The story of a Syrian refugee

“There was an eerie feeling that you are living in a place, but it’s not yours. Syria was not Syria, it was Assad’s backyard.”

Hanna Bakhash, a 33-year-old chartered civil engineer living in London, grew up in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Reminders that dictator Bashar al-Assad was in control could be seen everywhere.

“Especially when you go to school and salute him and salute the regime, it felt like the entire country was in a fake play. Everyone knows that this is crazy, but everyone is going along and clapping because they’re afraid.”

However, in 2011, when Bakhash was at university, the Arab Spring reached Syria and Syrians rose up against Assad. The dictator launched a brutal crackdown on protestors which escalated into a devastating civil war as he clung onto power.

Bakhash’s hometown was split in two by the war and he lived in the area controlled by the regime, which experienced fighting but was spared from the worst of Assad’s airstrikes.

“I used to go visit the rebel area for humanitarian work and it was like the end of the world. You’d look and see buildings and they looked like cardboard, people were still living in them sometimes because they had no place else to go.”

Bakhash began to make plans to leave Syria while trying to complete his studies amid the chaos and disruption of the war.

“With every year the situation got worse, but I was closer to graduating. I would calculate the risks, do I stay one more year so I can graduate before I leave Syria, or do I leave now because the civil war is too intense and my life is being threatened every day?”

He left Aleppo the day after finishing his last exam in 2015 so he could cross the border into Turkey under student status. He began working in the humanitarian sector, providing aid to displaced Syrians, and in 2017 was offered a scholarship to complete a master’s degree at Leeds.

Residing in the UK since then, Bakhash has settled and made a life for himself, recently gaining British citizenship.

However, for him being Syrian still comes first and his homeland is never far from his thoughts.

As the years passed, it appeared that Assad’s grip of Syria had been secured, but he was caught by surprise when a rebel offensive swept the country in late November 2024.

Aleppo was the first major city to be captured from the regime. Within a week, the Assad family, having ruled Syria for 53 years, were toppled.

“The entire thing was one of the best weeks of my life. Me and my partner would meet Syrian friends as much as possible during that time. Everyone wanted to be around each other and go to demonstrations and celebrations. It was very joyful,” said Bakhash.

He says the toppling of the regime has given Syrians their country back and the opportunity to finally live without Assad looming over them.

“It felt like one day you’re a refugee with no country, then the next day you have a home.”

Bakhash is now eager to visit his hometown Aleppo for the first time in ten years and bring together his family which has been displaced across the globe.

“My brother is in the US, my parents are in Vienna. We’re hoping we can all go for a visit and meet there again in the family house.”