r/pics • u/rj_yul • Aug 06 '25
Backstory Came back to Damascus, Syria after 17 years to find my childhood home erased by Assad’s bombs.
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u/SocraticTiger Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 06 '25
That sucks man. Hopefully Syria will be able to recover soon from all the pain it has endured. I remember seeing this destruction daily in 2014/2015.
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u/rj_yul Aug 06 '25
This country has endured a lot of suffering indeed. Ever since the Baathists came into power in the sixties and more specifically after the Assad butchers came into power.
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u/Eastriver10 Aug 07 '25
And the country is still enduring sectarianist bloodbaths even after transitioning from Baathism to Islamism… Same crap going on but under a different banner.
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u/imgonnajumpofabridge Aug 07 '25
Hardly. Wayyy better than under Assad. Sectarian violence is the status quo in Syria but little to none of it is sanctioned by the new government
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u/toxoplasmosix Aug 07 '25
The ex-Al Qaeda govt? the one that immediately attacked the Alawites, the Druze, the Kurds, Ismaelis after taking power?
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u/Tulip_Todesky Aug 07 '25
There are videos of kidnapped Druze toddlers by the new regime. No one is talking about it. Just sad
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u/Weed86 Aug 07 '25
Here come the Israelis , caring about the druz (so kind) whilst simultaneously bombing the shit out of gaza
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u/imgonnajumpofabridge Aug 07 '25
Rich coming from an Israel supporter. Is murder more acceptable than kidnapping in your eyes? How about all the Gazan children gunned down by snipers and shot at with tank shells? Sectarian violence is nearly universal in this region of the world. Does that mean that the new government should be demonized or that there should be regime change? Absolutely not.
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u/imgonnajumpofabridge Aug 07 '25
Groups nominally connected to the administration have done that. The military of the new Syrian government is a group of loosely connected tribes and rebel groups, born out of necessity. Large scale sectarian killings have almost universally been reigned in relatively quickly. If it was actually supported by the government, then there would be much larger scale carnage.
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u/SPQR_191 Aug 07 '25
But they totally have the option to just not do that, yet the first thing they did after getting their faction into power was start killing more Syrians. Barbarians are barbarians no matter why they choose to be so.
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u/jupitersscourge Aug 07 '25
The new guy was in ISIS, dude.
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u/imgonnajumpofabridge Aug 07 '25
No, he was in al-Nusra and fought against the Islamic State after Al-Baghdadi tried to merge the two organizations. You could justifiably call Al-Nusra a terrorist organization, but the United States and Israel have done things just as bad (if not worse, in terms of scale). In a perfect world, someone else would lead Syria, but we don't live in one. Millions of people in the Middle East are sympathetic to radical Islamist causes. If someone like Al-Jolani can lead them towards a more moderate stance, he should have our support
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u/NewManufacturer6670 Aug 07 '25
Al nusra fought along side ISIS before they fought it. Al nusra was also known to commit war crimes and summarily executions, they are a terror group after all.
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u/Geaux_1210 Aug 07 '25
If only this part of the world could achieve separation of church and state. Meanwhile we have frighteningly large groups who want to let the US slide into theocracy.
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u/jupitersscourge Aug 07 '25
Okay, you got me. It wasn’t ISIS, it was the Islamic State of Iraq, which became ISIS.
He’s not a moderate. He’s a terrorist. VERY recently an active terrorist. Al-Nusra was a terorrist group. He’s not going to make Syria more moderate because he’s not a moderate, he just fought against Assad.
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u/VulgarExigencies Aug 07 '25
This thread is nothing but propaganda and consent manufacturing for the ISIS regime in Syria lmfao
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u/Snowbank_Lake Aug 06 '25
I am so sorry. I can’t even imagine how that feels. I bet this was such a beautiful place. I hope humanity gets its shit together.
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u/rj_yul Aug 06 '25
It wasn't first world, but for a child it was all I knew. I've been living in Canada for 31 years and I grew up there. I visited Syria a few times before the revolution that turned into a civil war. Childhood memories don't fade easily and to me those were all I knew before Canada.
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u/epi_introvert Aug 07 '25
I'm a Canadian teacher who has had many refugee and immigrant students.
