Original subtitles

CROWD: Allahu Akbar!

More than five decades of authoritarian rule

by the Assad family have come to an end in Syria.

This is the moment where, you know, both rebels and civilians

are gathering in celebration.

These are Syrians who've been in Lebanon,

and as soon as they heard the news that things have changed,

they're rushing back into the country.

I was expelled out of Syria.

We're going to see for our own selves how the situation is.

The regime was not happy with the way I was reporting.

They've controlled the media.

They've set the lines that people should be reporting on.

Hundreds of people are on the way.

All Syrian plates at the crossing.

This is the first moment that Syrians are experiencing,

you know, going back to the country after 13 years of war,

of displacement, of detention.

We're just crossing from the Lebanese border,

heading to Damascus.

This is the first time we're getting into Syria without Assad in power.

I'm Lina Sinjab.

I'm a Syrian journalist.

I work as a Middle East correspondent for the BBC,

based in Beirut.

But now I'm in Damascus, back home, where it all started.

I continued reporting on Syria

and the uprising and everything that happened

up until I was expelled out of Syria.

You know, and you look back at the Arab Spring,

when the first protests started in Egypt,

everyone was taken by surprise.

Troops are on the streets of Egypt's capital tonight

as the government struggles to quell widespread rioting.

And then, it is Tunisia...

..and then, it's Libya.

Regime toppling in one country after the other.

There are celebrations across Libya tonight

as the country has been officially liberated.

There was a great sense of hope in the Middle East

that was, like, completely destroyed after with violence,

with more tyranny or Islamist groups, you know, being in charge.

Those were exceptional moments in 2011,

when protests took to the streets.

It was something that is unheard of,

that silence broke in Syria,

that people took to the streets and broke the barriers of fear.

CROWD CHANTS

Crowds in Daraa were chanting for freedom

and criticising Maher al-Assad, the brother of President Bashar al-Assad

and the head of the presidential guard.

But the government, you know, the response was really very violent.

And in some cases, security forces

opening fire on demonstrators and protesters killed.

Crushing the protesters, chasing the activists

from area to area.

Once again, heavy gunfire has been heard in the city.

Syrians are becoming more angry with the death toll rising.

They would ask their mum to pray for them to be dead in a bullet,

and not to be arrested so that they don't face disappearance,

they don't face the torture.

And for me, as a reporter, I was

reporting what I've heard, what I've seen.

I spoke to first-hand witnesses.

Hassan Raya was a father of four.

He now has three children left.

The regime was not happy with the way I was reporting.

They've controlled the media.

They've set the lines that people should be reporting on.

From Syria, Lina Sinjab has the latest.

Shocking scenes on the streets of Daraa.

They've set the locations that they would take journalists to.

They'll tell them what do they see and what they have to report.

But I managed to go and report the reality,

and that's something they didn't like.

At a press conference with the President's adviser,

I asked about this attack.

The figures who wanted to exaggerate what happened.

And I want to refer to one news item

that was on BBC, on CNN, on many news...

When I heard the news about toppling Assad,

these stories stay in the back of your head

that, you know, what's going to happen next?

Well, as we've been reporting,

Bashar al-Assad has probably fled the country.

Caroline Hawley looks back now on his rule.

Bashar al-Assad took power in the year 2000,

inheriting Syria's police state from his father, Hafez.

But the old family way of ruling soon reasserted itself.

All of a sudden, after the father,

you started to see a different Damascus, a different Syria.

A Syria that is rich, that is open to the world,

but only for a limited number of people,

those who are around Assad

and those who are benefiting and supporting the regime.

We thought that when the young Assad would come into power,

that things would change.

Soon after, everything went into crackdown -

corruption, poverty, unemployment.

And the resources of the country

were concentrated into certain hands.

Damascus has always been, like, a vibrant city.

For me, it's a city of different colours,

of different flavours, of different smells.

It's the city of the spice market, of the jasmine,

of the River Barada, of the Umayyad Mosque,

of the history that goes back to thousands of years.

And, you know, socially, people are very much warm to each other.

You feel like you're living in a little village

rather than in a big city.

But you could be snatched by the secret police if you say something

or if you do something that they get suspicious about,

or if you belong to a group that they don't like.

I was detained several times in Syria.

You cannot operate without every now and then,

somebody calling you and saying, "Come for a cup of coffee."

And that cup of coffee was known for everyone

that it will be investigation, threatening.

So they used to do that for many journalists,

just to tell them that, "We're watching you."

I remember the first time I was picked up in Douma,

in the suburb of Damascus, the town that was bombed

and that lived chemical attack in 2013.

I went to the first protest there

and there, the secret police were

raiding the protest and attacking people.

And I was picked up, put in this, you know, white car,

known for the security and taken into al-Khatib branch.

And I remember because the one who picked me up

was one of the investigators who always investigated me.

There were men with big muscles

beating people, beating the hell out of them.

So he stopped him and he said, "I know her. Leave her."

They put me in the underground floor.

And there, I was listening to lots of torture.

