Syrian Americans in Michigan celebrate fall of Assad regime
(CBS DETROIT) — There was pure jubilation in Dearborn Sunday afternoon as the Syrian American community was here celebrating the news coming out of Syria, with many community members saying that they had been waiting for this day for more than 50 years.
Syrians gathered around the world to celebrate the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's government on Sunday, and in Dearborn, more than 1,000 people came together in front of the Henry Ford Centennial Library with chants, prayers, and, more than anything, a sense of relief.
"We're no longer just refugees; we're just Syrians. And that means we can go back and build our nation," said Dearborn resident Alpaslan Arslan. "We can invest in our futures, and we can bring more to our people."
"Just means so much for all the Syrians all over the world," added Canton resident Iyad Kaddora. "I mean, I could not even go to sleep yesterday. I've been up for two days now since this whole thing started. We've been going through this whole dictatorship for over 50 years, and we are so happy to see Al Assad gone."
Many of the families who came to celebrate on Sunday hadn't visited Syria or even contacted their families there in decades out of fear of the now-fallen regime.
"I call all of my brothers and sisters now," said Haytham Awad. "I can call them no problem, and I'm not scared. No al-Assad regime, no dangers now."
My Syrian Americans were surprised by the news.
"We're not used to being as happy as this. Most of us can't even believe what's going on," said Lutfi Jandali of Bloomfield Hills. "We have to go to work tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure 99 percent are still in shock. We're all in shock about what's going on."
Flags were waved, songs were sung and dancing was done throughout the afternoon into the evening on Sunday as prayers were met by Metro Detroit's Syrian American population.
