By Michael Seifert
Kamila Alali worked with tuenews INTERNATIONAL in its early years and, together with an Afghan colleague, organized the “tuenews vor Ort im Steinlachtal” events. The German-Syrian now works as a school counselor. Together with her husband, her 13-year-old daughter, and her 15-year-old son, she traveled to Syria twice in 2025. She now reports on her experiences to tuenews INTERNATIONAL.
Her destroyed hometown
In April, she visited her old hometown of Deir-Ezzor on the Euphrates in the southeast of the country together with family members who had fled to Turkey. “I couldn’t believe that Syria was really free, and I wanted to see if I could really be in my homeland without fear,” she says. Her city is the most severely destroyed in all of Syria as a result of the war. There was fighting between opposition forces and the regime, Russian bombing raids, and at times it was occupied by ISIS. “I hadn’t expected this destruction. But the people were very happy and want to rebuild everything, but that will take a long time.” Her husband’s family home was still standing, but without windows or doors, and everything had been looted. Nothing remained of her family’s house, but they had sold it before fleeing. She saw many people who were completely impoverished, “who earn very little money even though they work over twelve hours a day.”
There is a huge difference between the city in the east and the capital Damascus, where they then traveled on: “Everything has been preserved there because the regime was there, and life there is completely normal. But even in villages around Damascus, the walls of the houses are often gone.”
Damascus open 24 hours
In August, Kamila and her family went on vacation to Damascus. She raves about it: “The grocery stores were open 24 hours. We were still out on the streets at 2 a.m., roaming the old town with its ice cream parlors and famous bars (but without alcohol!). I like it when there are lots of people outside. Nighttime in Damascus is like daytime.” Her children were also thrilled: “Vegetables and fruit taste completely different in Syria and are so delicious.“ Food prices have now normalized. The only unpleasant thing was that there was only electricity for one hour every five hours: “It was really a disaster.”
There was one significant change before they fled: “We are no longer afraid of the police; they are completely different now, polite, friendly, full of respect. You can ask them anything.” This applies both in Damascus and to the border police on the border with Jordan, through which they entered the country, but also to the internal Syrian controls: “In the past, you always had to pay something and weren’t allowed to complain, otherwise you could end up in prison. Now they are very nice, even if you fill something out incorrectly.” And as Kamila sums up: “The fear of leaving the house and not coming back, of disappearing for your family, no longer exists.”
Thanks to the police, nothing more “under the table”
The police also appear to be playing a decisive role in social change. As Kamila reports, there is something else that is completely new: “You pay and you no longer get anything ‘under the table’.” This refers to the widespread corruption in Syria: “You had to pay money ‘under the table’ for everything you wanted, e.g., to enroll a child in school or obtain a document. That’s no longer possible. The people in the new government monitor this, for example, by going to the school board and offering to pay for a service. And if someone accepts, they are immediately sent to prison – perhaps for 40 days. This is how people are educated.”
This is linked to the establishment of an orderly administration: “Today, you need a permit for everything: you can’t just build a house or open a shop, you have to go to the authorities and apply for a written permit.”
When asked for a rough assessment of the new situation, Kamila estimates that 80 to 85 percent of the population supports the new government. “But there are still a few people who say: ‘The old president was better.’ But most people want a united Syria and not a divided country with different governments.” This applies to all religious groups, she says, because Sunnis, Shiites, and Christians coexist very well, especially in the larger cities. People are very concerned about Israel’s attacks on Syria, and there is great fear of further violent attacks by Israel.
Return? Not yet
And how does Kamila view a possible return to Syria? Her children’s position is clear: “They would like to travel to Syria, to Damascus, but only to visit. They enjoy the freedom of the holidays there. But they don’t want to live there.”
She herself would like to return “when Syria is really safe and the electricity problem has been solved. But because of my children, that’s not possible right now – only when they can live independently in Germany.” If she did return, she would go to Deir ez-Zor: “Because that’s my city. But my city is destroyed. We all have to work together to rebuild it.” Kamila was very pleased to see that there was recently a large online fundraising campaign around the world for Deir ez-Zor. “They had already reached $31 million, and the goal is $80 million. There are many wealthy people in the Emirates, in America, in Great Britain, who come from Deir ez-Zor and have donated a lot. We were very happy about this news.”
Kamila’s conclusion is: “I am really happy that Syria is now free. And the hope is that we can rebuild Syria together. The new president also wants people from Europe and America to come back and contribute their experiences from there. But we have to wait and see how everything develops under the new government.”
More about Kamila Alali at: tun23031506
tun25090901