Syria’s future lies in its past

Since al-Assad’s regime fell from power in December 2024, much of the reporting on Syria has focussed on geopolitics in the region. More concern has been paid to the reactions of neighbouring nations than the ordinary Syrians whose lives have been uprooted by years of violence. But Syria is so much more than a strategic stronghold to be fought over by nations in the Global North. We spoke with Waseem Albahri, a Syrian cultural heritage specialist who works to preserve heritage sites in conflict zones, about the challenges of reclaiming a country’s history after it’s been held hostage by a regime that was quite literally re-writing the history books.—Get our independent journalism delivered direct to your inbox, join the openDemocracy Newsletter today. In Solidarity is openDemocracy’s podcast about people, power, and politics. It’s hosted by openDemocracy editor-in-chief Aman Sethi, an award-winning journalist and author of A Free Man. Support the show by visiting openDemocracy.net/donate.Credits:Presented by Aman SethiEdited and produced by Nandini Archer, James Battershill & Ayodeji RotinwaTheme song ‘Odyssey’ performed by Edward AbelaFeaturing audio clips from Aljazera, Middle East Eye, Wall Street Journal and France24 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.