Damascus, Syria – Enormous piles of rubble and trash line the streets of the Yarmouk refugee camp in south-central Damascus in late May, 2021. Most structures bear reminders of the war: bullet holes, sandbags, the fading graffiti of various factions. Some buildings have collapsed entirely. Stray cats and dogs roam the eerie, quiet streets.

Just off of the main Yarmouk Street, however, signs of life begin to appear. Behind a destroyed pharmacy, plastic chairs are arranged outside the home of Abeer Ali Naif and her family. A small fluorescent light illuminates the entryway. Clothes hang out to dry from the restored balcony, adorned with decorative wrought iron. Potted plants climb the patched stucco walls from a section of narrow street that stands out for its lack of debris.

Naif has returned to Yarmouk, but she is from Palestine. Her family was ethnically cleansed by Zionists during the Nakba of 1948, after which they found their way to the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria.

Calling it a “camp” is a bit of a misnomer. Soon after it was established in 1948, modern apartment blocks, schools, hospitals, businesses and banks were established. Yarmouk quickly grew into a thriving neighborhood of Damascus, home to over 160,000 Palestinians and at least that many Syrians – many themselves displaced after the Zionist takeover of Syria’s Golan Heights in 1967.

“The conditions in Palestinian refugee camps in Syria were much better than in other countries,” explains Amal Wahdan, a Ramallah-based activist with the One Democratic State In Palestine campaign who accompanied Fight Back! to visit Yarmouk. Wahdan spent time in Yarmouk herself, after being deported from the West Bank in 1990 during the First Intifada. She later was allowed to reenter, though not to her family’s original home.

“Palestinians in Syria are considered equal to Syrians,” she says. “They get free education and free healthcare, can work at any job based on their qualifications, and own their own businesses and homes.” Contrast that to neighboring Lebanon, where Palestinians are only allowed to work in certain jobs, and only for companies owned by Lebanese nationals.

“Yarmouk was called the capital of the Palestinian diaspora, politically and economically,” she says.

Outside her home, Naif agrees. “We were living in peace,” she says. “Until the Saudis, the U.S., Turkey and Qatar sent terrorists.”

The fall of Yarmouk

The destruction of Yarmouk unfolded gradually. As the war broke out across Syria, most Palestinian factions in the camp pledged their neutrality. But in mid-2012, a wave of assassinations targeted the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command group, which was seen as close to the Syrian government. Even then, the Syrian army stayed out of the situation, out of respect for the camp’s traditional Palestinian autonomy.

When the infighting caused the camp’s security to deteriorate, however, outside groups with the al-Qaeda-aligned Jabhat al-Nusra and the U.S.-backed so-called ‘Free Syrian Army’ flooded into the camp to take advantage of its proximity to their real target: state institutions in central Damascus. By late 2012, the groups were firing mortars into the city center and using the camp’s dense apartment buildings as a staging ground for further incursions.

The government had little choice but to send the army to the camp’s entrances to contain the armed groups, while supporting the Palestinian factions that fought back. The worsening violence necessitated the evacuation of Yarmouk’s civilians.

In December 2012, the vast majority of Palestinian and Syrian residents left Yarmouk. These hundreds of thousands of civilians became refugees from a refugee camp, heading for other areas of Syria, neighboring countries and further abroad.

“For the Palestinians, what happened in Yarmouk is considered a second Nakba, to be forced to leave their livelihoods and property, and move somewhere else,” says Wahdan. “This was a total catastrophe.”

Siege and starvation

For a variety of reasons, about 20,000 civilians chose to remain in the camp. The government and its Palestinian allies faced the gut-wrenching dilemma of how to liberate the camp without hurting the civilian population.

Thus began the infamous siege of Yarmouk. At times it was unimaginably ugly. While the Syrian government worked with the Palestine Liberation Organization and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to get supplies to civilians, they didn’t always arrive. In some cases, the anti-government militias took the supplies for themselves; in others, foreign terrorists were seen shooting at civilians who tried to flee. The West accused the Syrian government of trying to starve the entire camp into surrender.

