For Syrian-Irish writer Suad Aldarra, the possibility of returning home to the Syrian capital of Damascus finally feels real again, after rebels ousted the government of President Bashar al-Assad following a 13-year civil war.
“This is huge for everyone, for all Syrians,” Ms Aldarra said. “I still have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it.”
The 38-year-old left Syria in 2012 with just two bags and has built a life for herself in Dublin where she wrote a memoir, ‘I Don’t Want to Talk About Home’.
“I used to always hide that I’m from Syria, not because I’m ashamed of it but because of all the consequences and the follow-up questions that I would get,” Ms Aldarra said to explain her book.
But when she heard that Assad had fallen and sought exile in Russia, she went to have breakfast and felt she could talk openly about Syria.
“I think we were the loudest table in the restaurant having breakfast but we couldn’t stop talking and analysing and processing everything,” she said.
“I look forward to that moment when I open the door of my house there and show my kid,” she said, adding that her seven-year-old son had never been to Syria and she wanted to visit “as soon as possible”.
“I keep imagining this image of me and my friends just sitting and laughing and talking like there has been no war, like we’ve never separated or scattered,” Ms Aldarra added.
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Speaking to RTÉ’s News at One, Ms Aldarra, who was awarded the 2024 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, said the situation looked “promising”.
“It’s still a dream to see that red line breaking news that Syria is free now from the old regime, it’s still something we’re wrapping our heads around,” she said.
“It’s hard to make any long-term plans but visiting Syria is now a possibility that I never dared to dream of during the past years.
“I kind of made peace with settling in Ireland and having roots here and integrating into Irish society, especially after I became a writer and had a kid here – kids kind of make you look at the future instead of the past.”
Ms Aldarra said the idea of reopening her home door which she closed thirteen years ago was “unimaginable”.
