‘Is this just a long, beautiful dream?’

After the 14 -year war, Syria has entered a new and uncertain chapter. The country is destroyed – 90 percent of Syrians live in poverty.

Despite the challenges of up to a million people living in camps and displacement sites in the north -west of the country, intend to return home within the following year.

As those Syrians prepare to return home, they are starting a difficult process of reconstruction and the past.

Ms. al-Katab, filmmaker behind the award-winning documentary, For Sama, In 2016, before fleeing the country, Aleppo captured life under siege.

Since then, she has been a powerful lawyer for the Syrians, co-founder action for SAMA, a campaign, advocacy of human rights, dignity and accountability to all.

In this interview United nations newsAs Syria stands at an intersection, she shares her determination to ensure that justice is not forgotten in the next chapter of the country.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

United Nations News: Wad, how have you been processing for the last few months?

Vad al-Catiab: I think it’s really misleading. We are above the moon, but at the same time, it was something that seemed so far.

I felt that the end of my story is dying in exile, cannot go back, never able to see this beautiful day. And this happened just by blue, without any signal.

We were not ready, but it does not matter. This happened, and we are really happy.

At the same time, pain and sorrow we had to go through the last 14 years-and for many of us, even 50 years, when Hafze al-Assad was the President-it was too much to handle.

I am still thinking, is it real? Am I just dreaming a long, beautiful?

United Nations News: Are you in touch with people on the ground in Syria? What are they telling you?

Vad al-Catiab: Till now, due to my refugee status, I was not able to go back. But I am working on this, and hopefully, in any other, I will get citizenship in UK, so I will be able to move forward independently.

My parents went back in January, and some of our friends too. I was also able to communicate with my family that were in Syria all the time, while earlier, I could not even send a message or not because I was worried about what the government could do for them.

This is not easy – the country is tired, the economy is very bad, there is no electricity, no water, but everyone who has common is that it is definitely a new beginning.

We are afraid, but we are not really afraid. We can do anything we want.

Un News: When you still lived in Aleppo, you spent years in capturing both the flexibility of the people and the devastation around them. What are the moments with you since that time?

Vad al-Catiab: To be honest, the situation I could not accept was when we were displaced from Aleppo.

I quickly understood that we were fighting against a dictatorship that would stop at anything. I was fine with him. I knew that the risk I was taking was taking my husband Hamza, even our own daughter.

We were fighting in our own way – I, my cameras, with my husband, with my work in the hospital.

Then the siege came – six months without any medicine, no food, no basic services. And then, forced to displace. For me, the most cruel thing was: throw us out of our country where we wanted to be.

This was the moment that really broke me. Say goodbye to everything – my house there, hospital, people we knew.

For the last few years, I have forced myself not to return because this was not possible. But now, it is.

So many people I know that they went back. They send me photos from the neighborhood, university: “Look, it’s there. We are back. ,

And I can’t wait to be there myself.

United Nations News: You talk about your enthusiasm, enthusiasm of your family and closure of this chapter. Do you think that the most difficult part of the work is now done?

Vad al-Catiab: Definitely. The most difficult work has been done.

Now, with this new chapter, a lot has to be done, and it is very difficult in a very different way. But shelling, bombings – it is over.

There are many important issues – transitional justice, prisoners, disappeared. There are very difficult conversations about revenge; And the economy – it is more than crash.

There are many officers, agendas and international players in the country starting with scratches. But now, we are in charge. It is very heavy to carry but we are here and we are going to do it.

I am very hopeful and excited.

Un News: You mention transitional justice, what does the real accountability now see?

Vad al-Catiab: Bashar al-Assad was responsible, but there are many others-he ordered the murders, who took him out, who helped him. And I am not only talking about individuals, but also about foreign governments and forces.

There is no way to have a future in Syria if we do not face what happened. For all responsible, it should start with forgiveness and end with accountability.

Right now, militia and former governance soldiers still have weapons, trying to hide or defend themselves. It is very serious, and all weapons should be handed over to the new government.

For victims like us, now it’s about asking: what do we want? What can happen; what can be done? How do we return to normal life? A lot has to be done.

Un News: You have lived in UK for almost a decade. You said that you want to return. Will it be long term?

Vad al-Catiab: To be honest, we never thought that it would be a moment, so we created a life away from Syria.

Even in our conversation with our daughters, I wanted them to love Syria and understand what happened but at the same time, I wanted to protect them.

Now, I see that they have taken more way than what they felt, they picked up what they felt. For him, Syria was a place where people used to die.

They do not understand and they ask: “What if Assad is still hidden there? What if he is waiting for us to leave and then he kills us? ,

The discussion of returning has triggered many difficult things for him.

For me and Hamza, we do not have to think about it, we definitely want to go back. Therefore, we agreed to a trip and when we come back, we will talk – what we want, what they want. They definitely have a similar to say.

Whatever decision we make, one way or any other, we will come back.

United Nations News: With your advocacy, what role do you play yourself in the reconstruction of Syria?

Vad al-Catiab: We have done a lot around the world – working with communities that know Syria well and others who do not know anything about it.

For us, the greatest achievement has always been awareness and to preserve the story of what happened. Now, more than ever, it is a priority on the ground in Syria.

For me, it is not only about Sama as a film, but about what I have learned as a filmmaker – the year of telling my story and others’. Now, I want to bring it back to Syria through screening and conversations, not only as a film event, but as a place to hear from people.

It is part of transitional justice, especially acknowledgment -to help local communities talk to each other, understand each other’s experiences and start treatment.

United Nations News: What will be your message for the international community today?

Vad al-Catiab:Syria is not like any other conflict. People tried to compare it with Iraq or Afghanistan, but it is different. Even how the governance fell and what comes next is unknown.

As the US has reduced foreign aid, the Syrian Civil Society is at risk of collapse. For more than a decade, justice and struggling organizations for protected citizens are now struggling. The international community should move.

A successful infection should be free from Syrian-demolition, armed groups or foreign effects.

The world has the responsibility of supporting the Syrian people for peace, justice and accountability in the world.