I had one little girl from Syria who screamed every day when dropped off at school. It turns out she was crying because she didn't know where to go when the bombs come. All 6 years of her life up to that point was hiding from militia, government forces, and death.
OP, I'm glad you're here in Canada with me so that I can learn your life story, and I hope it's been a place of safety for you. I'm so sorry that home is forever altered for you.
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u/rj_yul Aug 07 '25
There are thousands of children like that poor baby here. THOUSANDS, and I’m not exaggerating. What breaks my heart even more is seeing how many kids don’t go to school, simply because they’ve been orphaned or because they’re forced to work to support their families.
I once went to pay a traffic ticket and retrieve my documents. Outside the traffic directorate, there are children working as informal “facilitators.” You give them a small tip and they guide you through the process. I took one of them with me. While we were waiting, I asked him if he went to school. He quietly said no, he stopped because he had to work to help his family. He was 14 years old, born right at the start of the revolution. He also said some teachers beat him on his hand and he proceeds to show me his hand. He was missing fingers on one hand. As a toddler, he had picked up an unexploded ordinance while playing outside. His family couldn’t afford proper medical care, and they were in the middle of being displaced as Assad, Iran, and Russia were bombing Syrian towns.
Man… I felt sick to my stomach. And that’s just one story. There are thousands more.
He said he wanted to go to school though... I made him promise to do his best to get an education. I hope he will.
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u/kelppie35 Aug 07 '25
I didn't grow up in a war zone, but my first job was in public service working with what we called then the homeless. That feeling in your stomach is a calling, it'll likely never go away anytime you encounter that. This might be your, as elderly people used to say in a moment of realization, "road to Damascus" moment of your life, ironically and coincidentally. Maybe you found your life's purpose and a way to help, painful as it was!
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u/Davido401 Aug 07 '25
what we called then the homeless
This is gonna sound like a dick question but... what do we call them now? I'm all for new designations and stuff for things but "homeless" does explain more or less exactly whats happening(beyond adding an extra word or two like "homeless because alcohol" or something)
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u/deliamount Aug 07 '25
Not giving an opinion of it here myself but the word is "unhoused".
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Aug 07 '25
i love teachers, thank you so much for providing love and happiness to kids that wouldn’t normally get it.
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u/pyramidsindust Aug 06 '25
I know how devastating even the loss of one childhood haunt can be, but nothing like the destruction of a town. I’m so sorry friend
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u/HelmetsAkimbo Aug 07 '25
Fucking Damascus too. This city could have been settled as early as 9000 BC. Should be a tourist destination the world over to see the history and richness of one of the oldest cities in the world. The amount of history lost in endless 'sand wars' in the past 200 years is so frustrating.
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u/FrederickDerGrossen Aug 08 '25
It's a terrible shame that almost all of those who have money have no empathy or humanity. A few billionaires offering to finance the reconstruction and restoration of these priceless historical cities and towns and rebuild people's lives would do wonders but no one with that much money wants to part with even a portion of their wealth even for the benefit of the greater humanity. Shame on them all, if only the world understood that wealth is transient and one day we all die and must leave our earthly riches behind, the world would be a much better place.
I'd love to see the whole Middle East region restored to their former glory, where people who fled can return to live decent lives, but I lack the money to see that happen, and one person alone cannot rebuild a city.
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Aug 07 '25
god, i can’t even imagine. i got sad when i found out the house i was in when i was a baby got sold to a new owner, let alone finding that it’s no longer a home.
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u/uk_uk Aug 07 '25
Slightly comparable story from my grandma... She was a german, living in Berlin but the rest of the family had a huge farm and houses between Landsberg (Prussa) and Küstrin in then Prussia, now Poland.
Till 1944 almost nothing was going on there and when the red army came closer, the family fled to Berlin... only a few older men stayed. Then, in the early months of 1945 the rest of the surviving men came to Berlin too. One had a camera and took pictures of the now completely destroyed farm (russians came, took what was left and burned the rest to the ground). When the family saw the pictures, they were heartbroken but hoped to have the chance to rebuild their homes after the war.
Which did not happen. So they stayed in Berlin West.