Palestinian factions on both sides agreed the situation was a humanitarian disaster. Throughout 2013 and 2014, negotiations were underway to evacuate all armed groups from the camp and move the conflict elsewhere so residents could safely return. At times, these efforts were on the verge of success. But an extremist minority, still holding out for total victory in its effort to topple the Syria government, succeeded at sabotaging a deal to spare Yarmouk.

It seemed like the situation couldn’t get any worse. But in April 2015, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Daesh, popularly known in English as ISIS) infiltrated the camp. Fighting grew even more intense in a three-way fight between pro-government Palestinians, the foreign-backed militants who had originally infiltrated the camp, and the ruthless Daesh. As section after section of the camp fell to the latest intruders, most of the remaining civilians fell under the brutal tyranny of Daesh.

It wasn’t until three years later that Palestinian forces backed by the Syrian army made progress at liberating Yarmouk. Facing a concerted offensive, the armed groups in the camp – including Daesh – finally agreed to be evacuated to the countryside on government buses.

The right of return

Unlike the original Nakba when Zionists drove the Palestinians from their national homeland, Yarmouk residents have the right of return after their second Nakba in Yarmouk. But years of siege and violence left most of the camp in utter disrepair. It took another two years after its liberation before authorities deemed the camp safe enough from unexploded ordinances to begin reconstruction. Residents told Fight Back! that around 700 families have returned so far.

“The government is calling all Palestinians to return to Yarmouk,” says Wahdan. “They are ready to help them with the infrastructure, the roads, the electricity, the water.”

The return of a thriving Yarmouk will be slow. Engineers have to go building-by-building to determine which can be rehabilitated and which must be condemned. Tough planning debates lie ahead for Palestinian and Syrian residents alike in areas where the street grid needs to be redrawn from scratch. Meanwhile, U.S. economic sanctions target construction materials in an effort to discourage the return of refugees.

And of course, for Palestinians, the struggle doesn’t stop there.

“The camp is liberated from terrorists but we also want to get rid of the Zionist apartheid state so we can go back home,” says Naif.

Wahdan explains that the Palestinian issue was central to why the war in Syria broke out in the first place, citing a 2003 visit to Syria by then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who demanded that Syria close the offices of Palestinian resistance groups based in the country and make peace with Israel.

“After the government refused, the U.S. went to Plan B, which was inflicting this terrorist war,” she says.

“They want to liquidate the Palestinian issue. Dispersing the Palestinians from Syria, from Jordan, from Lebanon, means one thing for them: ending the Palestinian cause,” Wahdan continues. “But every action has a reaction. The Palestinians will never give up their pride to return to their homeland.”

Outside her home in Yarmouk camp, Naif agrees. “Palestine is Palestine. There is no nation called Israel. Jerusalem is our capital,” she says. “Peace will prevail in all parts of the world.”

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Damascus, Syria – On Wednesday, May 26, election day in Syria, crowds flocked to polling places to cast their votes. A delegation of observers from the U.S., South Africa, France and Palestine visited polling locations east of Damascus in the war-torn Ghouta region to witness the voting and celebrations taking place. Occupied by U.S. and Saudi-backed contras for over six years, civilians there were unable to vote in the last presidential election, and many more have only recently returned to finally rebuild their homes. Within Ghouta, the delegation observed voting in the town of Arbin and the city of Douma.

The morning of election day, an antique store owner in Damascus told Fight Back! “I am going to vote as soon as I close the store. It's my right and there are polling places everywhere.” He pointed to the place he planned to vote, a few blocks away from the souq (market) in which his store is located.

Election officials reported that Douma, a city with 70,000 residents, had 20 polling sites. The election boasted a total of 12,000 voting stations around the country and in Syrian embassies that are still open.

In spite of the abundance of voting stations, officials had trouble with the sheer number of voters. The polls were originally set to be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but the large crowds forced officials to keep the polls open until midnight. An observer in Douma from the office of opposition candidate Abdullah Abdullah said more than 1500 people had voted at that site by 2 p.m. This location was also where incumbent president Bashar al Assad had cast his vote that morning.

