The Syrian town of Al Raqqa: Civil society, military brigades & the administration of the liberated city
Ever since being liberated from regime control on March 4, 2013 , the city of Al
Raqqa has become the focus of Syrians’ attention as
the first regional capital to have experienced some degree of autonomy. How do
its people manage their affairs? How do they live? What is the reality of the
military brigades on the ground? Who are these brigades? What is that unites or
divides them? What relationship do they have to the civilian population? What
kind of model does Al Raqqa represent?
The mysterious disappearance of Father Paulo
We arrived in Al Raqqa on the evening of July 29. The city
was almost deserted. People had barely finished their Ramadan iftar and
had yet to take to the streets after a hard day’s fast. We were fortunate that
the city’s most famous café, Apple, had begun to open its doors.
The café is the destination of choice for the city’s youth and is situated near
to the Al Rashid Gardens in the city centre, facing the Old
Church
We had been sitting in the café for less than half an hour
when a rumour started going round that Father Paolo, who had last been seen in
town at three that afternoon, had «disappeared». More troubling was that he had
failed to attend an iftar to which he’d been invited by a
local family. The Jesuit priest was known for fasting during Ramadan, his habit
for the many years he had been resident in Syria
and an affirmation of his belief of that Christians and Muslims had much in
common.
The day before, July 28, Father Paolo had taken part in a
demonstration organized by civil society youth groups, principally the Union of
Free Students. Paolo gave a short speech in which he greeted those present and
said how happy he was to be there in Al Raqqa, which he described as «the first
capital of Free Syria».
The café’s whispers quickly became openly stated questions:
«Where is Father Paolo?». Al Raqqa is a city by name, but really it is more
akin to a vast village in which no secret can be kept for long. Someone dashed
up to report that «S», a young man known to most of those in the café, had been
told by Father Paolo that he might disappear for three days and if he did, no
one should be concerned or suggest that some evil had befallen him. S’s account
was bolstered by further stories of the desire which Paolo had expressed to
numerous others he had met; his intention to get in touch with the Islamic
State in Iraq
and Syria (ISIS).
Some of them had tried to dissuade him, but without success
it seems. Abdullah, one of the most active young revolutionaries in the city,
told me that he had met Paolo in Turkey
just days before he came to Al Raqqa and had tried, fruitlessly, to get him to
change his mind. Others tried the same and likewise failed. His friends
reported that the day before his disappearance Father Paolo had visited the ISIS
headquarters and emerged in high spirits. He had a good feeling. He had
announced to his friends that he would persist, as he intended to meet with Abu
Bakr Al Baghdadi himself. In any case, all the accounts agreed that Father
Paolo had intended to return to the ISIS headquarters
the next day. Some of his friends had heard Father Paolo mention a plan to act
as an intermediary in order to stop the on-going conflict in the north between
some of the Islamic brigades (including ISIS ) and
Kurdish fighters accused of working with the armed forces of the Syrian regime.
He also wanted to find out what had become of individuals abducted by the
jihadist group, in particular Firas Al Hajj Saleh, Ibrahim Al Ghazi and two
French journalists
.
The news that Paolo had anticipated a three-day absence
assuaged the fears of many of those present, though some remained dubious of this
account. One of these doubters, a young man working in the city’s media centre,
asked us to accompany him to his car for a reason he described as «very
important». On the way we discovered that we were going to meet Abu Eissa, the
commander of 11 Division. The 11 Division had
been formed just days before our arrival and was the largest local military
unit affiliated with the Syrian Free Army.. read more:
