First Syrian refugees to settle in Sudbury celebrate end of the Assad regime

Hussein Qarqouz says he hasn't felt much happiness since his family fled Syria and eventually settled in Sudbury, Ont., in 2016. 

But he couldn't help but feel joy when he followed the news that rebel forces took the country's capital, Damascus, on Sunday and declared Syria liberated from the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

"After 14 years [of civil war] I pray all the time. God help the Syrian people. They need freedom," Qarqouz said.

"I am better now."

In 2012, Qarqouz and his family fled to neighbouring Lebanon where they lived for four years before coming to Canada.

He says many of his friends and family members were killed by the Assad regime.

In 2011, he was imprisoned for more than two months after he participated in a protest that occurred outside his business – a bakery.

"They hit me every day, no healthy food, nothing. I see people die," he said.

In 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Office estimated more than 300,000 Syrians were killed in the country's civil war up to that point.

It's estimated the war has displaced 13 million Syrians, and some 6.7 million refugees were forced to leave the country.

After settling in Sudbury, Qarqouz and his sons started a successful restaurant called Damascus Shawarma, which serves some traditional Syrian baked goods in addition to the titular dish.

On Monday, he was sharing hugs with friends and regulars who offered their congratulations on the recent events in the country.

"This Friday, I need to give people, my customers 50 per cent off because of my country's freedom," he said.

To celebrate Syria's liberation from the Assad regime, Qarqouz said he also plans to give way 200 free meals to people experiencing homelessness in Sudbury.

His son, Nabil Qarqouz, was only six years old when they left Syria in 2012, and arrived in Sudbury as a 10-year old.

He said the few memories he has of his childhood in Syria are not positive.

"I was terrorized by that regime," Nabil said.

"They're gone now, but their scars still affect me and haunt me through this day. I was six years old. They would come at night, in the morning, raid my house to look for my dad because he was peacefully protesting."

Nabil said he hopes Syria can transition without interference from local or neighbouring militia factions and can become a functioning democracy, but he says it will need support from the international community to do so.

"I don't want what happened in Libya to happen in Syria," he said. "You know, they haven't been able to form a government yet."

Nabil considers Sudbury and Canada his home now, but he says if peace returns to Syria, he would like to visit the country and meet some of his family members he hasn't seen since he was a child.

"Maybe in the near future, you know, visit there, start investing there. Start bringing the economy back to normal," he added.