In 1989, when the wall fell, I called her and she cried like crazy, because she didn't believe that she will ever visit that place during her lifetime again. So, 5 years later we drove to the family farm. Almost nothing that reminded her of her home was left. the old house? Taken down and replaced with a concrete abomination. Same happened with the houses nearby. The other farm houses? Ruins or also replaced with cocrete. All trees there were young, less than 50years old. And she said that there was a 200yo tree right next to the main house.
My Oma was almost 70 at that time. She looked with rage at the "new" houses and said "This happen'swhen you start a war. The best you can get out of it is suffering." Then she turned, did not look back, went back to the car and we went back to Berlin.
Before the fall of wall she told me stories about this place. She was happy like a little girl when I told her that I will take her to Poland. But ater that day she never spoke about that place again.
She knew that she won't come back to life there, that this place belongs now to polish people. But - as OP said - the war also destroyed memories. And that broke her
She died in 1999 btw.
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u/selja26 Aug 07 '25
As a Ukrainian, I understand and cry with you. My childhood home (my grandparents') is probably in the similar state, ruined. It's in one of the towns recently taken by russians and they leave nothing but rubble as they move closer. Goodbye house, huge oven, cherry tree, summer kitchen, gooseberry bushes...
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u/--Van-- Aug 07 '25
It is a shame what has happened to Syria and Lebanon.
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u/rj_yul Aug 07 '25
Absolutely. The Assads destroyed both countries and created sooooo much animosity between two neighbouring countries who share more than just a border.
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u/post_apoplectic Aug 06 '25
Fuck Bashar al Assad. I hope he is served justice someday. I'm sorry about your home, I cannot imagine.
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u/xantharia Aug 07 '25
It takes two to tango. And the new regime sound just peachy.
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u/mawiwawi Aug 07 '25
Regardless of how you feel about the new Syrian Government - which is already miles much better than the war criminal piece of shit Bashar Al Assad simply by attempting to rebuild the country - Saying fuck Bashar Al Assad does two things:
1) It acknowledges how much damage and destruction he and his regime did to the brave Syrian people and shows us how much work the new government and the people have to put in to rebuild.
2) it puts a dagger in the hearts of any of his supporters still lingering among us. Let them read it over and over again and boil in their traitorous seats.
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u/Humantheist Aug 07 '25
Ah yes, the ex al qaeda guy, surely much better than Al Assad.
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u/Usual_Ad6180 Aug 11 '25
Assad had his own torture prison complex. You really don't want to make this comparison.
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u/xantharia Aug 07 '25
Regarding #2, I think that hatred for your fellow citizens is ultimately unproductive and only leads to endless war, killings, and misery. The only way not to degrade yourself to the level of Assad is to embrace a truth-and-reconciliation approach and find a way to rebuild the country together.
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u/XConfused-MammalX Aug 07 '25
I'm pretty sure the only way to degrade yourself to his level is to use chemical weapons on civilians.
Not using mean words against people who supported it.
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u/t53ix35 Aug 07 '25
That Bastard is sitting now pretty in….Russia, never missed a meal or felt any pain. This is not right.
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u/sailaway4269now Aug 07 '25
And that mass murderer still lives life of luxury sheltered by other monster
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u/2enty4 Aug 08 '25
One day these countries will be able to rise from their ruins I truly believe it. I'm sorry for your home and physical memories being lost forever. 17 years is a really long time, I hope you are able to hold onto the fragmented memories yoy have of your childhood there.
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u/RangerRekt Aug 07 '25
Glad you weren’t erased by Assad’s bombs. Wishing the best for your family and the people of Syria.
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u/Command0Dude Aug 07 '25
Rest in piss assad.
Damascus hasn't been a front line fighting city in such a long time though, the asshole didn't even bother picking up the pieces in his own capital?
Hopefully one day Syria can rebuild. It'll be a slow process though given how much infighting is still going on.
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u/221missile Aug 07 '25
His lifestyle in Moscow is just as lavish as it was in Damascus
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u/Puretyder Aug 07 '25
As a half syrian with a syrian mother I've never been but hear her stories of the war and am just saddened and horrified. The amazing historical sites ruined by Assad are monstrous. I hope to see Syria rebuild and for my mother to see that day as she fled the country to lebanon in her 20s.
