LONDON: The Syrian capital plunged into chaos after opposition forces swiftly toppled Bashar Assad’s regime earlier this month. Within days, as calm returned to Damascus, residents, driven by renewed pride in their city, joined forces to clean up neighborhoods and restore a semblance of normalcy despite the collapse of municipal services.
On Dec. 8, a coalition of armed opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham seized control of Damascus. The city, already battered by 14 years of war, economic collapse and neglect under the ousted regime, went through a long spell of lawlessness and violence.
Witnesses described “teenagers with guns” and “unidentified armed thugs” shooting indiscriminately and looting in the city and its suburbs.
Private businesses, homes and vehicles were vandalized, while universities and public buildings bore the brunt of the unrest. Among the targeted sites were the Opera House, the Central Bank, and the Immigration and Passports building, which was set on fire.
Residents of Damascus turned to social media, urging the Military Operations Administration, the unified central command of the armed coalition, to restore order as hospitals were inundated with hundreds of surgical cases caused by stray gunfire.
The chaos prevented many medical staff from reaching hospitals, placing immense strain on those already on duty, who worked long hours without breaks or food, according to former Health Minister Ahmed Damirieh.
In a statement, Damirieh said that indiscriminate gunfire resulted in at least 450 cases at Al-Mujtahid Hospital alone and highlighted a fuel shortage affecting both public and private medical facilities.
The Military Operations Administration responded by imposing a citywide curfew from dusk to dawn on Dec. 9.
All this was happening as jubilant Syrians celebrating Assad’s downfall tore down Baathist icons and posters and toppled statues of the late Hafez Assad. Their actions contributed to mounting piles of trash in the streets, worsened by the collapse of municipal services.
Meanwhile, Israel launched dozens of airstrikes across Damascus, targeting sites such as the military airport in Mezzeh and the “security square” in Kafar Souseh, home to the General Intelligence and customs buildings, according to Syrian news media. Thick plumes of smoke rose from multiple locations across the city.
Although thrilled by the fall of Assad and hopeful for a new chapter in Syria’s history, Damascenes were disheartened by the widespread destruction after two days of chaos. Many volunteered in large numbers to reclaim and clean their neighborhoods, including the Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
On Tuesday, civil society groups such as Mart Team, Ammerha Foundation, and Sanad Team for Development, along with community leaders like mosque imams and university professors, organized cleaning campaigns as calm returned to the capital. Volunteers said the efforts were largely funded through their own contributions.
“It’s our duty,” said Marwan Alrez, head of Mart Team. “We owe this to our city.”
“We launched our cleaning initiative on the third day after the fall of the (Assad) regime,” he told Arab News.
“We posted announcements on social media, and a large number of people eagerly volunteered to join.
“On the day we announced the initiative, 200 people reached out to us.”
Mart’s campaign, which continued for several days, focused on areas including the Mezzeh district, the Old City — particularly Al-Miskiyeh Square at the western gate of the iconic Umayyad Mosque — and the Muhajreen neighborhood, home to Assad’s Tishreen presidential palace, which was ransacked in the early hours after his overthrow.
“Our regular team oversaw the new volunteers and the work in general,” Alrez said, emphasizing that the campaign was “self-funded, with each of us contributing what we could.”
Volunteers with the Ammerha Foundation, eager to help restore their city, brought their own cleaning equipment to the effort.
Mohammad Abdullah Aljaddou, a civil activist and founder of Ammerha Foundation, said that after witnessing the extent of the damage and the piles of garbage in the streets, he and his team “devised a response on the spot.”
“Locals took the initiative and volunteered,” he told Arab News. “They even brought brooms, trash bags, and cleaning supplies.”
“We divided into groups,” he added, emphasizing that “most of the people were locals — not just our regular volunteers.”
