Syria after Assad: As a new era dawns, could there be hope for Palestine?

For our generation, the fall of the Assad regime marks the end of a historical chapter, coming more than a decade after the Syrian regime - backed by Russia and Iran - brutally suppressed the Syrian revolution, shattering the dreams of democratisation held by many young people across the Arab world.

But on Sunday, as Syrian opposition forces entered Damascus and ended the Assad family’s decades-long rule, we were reminded of a fundamental truth: no tyrannical regime or colonial entity can endure forever, as long as human resistance and the inherent desire for dignity and freedom persist.  

Naturally, the world is preoccupied with questions about Syria’s future, and with good reason. Will the country’s political transition lead to democracy, or will it spiral into endless sectarian and religious conflicts that threaten its very existence? 

Despite all possible scenarios, nothing can justify the horrors of Syria’s prisons, or the unimaginable suffering inflicted on men, women and even children born into a living hell. 

But more than a decade after the Arab Spring, hope has finally returned to our hearts. 

Read more: Syria after Assad: As a new era dawns, could there be hope for Palestine? Opinion by Abed Abou Shhadeh