Ravaged by war, Syrian city relishes Xmas spirit
Homs (syria): The metallic green Christmas tree towers over the bombed-out heart of Syria’s third city Homs, where residents are relishing a holiday cheer they haven’t felt in years.
They have been busy putting the final decorative touches on the tree in Hamidiyeh, a neighbourhood in the ravaged Old City of Homs, where ferocious street battles pitted regime forces against rebels between 2011 and 2014.
One volunteer hammered a metal platform in place ahead of a choir concert and children’s shows, and the futuristic artificial Christmas tree is to be lit up on Thursday.
“In 2014, when we had just returned to this destroyed neighbourhood, our Christmas tree was made of rubble,” said Roula Barjour, the executive director of charity NGO Bayti, or “My House” in Arabic.
“But this year, with the return of residents and of life, people are finding cheer again,” said the 46-year-old, between delegating tasks to young volunteers.
One stood out: Abdo al-Yussefi was well into his sixties, but the local resident insisted on joining the holiday preparations.
He pulled crates of Christmas decorations up to the tree, already spruced up with curling blue and silver garlands.
“The Christmas tree used to be a joy just for children, but now it’s for everyone, young and old,” said Yussefi, wiping his brow with a white napkin
“The tree gathers us all around it.” The scars of the battles that gripped Homs are still visible: partially-destroyed buildings, collapsed or pockmarked walls, and piles of sandbags can be found across the Old City.
When Syria’s conflict began in 2011, mass demonstrations rocked Homs, which activists dubbed the “capital of the revolution”.
But after years of government siege and bombardment, rebels agreed in 2014 to a deal that brought most of the city under regime control. A second pact earlier this year put the rest of Homs fully in government hands.
Grinning, Yussefi gestured to the volunteers around him: “As you can see, all the neighbourhood’s residents are working together, smiling like little kids.”
He asked one to snap a photo- graph of him near the Christmas tree to send to his children, now living in Germany.
“I want to ask them to come back, because happiness has come back to Homs,” Yussefi exclaimed.
Many of its 800,000 residents fled when war erupted, but tens of thousands have trickled back, including to the Old City. — AFP