And I've seen fresh blood on the floor,

old men tied up and beaten up.

MAN SHOUTS

That was the first time I was detained,

and it followed many ones.

And the fear I lived on was unbearable.

People want to find a political solution, but only...

After that, the government put a travel ban on me for a whole year,

so I wasn't able to leave the country.

I had restriction in my movement.

I couldn't go around, I couldn't visit cities,

I couldn't report on the ground.

And that's when, you know, life has become impossible

and my profession has become impossible.

And that's when I had to leave.

I first went to London and joined my colleagues

in the BBC headquarters in London.

I was so detached.

I felt, what am I doing here

while my people are being, you know, killed?

I started to experience PTSD.

I started to have nervous breakdown.

I started to have panic attacks.

I remember calling the ambulances several times after midnight

thinking I have a heart attack.

I started counselling,

but I started to slip into more and more depression

and I felt I needed to be back.

This is the lane of arrivals from Lebanon into Syria...

When I first left, I thought, I'll be out for two or three weeks

or two or three months.

And when I went to Beirut, I thought,

"I'll stay in Beirut for a year."

I've been out of Syria for 11 years now,

and only now I manage to come back.

So, I was in Beirut covering the war on Hezbollah and on Lebanon...

Well, our Middle East correspondent, Lina Sinjab, is in Beirut.

..and all of a sudden there was a ceasefire...

The ceasefire started into effect almost four hours ago.

..and just that day, in the evening,

the news started to come that the rebels have reached Aleppo.

In the next morning, the rebels have captured Aleppo,

and it's really hard to believe

that the regime is not going to respond fiercely.

In a matter of days, you know, city after city started falling.

By midnight on Saturday, Homs had fallen to the rebels

and I thought, "Oh, my God, that's impossible!

"That's incredible."

And by 4am in the morning, the news came that he's gone.

Our headlines for you today, the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad,

has fled the country and reportedly sought asylum in Russia

after rebels...

He left.

I'm having goose bumps now, like I did when I heard the news.

I thought, "Is that possible?"

So, we decided to go to the border and prepare ourselves

to cross into Syria, and we really didn't know

what we are going to expect when we reach the border.

But that was, like, after midnight.

When the morning arrived, already the regime had fallen

and we started to get the news that the border is clear,

that they are, you know, the rebels are now in control, that, you know,

all the government officers had, you know, withdrawn

and left their position.

So, this is when I started to call up my contact to check,

what's the border like, how we can cross and how we can enter.

I've been reporting on this story since the protest began.

I left Syria in 2013.

I had to leave myself for safety

after detention because of the Assad regime.

It's really hard for me to comprehend this moment.

It's a historical moment that I never thought I would witness

or live, especially after years of losing hope that things might change

and peace might come to Syria.

And now, I have really mixed feelings.

But for the first time as a Syrian,

as a journalist, there is no dictatorship.

There is no Assad dynasty.

The minute the border opens, you know,

all of us rushed into the country.

And that was really a big surprise for me, because for me,

this is the first time I crossed the country

without fear of being arrested.

Hundreds of people are on the way.

All Syrian plates, the crossing.

This is the first moment that Syrians are experiencing,

you know, going back to the country after 13 years of war,

of displacement, of detention.

First time I go in, there is no stamp, no officers.

I didn't need to...

I used to cross the border and take anxiety pills

because I was so worried about being arrested.

We're just crossing from the Lebanese border,

heading to Damascus...

And that was the first time that I was going fearless,

with lots of questions in mind -

who are the rebels, how they're going to behave?

What's going to happen on the way?

We are at the Syrian border,

and this is the first sign we see of the Syrian border -

Syria... Welcome in Syria.

This is the first picture we see of President Bashar al-Assad.

It's still there.

This area has been controlled by the Fourth Brigade -

the brother of Bashar al-Assad, Maher al-Assad, used to control it.

And lots of people, people disappeared on this road.

Now nobody is here.

One army position after the other,

one security position after the other, abandoned.

These are the checkpoints that we used to pray

our names are not with them when we cross the border,

that we won't be arrested when we cross the border.

They were empty. Nothing.

We're told all the officers at the Syrian borders

have been ordered to leave and that the rebels are in control.

This is an unprecedented moment for me and for many Syrians.

Crossing this border has always come with lots of fear,

lots of preparation in advance.

I had to do security check. I had to bribe my way in.

I had to pay to several people to lift my name on the wanted list,

so I can come in and out safely.

I would, you know, sometimes fear talking to the checkpoints.

And this is the first time I'm going in without those worries,

without those concerns, but also with mixed feelings

on what's going to happen next, how it's going to look like.

And we arrived in Damascus and the scene was unforgettable.

You know, lots of rebels on the way, you know, firing in the air,

in celebratory fire.

But you reach the main square, Umayyad Square,

that square, when the protest began 13 years ago,

everyone was dreaming of gathering in that square,

like the Tahrir Square in Egypt, to chant pro-freedom,

to chant pro-democracy.

But they were never allowed to gather in the square.

They were always chased and killed and detained and arrested.

