On the Fourteenth Anniversary of the Syrian Revolution, Today, after many long years of documenting events and filming videos, I step outside once more. Years that carried me through rubble and exile—from Eastern Ghouta, where I sought to cover the suffering of children and the horrors of war, to Idlib, where I found myself forcibly displaced—until this revolution wrote its final chapters. The war has ended, exile has ended, displacement has ended, but the wounds remain as witnesses to the long journey.
How cruel these years have been. How many times was I forced to pack my belongings in haste, leave one home behind, search for another, and start over from zero? I lost my education, I lost my father, and I lost dreams that I buried in every place I passed through. Yet, amid this overwhelming loss, I never lost my faith that freedom is worth everything.
Today, history is being written anew. Today, we commemorate that cry that first rose from Daraa on March 18, 2011—a cry for freedom that ignited hearts before it set the streets ablaze. Millions paid the price. Millions were displaced. Millions were left without a homeland, and hunger and destruction loomed over every corner.
The qusation here, Was it worth it?*
We were displaced, we were killed, we were bombed, our cities were destroyed, and our children were orphaned. But we are here. Despite everything, we are here, carrying hope and determination, closing the painful chapter of the past to open a new one, inscribed at the top: Freedom for a people who endured more than half a century of tyranny. Today, we build instead of destroy. Today, we live instead of being killed. Today, we say with full conviction: We are on the right path.
For the first time, I feel Syrian. For the first time, I feel that my voice can be heard without fear of arrest or torture. For the first time, I will carry a passport and documents that prove I belong to this nation. For the first time, I stand behind my country and feel that it is mine. For the first time, I breathe freedom. For the first time, I feel like a human being, not just a worthless creature.
Today, we celebrate. Today is a day of festivity. Today is a memory that will never be erased from our minds, Today, I say with pride: I was part of this great revolution. I stood by my people in their struggle against a criminal regime.
I thank everyone who supported me on this journey, everyone who stood by me and believed in my voice, everyone who stood with the Syrian people in their battle for freedom. Thank you from the depths of my heart. I will continue to amplify the voices of the oppressed everywhere because the struggle for freedom knows no borders. I started in Syria, but I belong to the world, and I believe that no matter how long it takes, the people will inevitably prevail.
The qusation here, Was it worth it?*
I say yes. There is no life without freedom and no dignity without a price.