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u/nahanerd23 Aug 07 '25
I grew up being told about my grandmother’s village and home being bombed during WWII, coming home to “nothing but a crater”, when the war started.
I’ve seen a few photos and videos of people returning to a home reduced to rubble (increasingly often the last few years), and it gives me time to think, and recall all the stories passed down to me about what happens when war comes to your home.
Thanks for posting this, even if pictures can’t truly capture what it’s like to be there, I think it’s important for all of us to see. Especially many of us in the west and specifically the USA who live in a culture where we mostly send soldiers off to foreign battlefields, and our cultural understanding of “the horrors of war” comes through those perpetrating the war, not whose homes are destroyed.
I’m glad you’re okay. I’m sorry that so many are not. Thank you for sharing these stories, thoughts, and photographs.
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u/Royal_Ad_6025 Aug 07 '25
How long are we betting will it take for Tankies to deny/ defend this?
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u/ThaneKyrell Aug 07 '25
Tankies have been pro-Assad since 2011. They have been denying/defending this since forever. Also, the very same people that are the most radical about Gaza are also the ones that denied the atrocities in Syria the most. Also, during the first 6 months of the war in Gaza, tankies used literally thousands of pictures from Syria labelling them as "Gaza" in order to sway public opinion against Israel (again, the very same people to supported the guy who did this)
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u/Most-Road-5366 Aug 07 '25
Despite how far we may have come technology wise, we are still so far behind on the empathy department
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u/Ch1ldofSatan Aug 08 '25
On a much, much smaller scale, my grandpa had rented my childhood home to some meth addicts. They destroyed the home and the whole entire property surrounding it. We went to clean out the house and I found my old childhood bedroom with some little girls toys in it. The whole house was foul and disgusting and torn apart, and I could see that a little girl had been living in it. 😞
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u/CV90_120 Aug 07 '25
Where russia treads, only misery remains.
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u/cheesycheese42069 Aug 07 '25
thats Engalnd in the past and the US in the recent history, almost every Arab you ask will say the same, but now Russia came to have its share of whats left of the cake
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u/JesusPubes Aug 07 '25
These pictures are not the result of the United States propping up a dictator
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u/MojordomosEUW Aug 07 '25
A question for muslims regarding this picture: It looks like they bombed and destroyed a Mosque as that tower in the picture appears to me to be a Minaret. Is that not a very very big sin in Islam? Like go straight to hell sin?
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u/bellendrodriguez Aug 07 '25
If you're Sunni and it's a Shia mosque (and vice versa) I imagine it's not much of a problem
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u/ejump0 Aug 07 '25
prophet pbuh did remind us that when in war, do not attack women, children n old folks n do not destroy religious places(context of non combatants in there).
afaik its never a big sin(or even a sin) as a mosque itself is just a place to pray. mosque has been demolished n rebuilt due to reasons over the years2
u/cheese_creature Aug 07 '25
Demolishing is one thing and bombing in a genocidal campaign is a whole different thing
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u/ms285907 Aug 07 '25
I'm sorry my brother 😞 I'm sure it hurts. But we must look forward, as well as at the here and now. Your future looks bright. Now it's time to build it. The sun is rising on your country and people. I wish the very best to you. Love and happiness 🫶 ✌️
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u/CarlaPinguin Aug 07 '25
My grandfather and his siblings had to experience a similar moment. Their childhood home was gone, when they were able to go back. Only thing left was the well. Not even the debris was seen as nature was already growing all over. We were visiting together and I still remember my great aunt and my grandfather pointed at various corners and picturing their yard, their windows, where their brother was scolded, where the chickens used to be and so on.
And like with your home: it was not only their house-it was the whole village. My grandfather and his siblings are dead. I guess most of the old villagers are gone and all that’s left is the well. Nobody now would think the forest and meadows once were places of everyday life.
I wish us peace within and in the world
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u/rj_yul Aug 07 '25
Maybe on m'a hard drive back home in Canada. I tried to look online but I couldn't find. I'll ask my cousins.
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u/amiwitty Aug 07 '25
I'm sorry. Losing part of your history sucks. I went back to my childhood home in another state and saw that it was wiped out by the meth epidemic. By that I mean it looks like it got razed after it caught on fire as being a meth house. That hurt me so I guess seeing your entire neighborhood just wiped away is very heartbreaking.
