rebels of coastal city of Latakia who joined the Syrian revolution in first months or eruption and went out for demonstrations demanding for democracy and dignity, are now either fighters in the countryside of the city, or suppressed in the city, or refugees in Europe.
After many massacres in the city of Latakia including al-Olabi massacre, that coincides with the day of a-Jalaa on April 17, young men of the city decided to continue their struggle in the countryside and joined factions of the Free Syrian Army.
Many were killed, and others left battle fields and went to Turkey to reach to Europe, but most of them kept their promise to continue the route they started till overthrowing the Syrian regime.
“my brother was killed in the battle of Dorin, I had had many injuries, but I would not leave my arm till achieving the freedom we went out to obtain or dying”, Abo Khalid, a sport teacher told Zaman al-Wasl.
Fighters of Latakia participated in the battle of capturing mountains of Turkmen and al-Akrad, added to the battle of Haffa, and still joining battles from time to time in the countryside of the city.
In the city of Latakia the story is different for young men, who did not leave to the countryside, went to Europe to seek asylum, and who was not able to do any of them, found himself imprisoned in his own house or kept escaping from place to another to avoid mandatory conscription in the Syrian Army or detention.
Zaman al-Wasl contacted a student in his fourth year of university study in Electricity Engineering college. He mentioned that he lives a state of continuous fear and tension forcing his to stay at home, fearing of doing any phone call or any account on the social media in his real name.
He explained that he refused leaving the city because he wanted to finish his study in University, but when his face appeared in a video surfaced on Youtube while he was in a demonstration, he started worrying of detention and stayed at home, abandoned his university and tried to escape outside the country, but was not able till now.
The hiding young man described the status of young men who are hiding out of the sight as too painful. “we are like prisoners, we cannot see the sun, and over that, at risk of detention if the security forces managed to know out places, that what happened to my friend two years ago, and he died under torture few months after detention.
Forcibly, aspects of the Syrian revolution and demonstration disappeared in the city of Latakia, due to intensive security activity in opposition neighbourhoods, and controlling mosques and preventing any sort of gathering
