A week after Assad's fall, Syrians step toward normalcy amid uncertainty

DAMASCUS

A week after a lightning offensive toppled longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, rebels aim for normalcy in both politic atmosphere and public sphere, with Syrians beginning to scratch the surface of brutal legacy.

“We can hopefully see a quick end to the sanctions so that we can see really a rallying around building of Syria,” U.N. envoy Geir Pedersen told reporters during a visit to Damascus on Dec. 15.

Pedersen came to the Syrian capital to meet with officials with the new interim government set up by the former opposition forces who toppled Assad, led by the Islamic group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS.

HTS is designated a terrorist group by the U.S., which could also complicate reconstruction efforts, but officials in Washington have indicated that the Biden administration is considering removing the designation.

U.S. top diplomat Antony Blinken confirmed that Washington has made "direct contact" with Syria's rebels.

"We appreciate some of the positive words we heard in recent days, but what matters is action, and sustained action.

If a transition moves forward, "we in turn will look at various sanctions and other measures that we have taken and respond in kind."

The interim government is set to govern until March, but it has not yet made clear the process under which a new permanent administration would replace it.

Calm is slowly returning to the streets of the capital, with dozens of children streaming back to school on Dec. 15 for the first time since Assad fled.

"The school has asked us to send middle and upper pupils back to class," said mother of three Raghida Ghosn, 56.

An official at one Damascus school said "no more than 30 percent" were back on Dec. 15, but that "these numbers will rise gradually.”

In the week since the rebels took Damascus, each day has seen more light shed on the depths of the despair visited upon Syria's people over the past five decades.

At Damascus’ international airport, the new head of security — one of the rebels who marched across Syria to the capital — arrived with his team to talk the staff for a looming reopening.

Rebels, suddenly in charge, met a population bursting with emotions: Excitement at new freedoms, grief over years of repression and hopes, expectations and worries about the future.

The transition has been surprisingly smooth. Reports of reprisals, revenge killings and sectarian violence have been minimal.

But many Syrians remain suspicious. Some fighters sport ribbons with Islamist slogans on their uniforms and not all of them belong to HTS.

Salem Hajjo, a theater teacher who participated in the 2011 protests, said he doesn't agree with the rebels' Islamist views, but is impressed at their experience in running their own affairs. And he expects to have a voice in the new Syria.

“We have never been this at ease," he said. "The fear is gone. The rest is up to us.”

Families have been torn apart by war, former prisoners are traumatized by the brutalities they suffered, tens of thousands of detainees remain missing. The economy is wrecked, poverty is widespread, inflation and unemployment are high. Corruption seeps through daily life.

But in this moment of flux, many are ready to feel out the way ahead.