Dear John,

In case you’re just joining us now, Dr. Tom G. Palmer and I have been sharing what we saw firsthand during Atlas Network’s journey to Syria in the weeks just after the fall of the Assad dictatorship. 

We were there during a deeply emotional honeymoon phase when Syrians were getting their first real taste of freedom in over 60 years. 

But if you’ve been following the tragic and violent news coming out of western Syria, you can see in all its harsh reality that honeymoons don’t last long in the Middle East—there are many conflicting forces and conflicting accounts of events happening in Syria, and there are difficult and decisive days still ahead.

We came to Syria because we were already in contact with local people who are courageous enough to stand up for individual rights, toleration, limited government, free enterprise, and the rule of law in these harrowing circumstances and make sure the values of liberty are not forgotten when Syria establishes its new constitution. 

Our first full day in Damascus was dedicated to filming with some of them to document the enormous task that lay before them.

We wanted to walk the streets and learn how everyday Syrians are responding to the end of the Assad era and planning for the next phase of building a freer country.

Joining us was Dr. Mazen Derawan, a Syrian-American businessman returning home to Syria for the first time in years.

Dr. Derawan will be the star of the documentary we’re producing, where he’ll share the indignities of life under Assad, how the regime’s policies crippled the economy, and how he’s leading the effort to establish Syria’s new pro-liberty think tank, Free Syria Center which will partner with Atlas Network.

The documentary is still several weeks away, but in the meantime, my team and I are also providing updates on our blog at AtlasNetwork.org—have a look!

Dr. Derawan was our guide through many parts of Damascus, including Umayyad Square, the center of the modern part of the city where victory celebrations occurred after the fall of the regime.

What we saw on the streets mirrored our first impressions at the airport.

People were still gathering (especially on the weekends and nights) to celebrate a free Syria and wave their new flags, even though one month had passed since Assad’s fall.

Children were selling scarves with the new national colors and the word "Freedom" written on both sides.

We eagerly bought one for each of us and wore them on the square.

It was beautiful to see people celebrating freedom for the first time in generations and to be so warmly greeted in a country where freedom was on people's minds. 

As we can see from the news, there are extremists in Syria who don’t share these values, and are stoking ethnic and religious violence. But this does not characterize the overwhelming majority of Syrian people we met, who just want to live a normal life. 

Syria is an ancient country that has been a crossroads of civilizations for thousands of years. Most Syrians want to open their economy up to share their history, culture, and commerce with the world. In fact, every Syrian I met, regardless of their language ability, knew the English for "Welcome" or "Welcome to Syria," and many were happy to say it to our team.

They were even more accommodating when they learned half of our team were Americans visiting Syria… Most Syrians respect the U.S., and many have family members who fled or emigrated here and have succeeded in ways they couldn’t have in Assad's Syria. 

While we spent the whole first day focused on filming, what came over the next few days held the real key to advancing a pro-freedom future in Syria…

Stay tuned for our next email, where Dr. Palmer will reveal the pivotal conversations that took place and the local leaders like Dr. Derawan who are stepping up to bring lasting freedom.

Sincerely,

Adam Weinberg
Director of Marketing and Communications
Atlas Network