The New Syrian Refugees: Interview

The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime undoubtedly means that many Syrian refugees and exiles finally have an opportunity to return home. However, for a small minority of people associated with the regime, particularly those who led military formations on the regime side and/or are accused of committing war crimes, the regime’s fall means that they are the new refugees from Syria.

Of course, the concept of a refugee from Syria is now foremost applicable to Assad himself and his immediate family, now living in exile in Moscow. But there are other cases too. For example, Simon al-Wakil, who led the National Defence Forces in the Christian town of Muhrada in north Hama province, has become wanted for having led this formation. As a result, he and his immediate family have gone into exile in a country that I will simply refer to euphemistically as the Land of Chocolate.

On 19 December, I interviewed Simon’s son Fahad, who is with his father in the Land of Chocolate. Recall that I interviewed Fahad on the situation in Muhrada just before the town fell to the insurgents. In this interview, we discuss the reasons for exile and reflections on the Assad regime.

Q: Have you become wanted by the new government in Syria?