Raqqa.. Historical resistance and future aspirations after 7 years of liberation

 On October 20, 2024, Raqqa Canton celebrates the seventh anniversary of the liberation by the Syrian Democratic Forces from ISIS mercenaries who took control of it in 2014.

 Raqqa Canton, known for its historical and cultural value, was an important cultural center in Syria.

In 2014, ISIS mercenaries took complete control of it, which led to the destruction of many of its cultural landmarks,

With the launch of the city liberation operation in 2017, the Syrian Democratic Forces managed to completely liberate the city of Raqqa and its countryside after fierce battles that lasted for 4 months.

 The Syrian Democratic Forces announced the liberation of Raqqa Canton from ISIS mercenaries on October 20, 2017, so that this memory will remain immortal in the minds of the people of Raqqa and those participating in the liberation of the city and its countryside.

In the latest census of the population of Raqqa for the year 2024 by the statistics office in the Executive Council of the Canton, the population reached 1,005,603, while the number of incoming families reached 29,070 families, and 13 thousand displaced families distributed in the random camps, which number 50 camps, and the numbers are increasing after the displacement movement due to the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, while the population in late 2018, according to the statistics of the Raqqa Civil Council at that time, reached 750,314 people.

In this file, we will mention the most prominent developments and achievements that occurred in the Raqqa after seven years of its liberation, and the solidarity of the components to liberate their city from ISIS mercenaries.

Participants in the Raqqa Liberation Campaign recall its Moments.

 The fighter in the ranks of the Syrian Democratic Forces and participant in the Raqqa Liberation Campaign, Luqman Al-Ali, counted some of the steps of the liberation of Raqqa.

 "This battle was strong and had an impact on us, we were fighting with great spirit and morale, as we were fighting mercenaries who committed crimes against our people in Raqqa," Luqman Al-Ali said.

 The fighter recalled one of the situations that increased his determination, which was the sniping of one of his fellow fighters by ISIS mercenaries.

 "When I reached him, he said to me, 'Go and leave me, I will fight them until martyrdom.' These words gave me morale to continue fighting."

  Al-Ali addressed a message to the people of Raqqa to continue this solidarity and stand together with each other and with the Syrian Democratic Forces; because it is the only force that fought ISIS and eliminated it geographically.

 The fighter in the Syrian Democratic Forces and wounded in the campaign to liberate Raqqa, Najm Shawakh Al-Shawakh, (37 years old) from the city of Raqqa married and has 5 children.

"I wanted to join the Syrian Democratic Forces for two reasons: the first is that I have a vendetta against the ISIS mercenaries, and the second is that I had a passion to fight with the Syrian Democratic Forces,"Al-Shawakh said.

 Al-Shawakh explained: "The city was a mat of mines and explosive devices. I was injured near the clock roundabout opposite the Education Building. We were in a combing campaign and there were barriers (trenches) placed on the sidewalks. In order to protect ourselves, we hid behind the barriers, and the barrier turned out to be an ambush. I was injured as a result of an explosive device and I lost my right foot and my shoulder was injured."

 Al-Shawakh explained: “ I lost a part of my body, but in return I gained my country. Today we live in safety and stability thanks to the sacrifices of the people of NE Syria.”

  Reconstruction of infrastructure

 After the liberation, Raqqa faced major challenges in reconstruction, many infrastructures were destroyed, and thousands of families were displaced. The Democratic Autonomous Administration in Raqqa Canton worked to rehabilitate the city, and reconstruction operations began gradually.

 Furthermore, the percentage of total destruction reached approximately 65% and partial destruction reached 85%.

 The Administration also worked to restore drinking water to the city by repairing all drinking water stations, numbering 200 stations in the countryside in addition to rehabilitating electricity, which was restored by 95% to Raqqa Canton.

 Since the liberation of the city, the Executive Council in Raqqa Canton and the People's Municipality in Raqqa City have launched several vital projects, the most important of which is paving roads, and the amount of asphalt mixture per linear meter reached 98,420 m in the past seven years.

