Early on Tuesday, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Christian areas of Damascus, voicing their concerns over the burning of a Christmas tree in the Christian-majority town of Suqaylabiyah, near Hama in central Syria. The protest, which began in the early morning hours, saw a sea of demonstrators chanting, “We demand the rights of Christians,” as they marched through the Syrian capital towards the headquarters of the Orthodox patriarchate in the Bab Sharqi neighborhood.
Just over two weeks ago, an armed alliance formed primarily by Islamist organizations overthrew President Bashar al-Assad’s administration, setting off the demonstrations. Syria’s religious minority, especially the Christian community, are concerned about the new leadership that has succeeded Assad, who for a long time had positioned himself as a defender of minorities in a nation that was primarily Sunni.
A demonstrator named Georges told AFP that he was quite unhappy with the latest developments. “We’re here to express our disapproval of the unfair treatment of Christians. He replied, his voice laced with a combination of despair and rage, “If we are not permitted to live our Christian faith in our country as we used to, then we don’t belong here anymore.”
The protest was triggered by a video that went viral on social media, showing hooded fighters setting fire to a Christmas tree in Suqaylabiyah. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the individuals responsible for the act were foreigners from the Islamist group Ansar al-Tawhid. A video that went viral on social networks has stoked outrage and anxiety among the already beleaguered Christian communities that have suffered for generations in a terrain that has known much sectarian turmoil.
The local populace was addressed in a video posted online by a religious leader of the victorious Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which currently holds most of the area against unrest in the country. He condemned the act and reassured the community that the perpetrators were not Syrian nationals. “The tree will be restored and lit up by tomorrow morning,” he promised, adding that the individuals involved would be subjected to punishment.
However, the protest in Damascus is a glaring reminder that this country has an unusually delicate balance to maintain, where sects and ethnic minorities have formed a major part of the social fabric for a long time. The fall of the Assad regime is proving to be a whole new challenge and uncertainty for other communities that have always depended on state protection against attacks from armed militias or other sects or ethnic minorities.
Slogans of the demonstrators that persisted in moving from one street to another in Damascus conveyed more than just the anticipated change; they conveyed a society’s epitome of hope mingled with terror. A desire not to suffer a defeat in front of,the new authorities, a fear of the future in which they will be deprived of their rights and the traditions they take for granted. The major human rights NGOs and religious leaders of the world have also condemned the incident and urged to prevent persecution of religious minorities after the so called ‘Assad’s regime’.
The days ahead will be of significance in as much as they define reaction of the new government and the overall prospects of the Christian population of Syria. As the dust settles on the recent political upheaval, the question remains: can the new regime provide protection to all citizens regardless their belonging to any religion house or any tribe?
At least, the protesters in Damascus have a chance to tell the world as much as they can expect that somebody will listen to them and make a change that will let people like them live their life with some sense of human decency.
