Gently gently Syria

More than a year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Syria is confronting itself. After decades of European influence, sixty years of military dictatorship shaped by pan-Arab ideology, and thirteen years of civil war, the country has entered an uncertain "year zero, " in which old structures have collapsed while new ones struggle to emerge. Gently gently Syria explores a country in transition, documenting the tensions, adaptations, and fragile signs of renewal that characterize this moment.

In Maaloula, the Feast of the Holy Cross is celebrated on a reduced scale, overshadowed by persistent fears of ISIS attacks. In Damascus, demonstrations following Friday prayers at the Umayyad Mosque reflect the reclaiming of public space after years of repression. Elsewhere, the scars of conflict remain visible: an Israeli raid in Beit Jinn, severe healthcare shortages in rural Idlib, landfill workers in Aleppo surviving on the margins of the post-war economy, and life slowly reappearing among the ruins of the historic Palestinian camp of Yarmouk.

Equally revealing is the relationship between local communities and the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria. While damaged bridges await reconstruction, people continue to cross on improvised rafts and small boats, tracing routes shaped by necessity. Across the country, refugee camps are becoming permanent settlements, informal economies are expanding, institutions are struggling to reorganize, and acts of revenge unfold alongside fragile efforts at reconciliation.

Minorities, shifting centers of power, and the redefinition of Syria's social fabric now stand at the heart of the country's uncertain future. Like parts of Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War, Syria remains suspended between devastation and rebirth, moving through a period of instability in which new forms of life, identity, and belonging are gradually emerging.