Hundreds of Syrians, including many young people, rallied outside every polling site. Crowds waved Syrian flags and raised pictures of Assad while chanting “Allah! Souriya! Bashar ou bas!” (God! Syria! Bashar! Nothing else!) among other chants in favor of the incumbent. A man celebrating outside a Douma voting station said in English, “We want Dr. Bashar because there are no more terrorists!”

The man continued in Arabic, “It was miserable during the occupation. There was no food, water or electricity. People were killed for smoking. Women were killed for not covering up.” His town was occupied by Saudi-backed terrorist organization Jaish al Islam from 2012 until 2018, when it was liberated by the Syrian Arab Army.

Young people showed off the ink on their fingers, the mark used to indicate that they had already voted, preventing people from voting more than once. An 18-year-old casting his vote for the first time said of himself and his friends, “We want to be doctors and engineers so we can help rebuild Syria.”

Yara Saleh, a Syrian reporter who was kidnapped by terrorists for six days in 2012, stressed the importance of this election for the youth. “The young people grew up during the war,” she said, adding that the youth deserve safety and stability that they were denied for so long. “Every Syrian family has a story like mine,” Saleh added.

The following night, tens of thousands of people gathered in and around Umayyad Square in central Damascus to await and celebrate the results. 19-year-old Aya Jamal Abbas danced with her friends in the crowd, a Syrian flag painted on her face.

“I'm very happy that we're all together. We voted for Bashar and we're waiting for the results,” Abbas said. “This is our victory. We won this war.”

Her sentiment was echoed by people of all ages and diverse backgrounds. Abeer Ali Naif, a Palestinian woman who Fight Back! spoke to outside her home in the war-torn Yarmouk refugee camp, invited the delegation to celebrate the results in her home with her family the morning after the election. “Bashar is a great man,” Naif added.

Many people in Umayyad Square described their feelings of joy. “Damascus deserves joy for all the people who are no longer with us today,” said Aasma Rahme, 27, a lawyer.

“There is joy in Syria,” said Ahmed al Ali, 42. “Everyone around is happy. It's infectious. Congratulate the Syrian people for this joy.”

Deafening cheers erupted throughout the square when the results were announced. Fireworks lit up the sky and celebratory gunshots went off all over Damascus.

Mpho Masemola, member of the delegation and secretary general of the South African Ex Political Prisoners Association, likened the celebrations to those that happened during the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela.

President Assad was re-elected with an overwhelming 95.1% of the vote. Reportedly, 14.2 million people voted out of 18.1 million eligible citizens in Syria and internationally.

The 78.6% voter turnout might have been higher if all Syrians were able to vote where they live. Some areas of Syria are still under occupation by U.S. and Turkish troops and various mercenaries they support. Many Syrians living internationally could not vote due to the Syrian embassies in their countries of residence being closed.

One such Syrian is Johnny Achi, who has lived in the United States for over 30 years. Achi voted in Douma, where he said, “As long as the Syrian embassy in the U.S. is closed, I will travel here to exercise my right and duty as a Syrian citizen.”

Tamer al Jadoua, 33, told Fight Back! in Umayyad Square that he traveled from Kuwait to cast his vote. Al Jadoua and al Ali were celebrating together and responded to questions about the claims in U.S. and allied media that the election was fake and celebrators were forced.

“We are the ones who voted for Bashar because we like him,” al-Ali said. “No one forced all these people to be here. Many came from very far away.”

“When you see all the people come here voluntarily, you see the people of Syria say, 'Bashar is our choice,’” Husam Ayazra said in English. “We don't need anyone to impose anything on us. We want just Bashar. No one else.”

A group of men initially refused to be interviewed by this U.S. based Fight Back! reporter. “You will go back and tell lies about us,” one man said. After some discussion, the man said, “All these people are not being forced to be here. They're here because they support Bashar with their blood and soul.”

The man used phrasing from the ubiquitous chant: “Bi ruh, bi dam, nafiq ya Bashar!” (With blood, with the soul, we are with you Bashar!) The man continued, “These are not just words to us. You have to say them with your soul.”