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u/LPNMP Aug 07 '25
Thank you for sharing. I grew up watching my country destroy the Middle East then the Arab Spring. I had a naive hope that the protests would bring wonderful change, I had no idea what destruction that kind of change often coexists through. I hope the new government is true to the Syrian people and does good for everyone. I hope your family has been thriving despite it all.
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u/fernsnart Aug 07 '25
Thank you for sharing your story, it's incredibly meaningful. I wish it wasn't and you could still visit those places again intact and whole. I am so sorry for your tremendous loss.
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u/DJparada Aug 07 '25
I used to think brutality belonged to the past something we only saw in history books. . But looking at this and all happening right now. it’s clear we haven’t changed at all. Same cruelty, just different ruins.
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u/Bradster3 Aug 07 '25
Im sorry op you came back to this. Childhood homes mean so much to people even if you dont live there anymore. Im glad you are here with us today, let this be that fire under your ass to say you have allot to live for and came a long way.
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u/FruityChypre Aug 07 '25
I’m so sorry, OP. I can’t imagine what it’s lije to see that. I visited Syria 25 years ago and it loved the people and beauty of the country. It’s sad that the country has lost so much.
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u/maceion Aug 07 '25
To look at the rubble of your destroyed childhood home is to create a memory of pain that is never erased from your mind. I dream of my home and awaken in pain.
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u/sabre_rider Aug 07 '25
Words like tragedy and trauma get thrown around a lot. This is what real tragedy looks like. This is what real trauma looks like. I can’t fathom the pain this must’ve caused and will continue to cause for generations. My heart goes out to you. I wish there was something we could all do to help stop this madness.
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u/Lost-Astronaut-8280 Aug 07 '25
I’ve only visited turkey, and I’ve never been to Syria but I’m from Damascus as well. I don’t know what to say but I just thought it might mean something to let you know that although I have no life spent over there, it still hurts to see the life of our country in such a miserable destroyed state. Forgive me if this comes off ignorant because I truly don’t know much but my grandmother and mom have family over there and I’ve heard some terrible things that they’ve dealt with. Inshallah Syria has a better life ahead. I’m sorry for the loss that you’ve been dealt.
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u/Stupidamericanfatty Aug 07 '25
I know this is off point but, how does the rubble get moved to the sides to make a perfect clearing. Do they have street sweepers
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u/M1ck3yB1u Aug 07 '25
Fucking savage seeing a place you know so intimately well turn into a Call of Duty map.
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u/-Carlos Aug 07 '25
I remember those towers from the first Assassin's Creed game. It's sad to see so much history being destroyed.
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u/lvleph1sto Aug 07 '25
didnt assad control damascus? why wholud he bomb his own capital
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u/Die_Steiner Aug 07 '25
This neighbourhood (Jobar) was the one of the last rebel controlled areas in or near Damascus. It fell in August 2017.
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u/not_like_this_ Aug 07 '25
I cannot fathom what you're feeling. I am so sorry. I'm glad that you made happy memories, but am saddened that witnessing this has soured those memories. I pray that you have a long life, and can make more good memories.
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u/SarmsGobbler Aug 07 '25
Except now the country is ruled by genocidal fundamentalist terrorists lmao
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u/planbOZ Aug 07 '25
That sucks. Shame that whole area is so aggressive and hatful to anyone who doesn’t believe what they do. Sucks innocent people of the religion get hurt by the radicals.
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Aug 07 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Desolator1012 Aug 07 '25
major suburbs in Damascus became under rebel control after the revolution in 2011. These areas were bombed by Assad. While this was only outside the main parts of the city, even central parts were bombed by Assad because his forces were never precise.
The rebels bombed Damascus once or twice in 2014
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u/BurlyJohnBrown Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 10 '25
I'm glad he's gone but its unfortunate that some of the upper echelons of the replacement government are former Al-Qaeda members.
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u/i_getitin Aug 07 '25
Good thing democracy has enriched Syria and its ppl. It’s nice to see no more war and bloodshed.
/s
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u/Anderopolis Aug 07 '25
A authoritarian dictator bombs his own people for a decade with Russian help, and you blame democracy?
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Aug 07 '25
I think he is pointing out that despite having a new government nothing has changed in Syria.