The number of bridges and ferries that were reconstructed and repaired reached 30 bridges and ferries, located on agricultural drains, irrigation canals and the Euphrates River, the most important of which is the old Raqqa Bridge, which was implemented by the Executive Council of Raqqa Canton.

 The Executive Council of Raqqa Canton also worked through its service committees and the People's Municipality, which opened its doors at the beginning of 2018, on sanitation projects, which were almost completely destroyed, with the percentage of destruction reaching 85%, according to an official in the Sanitation Department in the People's Municipality in Raqqa. The head of the sewage department in Raqqa, Hussam Kalo, stated: "90% of the damaged sewage networks have been rehabilitated, in addition to opening sewage projects in neighborhoods that were not previously served by sewage projects, namely the Andalusia, Dariya, Intifada, and Kurdish neighborhoods."

 According to the statistics of the Executive Council of Raqqa Canton at the beginning of the liberation of Raqqa city, there were 30,000 completely destroyed homes, 25,000 partially destroyed homes, and 15,000 homes that needed restoration in addition to the destruction of the infrastructure by 85%.

Approximately 3,722 multi-storey building permits in 7 years

The technical department in the People's Municipality in Raqqa has provided 3,722 building permits for destroyed and modern buildings in the past 7 years.

Health

The health sector was affected like other sectors that were almost completely destroyed, as most health centers and public hospitals were destroyed, and their contents were stolen by ISIS mercenaries.

Today, after 7 years of the liberation of Raqqa, the Health Body in the Executive Council of Raqqa opened the Raqqa National Hospital, which includes most of the departments, including clinics, laboratories, CT scan, ambulance, intensive care, cold operating rooms and a burns department, in addition to the dialysis department, thalassemia department and blood bank. The Health Committee opened the first medical oxygen laboratory in the city of Raqqa with a capacity of 40 m³ per hour, in addition to opening a department for malignant tumors (cancer).

In 2023, the Health Body also opened the General Children's Hospital within the Raqqa National Hospital building, and launched the complete reconstruction of the old Raqqa National Hospital building.

There are now 3 public hospitals and 7 private hospitals in Raqqa city. The Health Committee has also opened an Epidemic Response Center and a Mamo Krave device in the maternity hospital, in addition to opening the Health Academy (Center for Developing Epidemic Response Skills).

The number of clinics has reached 27, distributed throughout Raqqa city and its countryside, providing first aid, periodic vaccinations, chronic disease medications, and medical examinations for residents.

There are now 293 pharmacies in Raqqa Canton licensed by the Health Body, 22 medical laboratories, 27 medical equipment warehouses, and 42 human medicine warehouses.

Education

Since the liberation of Raqqa city, the Education Body has been working to rebuild destroyed schools, with the aim of improving the educational reality that was non-existent during the occupation of Raqqa city and its countryside by ISIS mercenaries.

The Education Body stated that the number of schools in Raqqa has reached 430 schools, and it has worked on restoring and building 230 schools since the liberation of Raqqa until now, and the restoration operations are still ongoing.

 The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has adopted the Autonomous Administration curriculum for the year 2024-2025, while it previously relied on the UNICEF curriculum (self-learning).

 According to the co-chair of the Education Committee in the Education Authority in the Executive Council of Raqqa, Ismail Al-Ahmad, the number of schools that received students for the year 2024-2025 reached 430 schools at all levels, and the number of teachers reached 7,000 male and female teachers, and the number of students reached 130,000, while the number of students in the 2017-2018 academic year reached 66,666 male and female students, and 1,830 male and female teachers.

The number of students is still increasing due to the security and peace enjoyed by North and East Syria.

In 2021, the Universities Coordination Office opened the University of the East, which includes the following branches: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Classroom Teacher, in addition to the College of Arts and Social Sciences, which includes Arabic Literature, the English Language Institute, the Technical Institute, the Computer Department, Law, and the College of Agriculture.

The University of the East added to its colleges during the new academic year the College of Medical Sciences with its specializations, the College of Economics, the College of English Literature, the Kurdish Language Institute, and the Engineering Institute with its departments of Electricity and Mechanics.