And all of a sudden, they were all out there,

mixed with the rebels, you know, civilians with the rebels,

everyone, you know, cheering for this moment.

A moment that they've waited for for 13 years.

But actually, it's a moment that the country waited for for 54 years.

It's the Assad dynasty that has ended, from the father to the son.

We've just arrived in the centre of Damascus.

You know, it's a mix of chaos, celebration,

but also lots of gunfire.

The main square, Umayyad Square, is filled with people,

packed full of people. They are in the streets,

but the majority of the people who are on the ground now

are the rebels controlling the situation.

GUNFIRE

This is the main square.

Behind me is the state television.

This is the centre of Damascus and people are celebrating.

There's lots of gunfire in the air outgoing.

GUNFIRE

This square, the Umayyad Square,

the Syrians have always thought about celebrating one day,

and now, they seem to have achieved their dream.

As we drove through the city, lots of abandoned army

and security positions, official costumes thrown on the way.

You know, it seems the official army and security

have abandoned and left.

There is mixed feeling here inside the city about, you know,

celebration, but also wondering what's going to happen next.

One army position after the other,

one security position after the other, abandoned.

A tank on the right-hand side, abandoned.

Lots of uniform were thrown on the floor.

Obviously, you know, the army or security officers

didn't want to be recognised as, you know, military officers

when they ran away and abandoned their post.

Many people cut off ties with me because they said I'm a traitor.

BBC Arabic. English? English.

I am causing destabilisation of the country.

All these years after I left Syria,

they used to always put my name on the arrest list,

and I would find a way to bribe my way in

because I never wanted to cut ties with my country.

I always wanted to come back, to see people, to feel it,

to report on it from inside, because it's different.

Well, the BBC is currently the only British broadcaster reporting

inside Damascus, with our Middle East correspondent, Lina Sinjab,

among the first to arrive in the Syrian capital yesterday afternoon.

And every time they will have different reasons

for why I am on the arrest list.

But the last time, I was in Palestine Branch -

it's one of also the most notorious, you know, detention centres.

So, we're going to pass by several detention centres

that I've been arrested at, and see if we can get to them

or visit the prison cell where I was transferred to.

We go inside? I don't want to go inside.

I spent two days.

Every day I would go from 10am till 6pm being interrogated.

It's really so strange. It's just...

It's one of the security branches,

but it's also a big detention centre.

There are different areas where, you know, people have been detained,

but most notorious are the ones underground.

SHOUTING IN ARABIC, DOORS RATTLE

And then, after a whole week,

they managed to give me an exit permit.

But I remember that he would say

that "I'm going to peel off your skin.

"I'm going to bury you seven floors down.

"Nobody will know that you've entered this building.

"Do you think that you have, you know, connections -

"if these connections are going to help you?

"Nothing is going to help you."

And he blamed me for the killing,

blamed me for the destruction of the country,

blamed me for the foreign forces who are in the country,

simply because I was reporting the truth.

This is how they deal with people.

It's all closed now.

So we can't get in.

And I'm not sure I want to live this experience again and visit it.

GUNFIRE

So, since the start of the uprising,

there have been many powers involved in Syria.

Those who are backing the regime, whether it is Russia or Iran,

and those who are backing the opposition - regional powers,

you know, Gulf states, the US, France and, you know, Europe,

you name it. And there has always been talks

about this is not an internal war in Syria. It's a proxy war...

SHOUTING

..that has been, you know, imposed on the Syrian people.

Of course, I never thought that we will witness a change,

we will witness a fall of the regime.

The news agency Reuters says other rebels from HTS

have advanced from the north and are inside the third city of Homs.

As I was following the story on Homs, they were advancing,

you know, area after area, and by midnight, Homs was free.

SINGING

And we got the news that Assad left.

It was so quick and so surprising to understand and to process.

HTS, or Hayat Tahrir al-Sham,

are one of the biggest Islamist rebel groups

that was in control of Idlib.

They were formerly connected to Al-Qaeda,

but, you know, they've distanced themselves from Al-Qaeda.

ALL CHANT IN ARABIC

And they say that, you know,

they are taking a completely different agenda today.

They are the ones who led this operation,

toppling the Assad regime, along with other fighter groups.

Our Middle East correspondent, Lina Sinjab,

is in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

And you can see, in the distance, the rebels are stretched at the bank

trying to protect it.

We've seen them in other locations, too...

But they are the biggest force now, they are in charge.

They have appointed an interim government.

From the first few days, although many people have concerns

over an Islamist group ruling the country,

but I have to say also, after 54 years of Assad,

people are also saying that there won't be any other tyranny again -

we will speak out. We will not be silenced.

ULULATING, HORNS HONK

But what you can see at the moment, whether from Syrians

or whether from the rebel groups who are leading,

everyone is focused on what's going to happen inside.

People want to go back to their normal life.

They want justice, they want safety, they want business,

they want to be able to rebuild their homes,

they want services, and they don't want to relive the tyranny

that Assad imposed on them for 54 years.

So that's what matter for them.