"I have a new life now". Story of a Syrian who will soon return home

Shehab believed that the overthrow of the government would happen in the early years of the revolution, in 2011. According to him, it was very close.

"Unfortunately, the West, Israel and Russia decided to keep the butcher dictator in power. And Italy, Greece, Austria and other EU countries came very close to normalizing relations with the Syrian regime in recent years," he said.

"I was so happy, I could have run all the way to Damascus"

When Assad fled the country, Shehab was in Syria's neighbor Jordan.

"I was just there for a film festival, so I was ready to go straight to Syria, I was so happy, I thought I could run all the way to Damascus. I suddenly felt like I had a home. I wanted to be part of these historic moments. Unfortunately, there was no way to cross the border so quickly. 

"But I will be going to Syria in March. That will be the month when the interim government is supposed to hand over power to a transitional government that will hopefully represent all Syrians, so we need to be there to protect democracy and prevent any attempts at monopoly. Not to mention that March 15 is also the 14th anniversary of the Syrian revolution.

Of course I'm concerned that for the first time in modern history Islamists are ruling my country - it's not what the revolution originally wanted, but they are now the most powerful force in the country".

"There will be nothing worse than Assad"

Shehab believes that Syria can become a country where no one feels oppressed and where everyone respects each other.

"Very few people know that we have many cultures, religions and languages, even though we have a relatively small country. All these years, the dictator's family abused this and made us hate each other. Now everything has changed, we have a real chance to build a new society where there is no place for radicals, where all religions are allowed and non-religious people can feel safe, where women and men are equal, where non-Arabic languages like Kurdish are recognized".

Shehab is convinced that with Assad's dictatorship, Syria really hit rock bottom. But now the worst is over.

"I would like to say on behalf of many Syrians that Syria will never be worse than Assad, never! The first time will be difficult, but now the most important thing is to disarm all the militias in the country that are capable of provoking chaos in Syria at any time. Some of them have a radical ideology and it will not be easy to de-radicalize them".

Shehab believes that after 14 years of escalation, Syrians want peace. He calls on all sides to use diplomatic channels and let Syrians decide their own future.

"Israel, in particular, has been bombing Syria since the first hours of Assad's fall. They carried out about 500 airstrikes in two days [Israel has been striking military installations since the fall of the Assad regime to reduce the risk of weapons falling into the wrong hands - Euroradio]. Israel is now the biggest threat in the Middle East and probably in the world," Shehab said.

According to him, Syrians now have the opportunity to change and build a new country. And if people feel safe and experience freedom of speech, millions of Syrians will return home, at least in part.

"Let's seize this opportunity and usher in a new era"

Addressing Syrians around the world, Shehab says people have been denied the opportunity to be citizens in their own homeland for half a century, but now the nation has a chance to feel like citizens and build a state that makes them feel safe and stable.

"Let us seize this opportunity and usher in a new era for this truly beautiful corner of the world that every adult Syrian can now contribute to in some way. And to the citizens of other countries, I would like to say that you will soon be able to visit Syria and discover it for yourself.

A safe and democratic Syria is a victory for all of us. Help as much as you can".