Syrians celebrate ‘Victory Day’ but nervous about what’s next

I could barely take 10 steps without someone stopping me wanting to talk, telling me about their happiness that this day had come and their sadness for those they lost.

“For over 50 years no one has been able to speak openly, now they can’t stop talking,” Sky producer Jeehad Jneid joked as we walked through the crowd.

We had joined thousands and thousands of people in the streets of Homs, heading towards the “Clock Tower” – the main square where some of the first spontaneous protests against Bashar al Assad began in 2011.

Latest news in Syria: mass rallies across the country

Men, women and children invaded the place. Crowds were monitored by revolutionary fighters on rooftops, and at nearby checkpoints, fighters checked that no one was carrying weapons – no weapons were allowed entry.

There was some segregation in the crowd, a section for men, a section for women and a section for families. But Homs is a conservative place and no one seemed to care.

It was to be a day of freedom, their “Victory Day”. A feeling shared by all ages and genders.

“I can’t even describe what’s happening right now, it’s immense, immense happiness, we’re all experiencing this together,” Haia Farhan told me.

Even though people here are nervous about what happens next, they are happy that Assad and his government are gone.

“I see the future and it looks very bright and yes, everyone is scared, it’s a scary time, but I see the future and I really hope it’s bright,” he said. -she declared.

At the Omar bin Khattab Mosque, located a few steps away, crowds began arriving well before Friday prayers began.

It was packed – there was no space inside, so worshipers spilled into the streets outside to pray and listen to the sermon.

Sheikh Mahmoud Dalati was the spiritual leader of the uprising in Homs, and he returned from exile to deliver a sermon calling for unity, law and order, and no reprisals – to resort to the courts , he said.

He also urged everyone to be patient with the new government and understand that it will take time for basic services like electricity and water to be operational.

“It’s like moving into a new house,” he said in his sermon, “it takes at least three months to settle in.”

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The priests have a lot of leverage here, but they can’t guarantee anything.

Everyone who stopped me from speaking told me that they wanted an end to divisions and violence, that they wanted a Syria for all faiths.

I spoke to a man, Taha Tadmori, who had lost two brothers to Assad’s murderous regime. He just wants peace now.

“All kinds of people, all kinds of religions, here in Syria, can live together in peace, live together and rebuild this country that needs to be rebuilt,” he said.

Syria may have fundamentally changed, but ultimately no one knows which direction it will go.

But for his people, today is a day to celebrate – a day of unity, a day of pure happiness.