Syrian man excited to return home after regime ends

A Syrian man living in Gloucestershire has said he is looking forward to visiting family in his home country for the first time in 14 years, after the fall of the Assad regime.

Rami Almeshkawi said he spent 40 days in jail for protesting against the previous Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and ended up fleeing the country. He lived in Lebanon for seven years before arriving in the UK in 2018.

He plans to visit Syria with his family soon, with a new government now in place.

"We are very excited to have democracy, to have freedom [in Syria]," Mr Almeshkawi said.

Mr Almeshkawi said: "If I had stayed there, maybe I would have died."

But he added that many Syrians feel "great hope" for the future under a new government.

He plans to travel to Syria in the coming weeks with his wife Rim and their two children to visit family they have not seen since they fled.

Syrians in Gloucestershire recently celebrated Eid at the Friendship cafe in Gloucester.

Organisers said it gave the community an opportunity to get together.

"During Eid we can't meet all the families, so it is a chance to meet all together," said Soula Al Hassan.

The celebrations also gave children who have spent little to no time in Syria an opportunity to experience the culture, organisers added.

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