TAMPA, Fla. — At a large gathering in a Lutz neighborhood, music, singing, and dancing echoed through the streets as hundreds of Syrian Americans gathered to celebrate a free Syria.
Florida is more than 6,000 miles away, but Syrian Americans know their joy and voices will travel far and wide to their friends and family who have suffered under the Assad regime.
"I think everybody's voice matters in every situation. One voice can change a lot, and I just want everybody to know my country's free, thank God, and I pray that the whole Middle East becomes free," Marya Shuayb, a Syrian American, told ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska. "Palestine will be next."
Shuayb, 16, said when they heard rebels took over Damascus and President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, they were glued to the coverage.
"We were screaming and we all got off the couch," Shuayb said. "We started clapping, playing music, raising our flags, just watching the TV, calling our family over there and just celebrating with them over the phone because obviously, we can't celebrate with them right now. We're planning on going in the summer of 2025. We want to go back and see our family and relive our culture."
There are many unknowns on what the future of Syria will look like.
During a lightning 10-day offensive, the Islamist Hyatt Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, captured the capital, Damascus, toppling the regime.
HTS, which has its roots in al-Qaeda, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.
For Syrian Americans here in Tampa Bay, it is a time to celebrate and figure out how they can help their family and friends who never left Syria.
"Since 2011, hundreds of thousands have been killed by their own government," Mohammad Mubarak told Paluska. "It's unimaginable. You can't fathom the destruction that people who are now in exile, people who are here in Tampa, who had to flee their own country and now are possibly going to return and reconnect with their homeland. It means so much. It's an exciting time. They never thought that would happen."
Mohammad Mubarak has three children. He hopes his youngest, who is only a few months old, will grow up knowing only a free Syria.
"Hopefully, we're gonna start rebuilding the country one by one," Mohammad Mubarak said. "I'm looking forward to visiting. People are talking about going back, helping the economy, helping the people. There's definitely some challenges to overcome in the future, but we're just celebrating."
Paluska interviewed Dr. Saleh Mubarak at the event. He told Paluska that the fall of Assad was the happiest day of his life.
"I have never seen people so happy around the world," Saleh Mubarak said.
Saleh Mubarak said he might never have made it out of Syria without a family friend who tipped him off.
"They wanted to arrest me for no reason," he recalled. "I was not affiliated with any group except that I had a big mouth. I was criticizing things. A family friend gave me a warning. I still remember. It was Tuesday, Dec. 23. He said, 'I want you to come to my office at night.' It specifically had to be at night because he didn't want people around him to know. He told me, 'You need to leave immediately.' It took me about 36 hours to get a visa. I left for Saudi Arabia at that time, and from there, I came to the U.S."
As an engineer, author, public speaker, and professor, Saleh Mubarakmade a life for himself and his family.
"I see these kids playing. They have this future in America. Can we get this for them in Syria?" Paluska asked Saleh Mubarak.
"Absolutely," he said. "I'm explaining to my Syrian friends in Syria that democracy is a culture before it becomes law. So we can make laws, but unless we kind of digest that culture in our heads, the culture of you and I can be different. They can have different ideologies. But, we can coexist."
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