AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Relief is unmistakable in Syria today. A culture of fear and paranoia lifted when the Assad regime fell, and Syrians are finding their voices. Many of them are ready to go public about what kind of government they want. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi went to the first mass protests in Damascus since the dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country and has this report.
NIHAD AL-HOMSI: (Non-English language spoken).
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Nihad al-Homsi breaks into a passionate speech, calling for just and good leaders in the new Syria. She's surrounded by a massive crowd in the central square in Damascus.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS #1: (Chanting in non-English language).
AL-SHALCHI: It was unimaginable for her to do this just two weeks ago. Former President Bashar al-Assad brutally clamped down on peaceful protests like this one in 2011, triggering the 13-year civil war. But now he's gone, driven into exile by rebel fighters. Homsi says she's most looking forward to elections.
AL-HOMSI: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "I've never voted in my life because of the oppression," she says. Thirty-nine-year-old Haneen Hasan says she can't believe she's standing here today.
HANEEN HASAN: This is the first time for me. It's like a dream to hear my voice on the street.
AL-SHALCHI: The protest was organized by a Syrian civil organization and advertised on Facebook. Men and women carry signs with the word secularism in Arabic. Others chant against an Islamist nation.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS #2: (Chanting in non-English language).
AL-SHALCHI: "No to religious rule," they shout. The rebel group, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, is now in charge of the interim government in Syria. It has roots in Al-Qaida and remains a designated terrorist organization by the United States. While HTS says it won't turn the country into another Afghanistan, a lot of Syrians are worried they could impose a very stringent form of Islamic rule that would upend their lives. Protestor Rita Mohamad says, she's not anti-religion.
RITA MOHAMAD: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "Being secular doesn't mean that we don't believe in God," Mohamad says. "We just don't want to be ruled by religion."
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS #3: (Chanting in non-English language).
AL-SHALCHI: Some within the interim government of HTS have made worrisome comments. Last week, a government spokesman told Syrian TV that women's biological structures didn't qualify them for certain jobs like leading government. Nagham Salman, who's taking photos of the crowd, says she doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.
NAGHAM SALMAN: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "How can a man think like this in this century?" she says. And they control the government in Syria. Protest organizer Lama Badour says, Syrians need to write a new constitution.
LAMA BADOUR: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "The constitution should protect individual citizens and not discriminate," Badour says. Activist Sana Mustafa has just come to Syria after living in exile for the last 11 years. She says, HTS hasn't earned her trust yet.
SANA MUSTAFA: No one won this revolution more than the Syrian people themselves. I mean, this was the last step they did. Thank you for that, but we paid for this. We sacrificed for this for 13 years with everything we own and love.
AL-SHALCHI: Mustafa says there's fear and some caution, but she has faith in her people.
MUSTAFA: If we were able to topple the 53-years-old dictatorship, then I'm definitely not worried about those guys.
AL-SHALCHI: Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Damascus. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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