 Agriculture and Economy

 Agriculture in Raqqa is one of the most important professions for the people of Raqqa, due to the presence of the Euphrates and Balikh rivers, in addition to the irrigation projects, the people of Raqqa are famous for growing grains of all kinds, the most important of which are wheat and barley, in addition to growing cotton and vegetables. Fruit tree cultivation has also entered the region for about 10 years, as a new type of agriculture that has achieved great success in the region and now occupies 10% of agricultural land.

The irrigated areas amounted to 93 thousand hectares, and the irrigated areas of land located on river beds and agricultural drains amounted to 190 thousand dunums, and through artesian wells 140 thousand dunums. According to the Guidance Office in the Agriculture Committee, the Agriculture and Irrigation Committee in Raqqa managed to restart all irrigation projects.

There are 24 irrigation stations for agricultural land in the city of Raqqa in addition to two irrigation projects, the Al-Raed Project and the Balikh Irrigation Project.

 According to the Economic and Agricultural Council in the Democratic Administration in Raqqa Canton, there are 500 factories in the canton, some of which are seasonal and some are permanent. Factories in Raqqa city vary between food, industrial, electrical and feed factories, in addition to seasonal factories such as ice factories and cotton gins.

 Fatima al-Bakr the resident of Raqqa city, praised the development that occurred in Raqqa city, which was completely destroyed and devoid of residents.

"The situation in Raqqa has changed radically, thanks to the projects of the Democratic Autonomous Administration in Raqqa Canton and the people of Raqqa," Al-Bakr told ANHA Agency.

 Al-Bakr explained: "Now under the Autonomous Administration, many things have changed, as justice and equality have become a project, and all the necessities of life have been provided such as water, electricity, bread, diesel, gas and education."

 For his part, Ammar al-Sheikh the resident of Raqqa said: “ Today, Raqqa has become one of the most reconstructed Syrian cities and is considered an economic center for the region in general. All of this is a result of security and stability, and all of this is thanks to the Autonomous Administration, which has contributed greatly to the development of Raqqa.”

 The co-chair of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of Raqqa Canton, Mishlab al-Turkan, spoke to ANHA Agency about the importance of the anniversary of the liberation of Raqqa and its role in strengthening the sense of identity and belonging.

He pointed to the positive results of the reconstruction work and cooperation between the local community and the Autonomous Administration.

  “Now the change has become clear through the dissemination of the administrative and democratic model after the liberation of Raqqa by the Syrian Democratic Forces and the work to establish a decentralized democratic system.” Al-Turkan said.

  "During the four years of ISIS mercenaries' control over the city of Raqqa, the city experienced a state of chaos, terror and instability. After its liberation by the Syrian Democratic Forces, the features of change and the form of discipline became clear and evident on the city's landmarks, starting with the commune system and ending with the Executive Councils and peoples' councils that manage the region according to the ratified social contract."

 Cultural Development

 Al-Turkan noted: " The city of Raqqa  witnessed a remarkable development on the cultural and Euphrates level, as the Raqqa is one of the ancient cities in Syria from a cultural and Euphrates perspective.

The city of Raqqa is considered one of the leading cities on the cultural level in the region of North and East Syria."

 Security Situation

 Al-Turkan pointed out that: " The Autonomous Administration and the Internal Security Forces managed to completely establish security and stability in the Canton."

 Deterring return of ISIS

 Al-Turkan noted: "We are still facing a major challenge in confronting ISIS mercenaries in partnership with the forces of the international coalition who helped us liberate Raqqa from ISIS mercenaries, but we need more and real support from the international community, whether in terms of security, logistics, or intelligence."

 The anniversary of the liberation of Raqqa city remains a symbol of hope and steadfastness, as the city's residents continue to restore their identity and build a better future. This anniversary is not just a celebration of freedom, but an opportunity to rebuild and care for the cultural and social heritage, which makes Raqqa a living example of the ability of man to overcome challenges.

a.k

ANHA