'With our strong will, we will bring our dreams out of rubble'

AMINA AL-ALI / AL-RAQQA

During the occupation of IS mercenaries to the city of al-Raqqa, they had left behind each door a tragic story that cannot be forgotten, where they had destroyed the houses and spread destruction in the city, not to mention the fear that accompanied the people throughout their occupation of the city. It can be said that the dreams of the people of Raqqa buried under the rubble, but after the liberation of the city by the SDF and the return of normal life to the city, the people began to remove the rubble gathered above their dreams to begin to achieve them again.

The story of Saeed al-Asaf, known as Abu Nidal's family that is consisted of the father Saeed, the mother Fatima and 8 young men and women is one of thousands of stories in the city of al-Raqqa, where they have woven their dreams together. However, the occupation of the city by the mercenaries and their practices against the people destroyed their dreams and buried them under the rubble, where the family dispersed and everyone went in a different way, leaving only the father and the mother.

Fatima Hassen or Om Nidal recounted the story of her suffering and the destruction of their dreams by the mercenaries, she said, "During the occupation of IS of the city, we have suffered the woes. They imposed strange sentences on us on the pretext of propagating the Islamic religion, so I had to smuggle my son to Germany out of my deep fear."

"One of my sons was had a wedding hall, but the mercenaries prevented him from doing his job and opening the hall on the pretext that it was prohibition. The mercenaries were always chasing him, so he had to travel abroad so he could secure a living for his children."

Her daughter, Hanan, was known for her love for decorating and looking after herself and had a large mirror of her own in her room. "When I saw the mirror of Hanan crushed, I felt like something inside me was broken," says Fatima.

Fatima's attachment to her land and city did not allow her to leave the city and she bore all the pressures exerted by IS mercenaries. When the Syrian Democratic Forces approached to the liberation of al-Raqqa city, IS mercenaries began to tighten their grip on them and prevent them from leaving the city. The mercenaries also attacked their house to seize it and wrote on the wall of the house (You have two days to evacuate the house), but they did not go out so as not to burn their house.

In this context Fatima said, "After tightening the screw on us, we tried to escape with twenty people from al-Nahda neighborhood to hide in one of the shops, but the mercenaries attacked that shop, to kill all those who fled as we narrowly escaped, and that on the pretext that they would flee to the countries of disbelief, so they have imprisoned us for three days. Then, they released us on condition that we would not get out of al-Raqqa."

She added, "After the liberation of the city and our return, we have seen our house turned into rubble as a result of the practices of IS mercenaries, burying all our dreams under it, but I insist on achieving my and my family's dreams."

Every day, Abu Nidal after returning to his home, tries to rebuild a small part of his house before the return of his children and rebuild with it his heart and dreams that have been crashed.

H

ANHA