A family in Hama, Syria, celebrates a long-awaited reunion after years of separation due to the conflict. While the recent gains by the HTS rebel group have brought hope for some, the future remains uncertain and the situation in Syria is still volatile.
The future is far from certain, but over juice and cakes one group of relatives celebrates finally being in the same room together
“It’s like a festival or party,” said Ghada Alali . At the same time, “We’re not believing this is happening. We need some time to come to terms with it.”, began on November 27th. Within days, the fighters had taken Syria’s second largest city, Aleppo, and in just over a week, they also controlled Hama, Syria’s fourth largest.
Both parents would again come under the brutal force of the regime after the 2011 war began. Mohammad was detained for seven days in 2012, his family says, during which time he was tortured, including being hung from the ceiling while hot water was poured on his neck. Both Moustafa and his older brother Alaa lost their wives in the February 2023 7.8-magnitude earthquake, which devastated much of Turkey and Syria – including opposition-held Idlib, where they lived. Buildings there were already weak from constant regime bombardment, the brothers said, meaning structures easily toppled. Their hometown Jinderis, close to the border with Turkey, was particularly badly affected, the UN said.
Alaa was wearing his khaki uniform, with a gun slung across his front, even in the family home. He led us around the city later, making “v” signs from his motorbike. “We can’t relax now, we want to make the city safe,” he said. Even at night, he is out “tracking thieves”. His ordeals began in 2016, when he came under suspicion for owning clothes from Turkey. When the regime tried to conscript him, he said, he refused and that created further problems.
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