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00:02 Mohamad Chreyteh | DW Middle East Correspondent
00:27 - 00:37 December 2024
00:43 Jamal Bayrakdar | Resident of Daraya
01:18 Mohamad Chreyteh | DW Middle East Correspondent
01:36 Issa al Jassem | Resident of Daraya
02:27 Jamal Bayrakdar | Resident of Daraya
02:38 Report by Mohamad Chreyteh

Script: 
+++ Mohamad Chreyteh – DW Middle East Correspondent:

A year ago, these streets were filled with hope — that the fall of the Assad regime would mark a new beginning. But almost twelve months later, Daraya still lies in ruins. 
This town was once home to more than two hundred thousand people. 
Government airstrikes tore it to pieces during the civil war. 
And although that government is gone, here, the future feels uncertain.

We came here and met Jamal Barakdar a year ago - just after the government fell. 
This is what his home and salt factory looked like then.

Coming back now… nothing has changed.
+++ Jamal Bayrakdar – Resident of Daraya: I cannot rebuild the factory. I can’t repair my house either. I can’t even afford to install a window. I’m broke, I have nothing.
- Reporter: Why there’s no rebuilding?
- No one is helping. If you have your own money, it’s possible to rebuild, but otherwise not - and I don’t have money.
The basement Jamal showed us last year — the site of mass killings during the war — remains untouched.
The air still feels thick with dust and grief.
+++ Mohamad Chreyteh - DW Middle East Correspondent:
The government promised rebuilding and accountability. But here in Daraya, the past still sits in plain sight — and the future feels far away.
Jamal’s neighbor, Issa al Jassem, tells stories of loss - and of waiting.
He says the war is over, but peace has not yet arrived.
+++ Issa al Jassem – Residnet of Daraya: I witnessed the massacres here and I buried two of the victims here on my land - my two cousins - I buried them here behind me. There has still not been any accountability. We have absolutely no information that the criminals were arrested and brought to justice.
Like most of his neighbours who are still in Daraya, Issa lives in his destroyed, roofless home.
Across Syria, reconstruction is piecemeal, and has barely begun. The economy is collapsing, inflation is soaring, putting the cost of rebuilding beyond reach for many.
At 64, Jamal works as a gardener to survive
+++ Jamal Bayrakdar – Resident of Daraya: I am working for my children, why would I do it otherwise? I do all this only for them. That’s it.One year after the fall of Assad, people in Daraya is still waiting for the bulldozers, the builders - and a new beginning