After a remarkable 24 hours in Syria, there has been celebrations taking place across the globe, including here in Australia. In Sydney’s west, and in Melbourne, people took to the streets to mark the fall of the Assad regime. But there is also anxiety about Syria’s future.
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00:00In suburban Sydney streets, 14,000 kilometres from Damascus, beating drums marked the end
00:09of the Assad regime.
00:15On horseback and using horsepower, people clogged roads, bringing traffic to a standstill.
00:22One Campbelltown teacher stayed up all night, glued to the TV.
00:26No one can imagine what has been done to the people of Syria over these years.
00:35Watching the end of a 50-year dictatorship brought new hope.
00:39I want to smell the land, the soil, I want to visit my father's grave.
00:47Police said there was no major incidents, but allegations of anti-Semitic chants heard
00:51in footage have since surfaced.
00:54The chants were in a foreign language, and of course we need to have those translated
00:58and investigated, but they are certainly under investigation.
01:03As the celebrations continued, it isn't clear how the rebels, led by Islamist group Hayat
01:08Tahrir al-Sham, will leave the country, but some say it may encourage those who fled to
01:13return home.
01:14It will solve the big problem, which is the refugee problem.
01:18Currently there are 3.5 million refugees in Turkey.
01:23About one million in refugee camps in northern Syria.
01:26One million in Lebanon.
01:28About a million in Jordan.
01:29The HTS is a listed terrorist organisation in Australia, but some here are now urging
01:35the government to work with the rebels to help rebuild the country.
01:38So I ask all international leaders, please, please give this opposition group a chance.
01:47If they change, don't link them to terrorists, to ISIL or Daesh.
01:53But for now, the celebratory sound of drums will play on in the beating heart of Australia's
01:59Syrian community.