Darling Downs and Toowoomba Syrians react to Assad’s fall

Regional Queensland Syrians have reacted to the news of rebel forces ousting the Assad regime in Syria, as they hope each day to wake to good news.

Naaso Nasso, Elias Khouri, Shiyar Abdo and Jankey Joweesh are all Toowoomba Syrians hope that Syria will be for everybody. Picture: Christine Schindler

As the fallout starts to settle after the ousting of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, what comes next remains uncertain for regional Queensland Syrians, as they hold their breath, hoping each day brings good news.

“Syria is multicultural, like the five fingers on my hand, everyone is different but they belong to the same hand,” Jankey Joweesh said.

He is sitting next to Naaso Naaso and Shiyar Abdo, and they are three Syrian Kurdish Ezidis who are now part of the Toowoomba community.

In the same Kearneys Spring living room are Elias Khouri and Loay Domat, Syrian Christians who have also joined them. They came to Toowoomba with their families from Muhradah, a predominantly Christian city, which they describe as Syria’s “Paris”.

The Darling Downs is home to the third largest refugee population in Queensland, and has Australia’s largest Kurdish populations, many of who come from the Ezidi (Yazidi) ethnic group in Syria and Iraq.

Naaso Nasso, Elias Khouri, Shiyar Abdo and Jankey Joweesh are all Toowoomba Syrians hope that Syria will be for everybody. Picture: Christine Schindler

All these men have found a new life and home in Toowoomba and consider themselves “lucky”, as they raise their families here, educate their children, buy houses, and become Australian citizens.

“I’m Aussie-di,” Mr Joweesh said.

They all share similar stories of discrimination, which turned into terror and fear, causing them to flee and seek a peaceful life in Australia.

Mr Khouri was a French teacher and fled with his family in 2017 when the regime was about to recruit his son into the army.

“Different beliefs, different religions, different everything, we were living together and were friends,” Mr Khouri said.

“But we were living in fear all the time from the regime and armed terrorist groups.”

Naaso Nasso, Elias Khouri, Shiyar Abdo and Jankey Joweesh are all Toowoomba Syrians hope that Syria will be for everybody. Picture: Christine Schindler

His family has been in Australia since 2018, and his son is now studying aviation, his daughter is studying medicine, and he works as a graphic designer at an employment agency.

Syria, which is smaller than Victoria in size, is rich in agriculture and oil, and bordering Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon and Israel, has been caught in a own civil war for 13 years, with multiple factions competing for local, regional and international interests.

From violent crackdowns on pro-democracy protests in 2011 to the creation of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2014, the country has become the largest displacement crisis in the world.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates 13 million people, or almost half of the country’s pre-conflict population have been forcibly displaced.

People celebrate holding a large Syrian opposition flag at Umayyad Square in Damascus on December 9, 2024. Syrians flocked to the main square of the capital city Damascus on December 9 to mark what many regard as a long-awaited new dawn after the fall of president Bashar al-Assad. Assad fled to Russia the day before after a lightning offensive spearheaded by Islamist rebels ousted him from power, opening a new chapter in Syria's history after five decades of rule by his clan. Picture: OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

On Sunday, 50 years of the Assad family rule came to an end, as rebel groups stormed Damascus, taking down statues, raiding palaces, and freeing prisoners from detention facilities. 

While this heralds the end of one regime, the group of Toowoomba Syrians, all with family and friends still in Syria, are holding their breath over what might come next.

“Terrorism is an idea, anyone can be terrorists, you don’t study terrorism in the mosque or the church, it’s an idea, it’s a (way of) thinking,” Mr Joweesh said.

While the most prominent leader of the rebel forces, Abu Mohammad al-Golani, has promised Syrian minorities protection, his past but severed, links with al-Qaeda still remain a cause for fear.

“I know he is trying to show us differently, but we can never know what he can be, or what he will do in the future,” Mr Joweesh said.

He said does not want to see a “replay” of 2014, when ISIS leaders told the people of Mosul in Iraq they would not touch anyone, and a week later, the killings started.

“We need Syria for everybody,” he said.

“We know it’s going to be slow, you can’t just click a button and everything will be beautiful tomorrow.”