The teams focused their cleaning efforts on the Al-Hejaz district, home to the historic Hejaz Railway Station; Yusuf Al-Azma Square, commonly known as Al-Mohafaza; the Al-Mujtahid neighborhood; Baramkeh near the SANA news agency; Jisr Al-Rais; Mouwasat in Mezzeh; and Abbasid Square.
Ammerha’s multi-day initiative also extended to Umayyad Square in the heart of the capital, particularly after large celebrations held there on Friday, Syria’s weekend day.
On Dec. 13, thousands of jubilant Syrians flooded the streets of Damascus, gathering in public areas such as Umayyad Square. They waved the Syrian opposition flag and chanted revolutionary slogans as loudspeakers blared celebratory music marking Assad’s fall.
Aljaddou noted that Ammerha’s efforts extended to hospitals across Damascus, including the Children’s University Hospital, Harasta, Douma, Al-Mujtahid, Al-Mouwasat and the Maternity and Gynecology Hospital.
“We distributed meals to the medical staff, each containing two sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, dates, and juice,” he said. “Local food companies also joined in, providing additional food and beverages.”
After Syrian rebel fighters freed thousands from the infamous Sednaya prison, dubbed the “human slaughterhouse,” in the Damascus countryside, many detainees — weak and suffering from diseases caused by harsh conditions — were brought to the city’s hospitals.
The influx further strained the healthcare system, already weakened by 14 years of crisis, economic sanctions, and security challenges, as families crowded hospitals and morgues in search of missing loved ones.
Ammerha’s volunteers also focused on universities, including Damascus University’s schools of humanities, law, medicine, economics and agriculture, which suffered significant damage during the first 48 hours after Assad’s fall.
“For now, the city is calm,” Aljaddou said.
Hadeel Alkadi, an agricultural engineering student at Damascus University, shared her excitement at volunteering with Ammerha to help reclaim the city.
Describing the cleaning campaigns as “more than wonderful,” she told Arab News: “The young men and women contributing to these campaigns reflect a genuine desire to rebuild their country — even if it’s by cleaning its universities, squares, and streets.”
Noting that some volunteers focused on preparing and distributing meals for medical staff, Alkadi said: “They clearly wanted to give generously to their country, from the bottom of their hearts.
“All of this fills us with hope for a better future for Syria.”
Another volunteer, Rayan Kifo, an architecture student at Damascus University, also joined efforts to restore the city.
She told Arab News that the Sanad Team, where she volunteered, organized much of the work through WhatsApp. “The supervisors would send us the location and time to gather,” she said.
“The campaign was driven by young people eager to create change and improve the country’s situation with the resources available,” Kifo said. “For the first time, we felt that this country is ours, and we are responsible for it.”
She added: “The work was tough, but it was worth it for our beloved country.
“With our determination and capabilities, we will make it better — a country free from favoritism, corruption and nepotism.
“Our country belongs to all of us Syrians, despite our differences.”
Bayan Alnakshapandy, a microbiology student at Damascus University, reflected on the deepening sense of connection she and her peers experienced while working tirelessly to clean their neighborhoods.
“Our parents always encouraged us to excel in school and university to make our country proud, but it wasn’t until that moment that we truly felt connected to our country and realized we were serving it,” she said.
Alnakshapandy volunteered with both the Sanad Team and the Syrian Community Support Team.
She told Arab News that the volunteers included “people of all ages, all backgrounds and all sects.”
According to her, many were students and highly educated individuals, including civil society leaders and university professors, “who were cleaning with their own hands.”
“One professor even brought his five-year-old son, who helped splash water on the floors and carried a broom twice his size,” Alnakshapandy said with a laugh.
Recalling her involvement, she shared a personal anecdote: “I felt jealous when I heard the teams were going to clean my old street, Pakistan Street, where I had lived for over 15 years before moving to Ain Tarma in the countryside two years ago. I had to be there with them.”
Alnakshapandy added: “I felt a strong sense of belonging because I was cleaning my own street. My heart is full.”
