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2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 DECEMBER 2024 2 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 A new rebel coalition, led by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, launched a surprise attack on November 30, seizing control of Syria's largest city, Aleppo. The move, considered seismic, faced min- imal resistance from the Syrian army. Syrian and Russian jets struck rebel positions in Aleppo and Idlib, but opposition forces captured a second major city, Hama, and swiftly advanced towards Homs – a key gateway to the capital, Damascus. As Homs fell, rebels encircled Damascus and marched into the city. Videos showed pris- oners being freed from Assad's notorious detention centres, while rebels and civilians ran- sacked the presidential palace. The Assad family had ruled Syria since 1971. Hafez al-As- sad, a military officer and member of the Alawite mi- nority, seized power through a coup and established a secular, authoritarian regime. His rule was marked by strong central control, suppression of dis- sent, and regional conflicts, including the 1982 Hama mas- sacre. After Hafez's death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad took over, initially promising re- forms. However, his regime faced widespread protests during the 2011 Arab Spring, leading to a brutal civil war. The Assad family's rule has been charac- terised by its resilience, heavy reliance on military force, and support from allies like Russia and Iran. Living under the iron fist Ahmed, who has lived in Mal- ta since 2009, explained how the Assads divided Syria's peo- ple to retain control over the country. "We were always brothers in Syria no matter where we were from, and what religion we practiced. They purposely turned us against each other," he said. Rababah, who was closely watching the situation evolve, explained how Syrian socie- ty is a "multi-faceted fabric" of different cultures. "There are Sunni and Shia Muslims, Ismailis, Christians including Protestants, Druze, Kurds, Ar- menians, Turkmen and Jews as well. We are diverse," he told MaltaToday from Damscus. They explained how life un- der the regime was character- ised by anxiety, vigilance and caution. "We were living a life of slaves under one master. We were eating from his leftovers while he and his entourage lived in luxury," Rababah said. Ahmed explained how family members would warn young children to not say anything against the regime, or else punishment of the worst kind would await them. "My father would tell us to leave the country and never look back. He knew exact- ly what faith awaited us if we stayed in Syria," he said. They also detailed an ev- er-deteriorating economic sit- uation, where corruption was the order of the day. "It was simple – if you have the money to pay them off, you got the best education, the best land and the best life, but if you didn't, then it was the complete opposite," Ahmed said. Ghassan Rababah explained how 13 years of war had weak- ened the country financially and psychologically. "We became extremely poor, and to add to the hardship, the regime was set on seeking re- venge against those who had opposed it," he said. Ahmed also spoke of friends and family he lost under the regime. He would not go in- to detail, but recounted how his brother had been arrested in an attempt to squeeze out information over Ahmed's whereabouts. "They knew I had not re- turned to Syria because my visa had expired, and they took him in for questioning on where I was," he said. 'In the road to democracy, first rehabilitate and educate Ghassan Rababah