay for it.
“Under the regime, we lived in an extremely unequal society. I can’t quite describe what it is like to teach in a tent, having to stop class sometimes just to hug your students to keep them from shivering with fear and cold.
“But I would never be back in control of the regime. We live in difficulties and in fear … but it is still better than that. “
Putting Syria’s pieces back together for now remains a distant dream. For the new generation, it may not even happen: according to a Save the Children survey, one in three displaced children within the country wants to leave and 86% of the refugee children interviewed in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and the Netherlands said they do not want to go back to the country that your parents left.
“We face different things at our age than the older generation of activists faced,” said Kasem. “Our childhood was completely destroyed. But we have a duty and the ability to continue … Our efforts to make Syria a better place deserve the support of the outside world.
“Without the Syrian revolution, I would not be the person I am now.”