Accusations of a faked election are another in a long list of slander against Syria in the U.S., UK, Israeli, Qatari and other imperialist-aligned media. Earlier in the day, Naif cited those same governments as being responsible for the destruction of her home in Yarmouk, as well as the ongoing occupation of the land from which her family was forcefully removed in 1948.

When asked what message she has for America, Naif replied, “Leave us alone.”

In response to the same question, Ayazra implored Americans and other people of the world to watch out for misinformation in the media. “I want every journalist to be honest,” Ayazra said. “Ask yourself if you want another country to destroy your country. Why do they do that to us? There is democracy in Syria. They want to destroy it with lies.”

One of the men, who did not want to be named, told Fight Back!, “Tell the truth about what you saw here. And make Joe Biden lift the sanctions.”

The man was referring to the sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Syria through the Caesar Civilian Protection Act of 2019. The Caesar Act put a chokehold on the Syrian economy, causing a currency collapse that inflated the price of basic goods and restricting access to medicine and the construction materials needed to rebuild Syria after the war, among other vital resources.

The man added that it is the responsibility of the American people to fight against their government when it attacks other countries.

The election marks a victory of the Syrian people against imperialism, but imperialism is still detrimental to their lives and the lives of people around the world. The system of imperialism will stay alive until the people living under imperialism rise up and kill it.

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Damascus, Syria – On May 23, an international solidarity delegation arrived in Syria to observe elections set to take place on Wednesday, May 26, when voters will decide the next president of the Syrian Arab Republic.

Syria has been under attack since 2011 when a mix of reactionary militias and foreign mercenaries, some armed and funded by the U.S. and its regional allies, violently seized control of parts of the country with the aim of toppling the anti-imperialist government. Lacking internal unity or coherent popular legitimacy, by 2018 these groups were largely defeated by Syrian forces. Portions of the country’s east and north, however, remain under occupation by U.S. and Turkish troops and their respective allied forces. Likewise, in Syria’s southwest, the Golan Heights region has been under Zionist occupation since 1967. The entire country suffers acute shortages of basic goods due to extreme U.S. economic sanctions.

The delegation consists of representatives from a variety of international solidarity groups, including the U.S.-based International Action Center (founded by the late former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark), the Anti-War Committee, and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, as well as the South Africa-based Ex-Political Prisoners Association. They are joined by journalists, writers and activists from the U.S., Palestine, Canada and France.

Syrian voters will choose between three presidential candidates: the incumbent President Bashar Al-Assad, opposition lawyer Mahmoud Ahmad Marei, and former cabinet minister Abdallah Saloum Abdallah. Each candidate was put forth by competing political blocs, as outlined in Syria’s pluralist 2012 constitution. The delegation reports campaign billboards of the three candidates decorate the streets of Damascus.

Syrian expatriates – including many war refugees – are also casting votes at Syrian embassies around the world. Early voter turnout in neighboring Lebanon reportedly is already very high, with long voter lines even becoming target of xenophobic attacks. Syrian refugees in Germany, however, have been completely barred from voting at their embassies. Areas inside Syria still occupied by the U.S., Turkey, and armed groups they support will not hold elections.

The observer delegation met on Sunday with Syrian Minister of Information Imad Abdullah Sara, who emphasized that holding the election would help bring stability to all of Syria. He said that the U.S. could help democracy in Syria by ceasing its support for armed groups in breakaway regions, noting that the George Floyd uprisings and the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol showed that it was in fact U.S. democracy that is “barely functioning.”

The U.S. and its allies have preemptively declared Syria’s elections to be illegitimate.

The minister urged people outside Syria to think critically about how corporate U.S. media reports on Syria. He cited multiple examples of outlets using mislabeled footage that local Syrians could easily identify as not originating from the locations that reporters claimed. Nonetheless, he said those outlets were still always invited into Syria to document the situation objectively.

Fight Back! will be reporting from Syria with the delegation throughout the week.

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