A week into a new Syria, rebels aim for normalcy and Syrians vow not to be silent again

A street vendor flashes a victory sign in the Bab Touma neighborhood in the Old City of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 14, 2024. People walk past shops on a street in the Bab Touma neighborhood of the Old City of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 14, 2024.

At Damascus' international airport, the new head of security — one of the rebels who marched across Syria to the capital — arrived with his team. The few maintenance workers who showed up for work huddled around Maj Hamza al-Ahmed, eager to learn what will happen next.