Arabs, Kurds and Christians are happy and smiling in Tabqa as the city prepares to celebrate the third year of freedom. Residents of Tabqa say the last two years have been “years of peace” and that the system they created has “dealt a giant blow to those who would make enemies of the peoples and faiths of the region”.

The city of Tabqa was completely liberated by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on April 10, 2017 and has been an exemplary city for the democratic autonomous system in the two years since the blcak veil over it was lifted.

In Tabqa, Arabs, Kurds and Christians live together and have been building their system in the last two years, developing politics, culture, education and social life in the aftermath of ISIS violence.

The city was taken over by groups acting under the name Free Syrian Army (FSA) in 2013, 2 years after the Syrian conflict began, and was invaded by ISIS in 2014, to be liberated on April 10, 2017 following a 50 day operation by the SDF.

A CITY OF ENERGY, AGRICULTURE AND TRADE

Shortly after the liberation of Tabqa, also home to one of the largest dams in the Middle East, the region’s people returned home and have been rebuilding since.

The city has a population of 300 to 350.000 people, and residents engage in energy production as well as husbandry, aquaculture and trade. Tabqa is in the Aleppo-Raqqa-Manbij triangle, which makes it an important center for trade.

The days of regime pressure, FSA looting and ISIS violence is left behind now, and the city has decided to celebrate early this year as the liberation celebrations would coincide with the month of Ramadan. The citizens are visibly excited.

PEOPLE SMILING IN TABQA

In this beautiful city in the Euphrates delta, people are now smiling and they know that nobody will confiscate the fruits of their labor. As we talk with citizens in the streets, they all say, “Alhamdulillah, we are doing very well.” They add:

“We found peace. Now we won’t let anybody disrupt our peace. We have been living and working safely for two years. Nobody steals our labor. Nobody rules over us. We hope that all of Syria can have the peace we have.”

“A TURNING POINT FOR US”

Tabqa Civilian Administration Economy Committee Chairperson Ehmed Sileman said the liberation of the city has been a turning point for them and added the following on the first steps they took:

“The liberation of Tabqa has been a turning point for us. For the people of this city. In popular assemblies held after the liberation, the idea that the city needed a civilian administration emerged. We formed a committee that included all constituents to that end.

5 days after the liberation of our city, we declared the interim civilian administration. It was an important step for us because Tabqa is an important city for all of Syria for trade, energy and agriculture/husbandry. It needed stability as soon as possible.

We first focused on fundamental needs, like food and health. The years of pillaging and violence had turned this into a ghost town. We took on an important role here to bring life back into our city.”

THE PEOPLE RETURNED

Sileman said they worked hard to rebuild the city and stated that tens of thousands of citizens have returned after having to leave their homes due to oppression and tyranny.

Sileman continued and said the Civilian Administration was formed on October 25, 2018 and the Executive Assembly made up of 13 committees was formed on November 1, 2018: “There is a trust relationship between the people and the administration, which has allowed us to rebuild our city quickly. I can say that Tabqa is the safest city in Syria right now.”

REBUILDING A COMMON LIFE

Tabqa Civilian Administration Economy Committee Chairperson Ehmed Sileman said they have revived the culture of common life among the peoples and faiths of the region with the system they built: “We have thousands of years of experience in living together, but all the administrations to date have tried to destroy that. The system we have built here has dealt a great blow to that plan.”