A sunny start to the day with light cloud. By the time I got up, Clare had already left the house on her way to a nine o'clock appointment at the School of Optometry. After breakfast I did the weekly housework and cooked pasta with a veggie bolognese sauce for lunch.
Reaction from political commentators and governments to the speedy downfall of the Assad regime move from astonishment to concern about what happens next. Syrians in bordering countries are already heading back home. Syrians inside the country wanting to know what happened to people they know unaccounted for during Assad's reign of terror are flocking to the notorious military prison of Saidnaya near Damascus , regarded as a 'human slaughterhouse due to the torture and murder of so many opponents of the regime. It's deeply ironic that the municipality of Saidnaya is dominated by the sixty century monastery and shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a place of pilgrimage for Muslims as well as Christians. I visited there on my study visit to Syria back in the nineties. I took a hundred photos there, but few of the Christian quarter in Damascus and sadly none of Saidnaya.
Surviving prisoners were set free by rebel soldiers yesterday, but there are rumours of prison cells hidden underground which may still hold forgotten inmates, the search for them is now happening. The rebels are swiftly setting up their own government administration with their leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani as prime minister, promising to uphold the rights of religious minorities. He heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham the main group in the rebel army coalition. It's designated as a terrorist group, by UK USA and Canada. Each country has to make up its mind about whether or not to deal diplomatically with Al-Golani. Will those he lead and the communities they represent stay united and work for the restoration of Syria or fragment into warring factions, as happened in Libya? The world is watching and questioning.
It's concerning that European countries hosting Syrian refugees are already suspending applications from asylum seekers still being processed, and preparing to repatriate people without settled status. Yet nobody knows how long it will be until there is a consensus about whether or not safe return is possible After the downfall of a dictator some people are bound to be looking for vengeance, unless a new regime can succeed in restraining those bent on settling old scores. This alone could contribute to instability and put returnees at risk of violence which they sought to escape from in the first place.
Before going out for my afternoon walk I drafted our annual Christmas round robin and sent it to Clare for approval. This made me over an hour late starting out. On my way out I refitted the wing mirror cover to the car. It seems not to have sustained damage, but I think it may need a little glue around the edges to secure it properly, in case one of the tiny tabs that click it into place has broken off un-noticed. There was a chilling wind when I went out, first to Thompson's Park, then Llandaff Fields, and Canton Tesco's before returning home in the dark. We laughed all the way through supper at the first in the new series of 'I'm sorry I haven't a clue', our favourite radio panel game along with 'Just a minute'.
I spent time writing afterwards then watched another episode of Lykkeland before going to bed.
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