In early 2011, a civil war that would reshape Syria exploded with a bold act of defiance: a 14-year-old boy spray-painting an anti-regime message on a wall in southern Syria’s city of Daraa. Mouawiya Syasneh sprayed: “Ejak el door, ya doctor” (It’s your time, Doctor), addressing President Bashar al-Assad and pointing at his profession. This seemingly innocuous act of graffiti ignited a nationwide revolt, spiraling into one of the most devastating civil wars of the 21st century.
What started as the frustrated outburst of a teenager rapidly evolved into a pitched battle with the government. When local police arrested Mouawiya and his friends, the regime’s response was rapid and merciless. The youngsters were held hostage by the Mukhabarat, Syria’s secret police, for 26 days and allegedly tortured. Their release only fanned public outrage in Daraa.
Images of the hurt boys spread like wildfire, igniting protests throughout Syria. On March 15, 2011, the first organized “Day of Rage” hit the country, turning regional discontent into a national movement for freedom and the downfall of Assad’s regime.
In response, the government launched a ruthless crackdown. Torture of detainees became widespread, and security forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrators. What began as an Arab Spring-inspired uprising quickly morphed into a violent conflict as opposition factions began to arm themselves.
At that point, Syria was so primed for unrest; shortly after the successful uprisings had brought down longtime leaders in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, namely Hosni Mubarak and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. And indeed, by July 2011, renegades from Assad’s military had established the so-called Free Syrian Army-FSA, though internal divisiveness and a lack of much in the way of financial or material resources hampers its effectiveness. Power vacuums like those formed a haven for extremist Jabhat al-Nusra-and later the Islamic State-amidst the chaos.
Today, twelve years since that prophetic graffiti, Syria is a country in ruins. Over 13 million people have been displaced; more than 500,000 people have been killed.
A new wave of conflict has also engulfed the country, likely to test the four-decade rule of the Assad family. Various rebel groups, most of them now led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, are in control of major cities, including Damascus, the capital.
There are reports suggesting that Assad might have fled Damascus, and no one seems to know where he is; some even speculate his refuge might be in Tehran. With an uncertain fate hanging over Syria, Iran, its close ally, is prepared to extend asylum to the embattled Assad regime.
