Three Months After the Fall of the Assad Regime, Syrians Living in Japan Still Have Struggles and Wishes

It has been about three months since the Assad regime in Syria collapsed in December ’24. Refugees who have fled to Europe, North America, and other countries around the world are returning home, but the civil war that lasted more than 13 years has devastated the infrastructure, and economic activity is stagnant. Many have already established a foundation for their lives in other countries, and many are reluctant to return home.

The civil war, which has been called “the worst humanitarian crisis of the century,” has displaced more than 13 million refugees and internally displaced persons. In Japan, three Syrians were granted refugee status in ’19, four in ’20, and one in ’23, in addition to those who received permission to stay due to humanitarian considerations and several Syrian students who received permission to stay through university refugee admission programs. There are also several Syrian students who have received permission to stay in Japan through university refugee admission programs.

We interviewed three Syrian students to find out how Syrians living in Japan view the collapse of the regime in their home country.

The freedom I have long wished for has been realized…

Abdulrahman, 26, a native of Homs in central Syria, entered a university in Tochigi Prefecture in 2010 through the “Syrian Refugee Student Admission Program” of the Japan Association for Refugees (JAR), which has now been transferred to “Pathways Japan. He majored in Systems Informatics at the Faculty of Engineering and is currently seeking employment.

Abdulrahman, who says he has loved Japanese animation since childhood, was displaced within Syria from ’11 to ’12 after the outbreak of the civil war. His home in his hometown of Homs was destroyed by government forces, and his brother was detained and tortured by government soldiers for several weeks.

Fearing for their safety, the family fled to Saudi Arabia in 2012, and Abdulrahman and his brother moved to Turkey, where they both attended university.

While in school, I learned about a scholarship program for Syrian students living in Turkey,” Abdulrahman said. I decided to come to Japan to study, hoping to learn technology in Japan and use it to help rebuild my home country someday.”

Mr. Abdullahaman speaks fluent Japanese. His home in Syria was destroyed by shelling during the civil war, and all of his friends, with whom he had been close since childhood, fled to other countries.

In Syria, I have lived under the Assad regime since I was born. Wherever I go, I see Assad’s picture on the wall, and at school they sing songs praising the government. Sometimes, as part of school events, we were forced to participate in demonstrations in support of the regime. The news of the regime’s fall is definitely the happiest event in my life, but I honestly can’t imagine what a democratic Syria would be like.”

Most people, including Abdullahaman, have never seen a “free Syria. Although they have long hoped for freedom, when it comes to fruition, they feel as if their home country is a completely different country that they do not know.

While his desire to see his homeland at first sight is growing, Mr. Abdullahaman has been unable to return home because he has no place to live and no place to work. It is said that it will take at least 20 years to rebuild Syria, including destroyed buildings and infrastructure.

On the other hand, there are those who are reluctant to return home due to concerns about the new administration. Ibrahim (pseudonym, 26), a student at International Christian University (ICU), is one such person.

Ibrahim is from the suburbs of Damascus. He fled to Turkey in 2003 after his home area was surrounded by government forces and shelling and gunfire intensified. He came to Japan in 2010 through a scholarship program that provides young Syrians with the opportunity to receive an undergraduate education at ICU.

At least the dictatorship led by Assad has collapsed and a new government has taken its place. That’s the only good thing about this whole thing.”

On the other hand, he is concerned that Sunni Islamist militants have come to power.

They are, at the very least, an organization that had ties to the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. I am concerned about whether we can allow such a group to take power, and whether they can form a government in the first place.

Can non-Muslims really have freedom?

Ibrahim, who grew up in a Muslim family and used to pray daily, “apostatized” from Islam when he was 19 years old. He said he lost his faith after watching lecture videos of religious leaders and others on the Internet, which raised all kinds of questions.

The more I looked into it, the more I felt contradictions in the teachings of Islam. I had always believed wholeheartedly, but suddenly I couldn’t even worship anymore, and I decided to leave Islam.”

Although the new HTS government promises freedom for people of all religions, sects, and ethnicities, Hashem is pessimistic.

Even that Assad regime was proposing freedom and democracy. But as we can see, that has never been realized. So whatever the current regime says, I don’t dare to believe it.”

Syria used to be divided between pro-regime and anti-regime factions. Ibrahim believes that the split will now be between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Many Syrians have been afraid to act against the government’s directives,” he said. They are used to being ruled. They are stuck in that habit, and if the current government says, ‘You must pray,’ or ‘Women must wear the scarf,’ they will have no choice but to follow it.”

Under Islamic law, apostasy is punishable by death in principle. Ibrahim has remained secretive about his apostasy, even from his family.

Naturally, he would like to see his homeland again. However, he is unable to fully support the current government, and he is tormented by a sense of despair that there is no place for him in his home country as an apostate from Islam.

I want to make use of what I have learned in Japan and play an active role in Syria.

Sarah, 27, who also entered ICU in 2009 through the scholarship program, left for Turkey in February of this year to return to Syria. We spoke with her a week before she left Japan.

Born and raised in Damascus, she moved to Turkey in ’15 when the war situation worsened. He earned his living working for a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that assists Syrian refugees.

He graduated from ICU in March of this year with a degree in international politics. I have always wanted to work to support the Syrian people once the civil war ends. I would like to make use of my experience in humanitarian aid and what I have learned in Japan to play an active role in Syria.

After returning to Japan, she would like to join a local NGO and support people in need. After living in Japan for four years, the decision to return to a life in Syria devastated by civil war must not be an easy one.

I am fully aware that my life will be more difficult than it is now,” he said. I am fully prepared that my life will be harder than it is now, that I will not have proper access to electricity, water, or even the Internet. But I have always wanted to support the Syrian people, and I am happy to be able to do so.”

With more and more people returning to Syria, airline tickets from Istanbul to Damascus are sold out until May. Sara, who is currently in Turkey, plans to enter Syria by land in the near future.

I am proud to have had the opportunity to study in Japan, a country that has seen great development and widespread urban development since the end of World War II,” she said.