The new head of security at Damascus International Airport — one of those rebels who marched through Syria to reach the capital — arrived along with his team. The few maintenance workers that showed up to work huddled together around Maj Hamza Al-Ahmed eager to hear what would happen next.

The people quickly expressed all their complaints that they were too scared to voice during the reign of President Bashar al-Assad.

The bosses told the fighter that they had been denied promotions and perks because of their pro-Assad sympathies, and threatened to put them in prison if they worked too slowly. Airport staff were warned to be on guard for hard-core Assad supporters who would return when the airport reopened.

Osama Najim, a civil engineer, said: “This is our first conversation.”

This week marked the beginning of Syria’s new transformation following Assad’s sudden fall.

The rebels who were suddenly in power met a populace bursting with emotion: excitement over new freedoms, grief for years of repression, and hopes, fears and expectations about the future. Some people were so overwhelmed that they cried.

The transition was surprisingly smooth. Retaliation, revenge killings, and sectarian violence are rare. Insurgent fighters have quickly reprimanded those who are causing destruction and looting. On Saturday, the people of Damascus went about their daily lives. One van with fighters was the only thing seen.

There are many ways that things could go wrong.

After five decades under the Assad family’s rule, the country is broken and isolated. The war has torn families apart, former prisoners have been traumatized by their brutal treatment, and tens thousands of detainees are still missing. The economy has been wrecked. Poverty is rampant, and inflation and unemployment have reached high levels. Corruption is everywhere.

Many are anxious to see what the future holds.

Al-Ahmed, the airline’s CEO, told staff at the airport: “The new road will be challenging, but we have already said that Syria is for everyone and we must all work together.”

Najm stated that the rebels had so far done everything right. “But we won’t be silent again about anything wrong.”

Idlib is coming to Damascus

After insurgents took over the city on Dec. 8, pictures of Assad and documents were destroyed at a police station that had been set ablaze. The Assad-era security and police personnel are all gone.

Ten men from the de facto “salvation” government of the rebels, which ruled the rebel enclave Idlib for many years in Syria’s northwestern region, manned the building on Saturday.

The rebel policemen are on duty at the station. They deal with complaints of street fights, petty crimes and other incidents. One woman claims that her neighbors have sabotaged the power supply to her home. She is told by a policeman to wait until the courts are back in operation.

He murmured, “It’ll take a whole year to fix the problems.”

Rebels tried to restore order in Damascus through a replica of the governance structure in Idlib. There is a scale problem. According to one of the policemen, the rebel police number is only 4,000. Half of them are in Idlib while the other half are responsible for maintaining security in Damascus. Some experts estimate that the total insurgent fighting force is around 20,000.

Right now, both the public and the fighters are learning more about each other.

Due to customs duties and bribes, the fighters are able to afford SUVs that cost 10 times more than what most Damascus residents can afford. The fighters use Turkish lira instead of the pound, which is in freefall.

Many of these fighters are hardline Islamists. Many are extremist Islamists.

Hayat Tahrir al Sham, the main insurgent group, has repudiated its al-Qaida roots, and is working to assure Syria’s ethnic and religious communities that their future will be pluralist.

But many Syrians remain suspicious. Many Syrians remain suspicious.

Hani Zia is a Damascus-resident from Daraa in the south, the city where the 2011 anti Assad uprising started. He was worried by reports of violence against minorities and revenge murders.

He said that we should “be afraid” and added that he is worried about some insurgents who feel superior to other Syrians due to their years of combat. “With all respect to those sacrificed, we sacrificed all.”

In Damascus many people insist that they won’t be oppressed any longer.

Some restaurants are now serving alcohol openly, while others serve it more discreetly.

A fighter patrol was passing by a men’s sidewalk café in the Old City Christian Quarter. The men looked at each other in uncertainty, but the fighters didn’t do anything. One policeman reported that when a man with a gun threatened a liquor shop in another part of the Old City, rebel police arrested him.

Salem Hajjo is a theater instructor who took part in the 2011 protests. He said that he disagrees with the rebels’ islamist views but he’s impressed by their ability to run their own affairs. He expects to be able to speak out in the new Syria.

He said, “We’ve never felt so at ease.” The fear has gone. “The rest is up us.”

The fighters are making a concerted attempt to reassure

Gunmen swarmed the streets in the night following Assad’s downfall, roaring with gunfire. Some security agency offices were set ablaze. Duty-free shops at airports were ransacked and all bottles of alcohol were smashed. Rebels blamed fleeing government officials for some of the damage.

The public remained indoors and viewed the newcomers. Shops shut down.

Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham imposed order by ordering a curfew at night for three days. It prohibited celebratory gunfire, and sent fighters to guard properties.

After a few days, the people started to appear.

Tens of thousands searched in Assad’s jails, especially Saydnaya, on the outskirts of the capital, for their loved ones that had disappeared many years before. Few have discovered any traces.

It was a wrenching experience, but it also brought people together. In the dark prison halls where all of us had been dreading for years, rebels and some who were also searching mingled together with the relatives of those missing.

Gunmen invited children to jump on their armored cars during street celebrations. Insurgents took photos with women. Some had their hair exposed. From cars, pro-revolution songs were blaring. Suddenly, walls and shops are covered with posters and revolutionary flags of activists who were killed by Assad.

The TV stations did not miss a step, switching from praising Assad into playing revolutionary songs. State media broadcast the declarations made by the insurgent-led new transitional government.

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