Foreword
p. 7-8
Texte intégral
1At dawn on 8 December 2024, Syrians learned in disbelief that Bashar al-Assad had left Damascus, putting an end to 14 years of devastating war and 54 years of torturous rule. Suddenly, shouts and cries of joy flooded the streets of the capital. Scenes of jubilation filled Syrian towns and villages, as an incredulous population felt a heavy weight lifted from its shoulders. In exile, thousands of refugees celebrated the liberation of their country from a hated regime. Statues, effigies and symbols of the Assads, father and son, were destroyed in a catharsis. The flag of the revolution, which had previously been banned, was raised in public spaces. Syrians have renewed hope.
2The advance of the coalition of armed groups led by the Ḥayʾat Taḥrīr al‑Shām group was meteoric from the north-west of the country. One after another, the towns of Aleppo, Ḥamā and Ḥoms fell without meeting any real resistance from the regime’s army. It only took around ten days for the armed men to reach Damascus and bring down a moribund regime, whose survival was only ensured by its Russian and Iranian allies.
3A new era is dawning for all Syrians, both those in exile and those who have survived misery, repression, humiliation, the death of loved ones and the fragmentation of their families. Most had given up hope of ever living in a Syria free of authoritarian rule. Now Syrians are taking their destiny into their own hands and working to build the Syria of tomorrow. Speech has been liberated and citizens are debating in cafés, in squares and in front of the authorities’ buildings. There are many social, political and economic challenges ahead, but they are now free and strengthened by the experience of years of revolution, war and exile.
4We share this moment of joy and hope with the Syrians. We began this book project in Amman in 2019, at a time of normalization of the Assad regime, while Syria had left the headlines. We were driven by the desire to show that the legacy of the revolution was deeply rooted in Syrian society and that its hitherto-crushed expression had changed the intimate relationship with power, overcoming its fear. The contributions in this book, which were completed in May 2024, provide a much-needed context for the social, economic and political changes that are taking shape.
Auteurs
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Myriam Ababsa
Ifpo
myriam.ababsa@gmail.com
Geographer and urban planner, associate researcher at the Institut français du Proche-Orient (Ifpo Amman), the Géographie-Cités laboratory, and the CAREP Paris. A graduate of the École normale supérieure Fontenay-Saint Cloud, she obtained her PhD in 2004 from the University of Tours (Raqqa, territoires et pratiques sociales d’une ville syrienne, Ifpo, 2009). Myriam Ababsa is the author of Amman, de pierre et de paix (Autrement, 2007). Together with Rami Daher, she co-edited Villes, pratiques urbaines et construction nationale en Jordanie (Ifpo, 2011); with Éric Denis and Baudouin Dupret, Popular Housing and Urban Land Tenure in the Middle East (American University in Cairo Press, 2012); and the Atlas of Jordan: History, Territories and Society (Ifpo, 2013). Her most recent book, co-authored with Norig Neveu and Falestin Naïli, is: Amman Social History through Photography (Ifpo, 2025). She is a member of the scientific council of Mondes Arabes (CNRS, Collège de France) since 2022.
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Valentina Napolitano
IRD, LPED/AMU
valentina.napolitano@ird.fr
Sociologist, research fellow at IRD (Institut de recherche pour le développement) and associate researcher at the Institut français du Proche-Orient (Ifpo) in Amman, her work focuses on forced migration, political violence, and collective action in the Middle East (Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon). After studying political mobilisation within Palestinian refugee camps in Damascus, her current research explores the transformations of the Syrian family sphere in the context of war and forced displacement. Among her recent publications: “Donner sens et cohérence à la désertion en contexte de guerre : les émotions d’ex-militaires syriens”, Critique internationale 91/2 (2021), pp. 67–87; with Jalal al-Husseini, “La politique jordanienne à l’égard des réfugiés syriens : entre hospitalité et protection des intérêts nationaux”, Confluences Méditerranée 110/3 (2019), pp. 127–142.
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