Winnipeggers who fled Syria say toppling of Assad regime brings feelings 'beyond happiness'

News of the Assad regime's fall in Syria brought Winnipeggers to tears and reignited their hopes for the country.

Tens of thousands of Syrians are celebrating the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, after rebels said they entered the city and toppled the longtime ruler. The rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied factions launched a lightning offensive on Nov. 27.

In Winnipeg, dozens gathered at the steps of the Manitoba Legislature on Sunday, braving the blowing snow to celebrate what they are framing as a turning point in Syria's history, and looking toward the possibility of building a country based on democracy, peace and freedom. 

"I am a Syrian-Canadian who waited for this moment all her life," Maysoun Darweesh said at the rally. "Here we are, the liberation day, unbelievable, look at us." 

Syrian opposition flags were waved while people chanted slogans framing the country's unity that some say were sung as a sign of opposition to the ruling of the al-Assad family. 

"The regime that never allowed us to breathe is now gone," Darweesh said. 

Darweesh, who is the executive director of the Kurdish Initiative for Refugees in Winnipeg, grew up in Latakia, a city on Syria's west coast that lies along the Mediterranean Sea. She fled her home country in 2008 and spent a few years in China before arriving in Canada in December 2012.

"We want the world to know it's finally the time to see a free Syria, and to say we are willing to open our hearts, our minds, everything to all neighbours, to the world to build a new country. It's so exciting," Darweesh told CBC News in an interview before the rally.

She still has family in Latakia, including a brother, aunts and uncles. Darweesh, 46, says she knows more about the political change in Syria than they do.

"When I contact them it's a mix of fear, excitement.… They know for sure it's a new era but they are waiting," she said.

After enduring 13 years of civil war, Syrians stormed the presidential palace in Damascus, tearing up portraits of the toppled president on Sunday. Assad has fled to Moscow, according to Russian state media.

Kerim Abed, a Syrian filmmaker who fled to Canada last year, brought her daughter to Sunday's rally. He said the country has work to do ahead to restore freedom for all and is hoping international partners can join the cause. 

"We escape from war and we will get back to Syria to rebuild it and to raise our flag very high," he said.

Darweesh understands change will not happen overnight, and it might take several years.