Education resumes in Syria

Following the collapse of the Assad administration in Syria, universities, which had suspended education for 2 weeks on December 8, remained closed until now due to the intervening Christmas holiday.

As educational activities resumed at universities after a break of approximately 1 month, a large number of students flocked to their campuses to attend final exams.

Students and teachers, reunited with their universities, shared their feelings and experiences regarding the events that have taken place in Syria over the last month.

Reem Al Zohaili, a teacher and graduate of the Damascus University Faculty of Architecture and the Higher Language Institute, expressed that people are joyful and happy following the fall of the Assad regime, stating, "Under the Assad regime, people were not allowed to do anything or talk about anything. People were not even allowed to talk about political issues. Now, people are free to do everything and talk about everything. It is like getting out of prison."

Emphasizing that people are now free to joke about political matters, Zohaili said, "I used to force my students to participate in class, to express opinions about something, even if we never talked about politics. But in general, people would not talk about anything. People were not allowed to express their opinions or have a say in their own lives. Everything felt forbidden. We were not allowed to make our voices heard."

"NO ONE COULD EXPRESS THEIR OPINION DURING THE ASSAD ERA"

Stating that students now feel more comfortable following the collapse of the Assad administration, Zohaili added, "They are expressing their own opinions. They are not afraid. Because students always had the fear of 'What if I get caught? What if I go to jail because of what I said?' We witnessed this throughout the 13 years we lived through."

Using the phrase, "Whenever someone said something about the government or the regime, they would immediately go to prison and their families would never hear from them again," Zohaili said that in 2014 and 2015, some students were expelled from school and sent to prison for speaking out against the Assad administration, and that many people were killed in bomb attacks on schools.

"SYRIAN REFUGEES SHOULD RETURN TO THEIR COUNTRY"

Pointing out that the Syrian people want to live a normal life in peace, Zohaili said, "I would like to say that Western countries have always had a desire for wealth, riches, and power. As Arabs, we have never cared about that."

Arguing that Western states viewed Arab countries as a threat, Zohaili stated, "We are normal people. We learn the languages of Western countries because we want to be friends and we want the world to be a peaceful place. This is my message to Western countries."

Expressing that it is time to rebuild Syria, Zohaili said, "We lived here throughout the war. Now it is your time (referring to refugees who left Syria) to rebuild what was destroyed. Waiting outside does not gain the country anything. I think it is time for them to return."

Stating that everyone believes they are on the right side and views others as enemies, Zohaili emphasized that the Syrian people need to communicate and talk among themselves.

"NO ONE EXPECTED IT"

Jouman Msouti, a graduate of the English Language and Literature Department at Damascus University who teaches English at the Higher Language Institute, stated that everything changed in a short time, saying, "Something happened that no one thought would happen. The regime fell. Literally, no one even imagined that this would happen."

Msouti expressed her happiness over the collapse of the regime, while also noting that a new order is being established in the country and that it will take some time for it to settle.

Calling on Syrians living in various countries to return to their homeland, Msouti said, "Return to Syria and help us build the country."

Also making an appeal to the Western world, Msouti said, "We are not terrorists. None of us are. We are actually just normal people and we just want to live our lives."