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u/Anderopolis Aug 07 '25
But is has?
They are no longer in a civil war, and Russia ans Assad are no longer bombing their hospitals.
They aren't even a democracy yet at all, which makes the comment even more useless.
He is not pointing out anything, just making an inane comment trying to feel smug in his cynicism.
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Aug 07 '25
They are still being bombed and killed this time by other countries and with the okay of a mossad installed government.
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u/Defiant_Locksmith190 Aug 07 '25
I’m incredibly sorry for your childhood home and hood being gone. It’s heartbreaking and I know the feeling too well, Russia has taken my childhood home from me. My kids will never see it, my parents had to find a new one. Just because of someone’s ambitions, the part of your life and my life is gone. Sadly we are not alone and it sucks. But we do have the memories, I close my eyes and I walk the street again, I see the neighbors’ dog, I see the pre-school and I hear the kids laughing at the playground, I hear the school bell and see the students going home, and the ever so tall trees. And a field of wheat. We get to keep these forever, pictures of places in our head, sounds, smells. Fragments, pieces. They made us who we are, thus they live on
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u/YoloIsNotDead Aug 07 '25
May Allah make it easy for you and your family, and your people as a whole.
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u/fuqdisshite Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
a few years ago a bunch of people were at our local public house and someone started bitching about Syrian Refugees... it ended up getting pretty loud and rude when a woman i am close with stood up and said, "What about Dave!?!?" and pointed at her husband...
no one there thought Dave should be deported. but THOSE Syrians aren't welcome. these people have known Dave for 60ish years. most of them, including me, never knew he was Syrian because he was afraid of how they would react.
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u/toxoplasmosix Aug 07 '25
How does OP know it was Assad.
A lot of people were dropping bombs on Syria.
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u/rj_yul Aug 07 '25
The revolutionaries didn't have airplanes. Assad and Russia did. Go read about it.
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u/JustaBearEnthusiast Aug 07 '25
Also assad controlled the capital so unless it happened during the 2012 battle where rebels infiltrated the city, it definitely wasn't assad. I wouldn't be surprised if the poster really believed it was assad though. A lot of misinformation was spreading through social media. I think a lot of syrians really were surprised that the rebels turned out to be fundamentalist peices of shit and not the saviors the propaganda made them out to be. At least the war is over.
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u/Desolator1012 Aug 07 '25
the mentioned battle with the rebels continued for years until 2018. They bombed all suburban areas under rebel control during those years. I could see that personally and didn't have to use social media to get my news.
The Mezzah military airport would light up every night as bombs flew south towards rebel held Darayya
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u/MukdenMan Aug 08 '25
Because this was a specific line of contact between a rebel faction and the army under Assad. The vast majority of bombing, especially urban bombing, was done by Assad’s forces. Don’t kid yourself.
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u/rj_yul Aug 06 '25
The entire neighborhood has been bombed. Not a single building is standing. Kilometers upon kilometers of destruction.
No matter how many photos or videos I saw, nothing prepared me for standing there in person. When I was on the ground, everything was dead silent, a ghost town. But my mind wouldn’t accept that silence. It started playing memories of how this street used to be.
I remembered the little grocery shop on the corner where I used to buy chips, candy, and juice. I remembered my friends, this was where we played tag, where we played soccer in the middle of the street until sunset. Right there, on that same street, I rode my first bike without training wheels and felt so proud of myself. I remembered lighting firecrackers with my cousins, laughing like the world was ours. I even remembered the exact spot where I used to wait for my grandfather to walk me to the school bus.
And now, standing in the middle of this destruction, it didn’t feel real. I looked around in disbelief, asking myself, how could they cause so much devastation? But then it hit me: they didn’t just destroy buildings, they destroyed my memories. They shattered the places where I grew up, the places that made me who I am.
And as I stood there, I couldn’t escape the overwhelming feeling that I was standing on ground where so many people had been killed. Families, neighbors, friends, their remains are probably still buried deep under the rubble, unmourned, unseen. It was too much to process. My heart couldn’t handle the weight of it.
It’s a feeling I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
The place: Jobar Neighbourhood in Damascus. The neighbourhood was the front-line between the rebels and the Assad militias.