Feature: Syria cease-fire blessing for some, heartbreak for others

On it's first day, the long-hoped-for truce in Syria was a kind-of blessing for those who live in Damascus, and a heartbreak for those in Aleppo city.

Even though the cease-fire was as expected breached slightly east of Damascus, with a couple of mortar rounds slamming into the city and a payback-shelling from the government side, Syrians who live in frontline areas near rebel-held areas described a calm and tranquil night after the truce went into force at midnight Friday.

"It's difficult to remember a calm night throughout the last four years, but yesterday was different. Last night was so calm and this peaceful atmosphere has pushed people to go on streets today even though it's a weekend," Ahmad, a 30 year-old man from Bab Touma, told Xinhua.

People in Bab Touma and nearby areas were the ones who have suffered much of the mortar attacks and security incidents due to their proximity to Jobar, a rebel bastion in the Eastern Ghouta Countryside of Damascus.

Although not all of the towns in Ghouta are included in the truce, as some are controlled by the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, which is excluded from the truce as well as the Islamic State (IS) group, but the people have sensed a change.

Ahmad said he trusts the government's commitment, which is understandable from a man who lives under the government rule in area often targeted by the rebels.

"Previously, when rebels would fire mortars into Bab Touma, you would find the roads here empty, but look now the streets are packed again, even though it's Saturday," Ahmad continued.

In the adjacent al-Qassa' area, the situation was the same. The old spirit of that bustling street seemed to had returned.

Al-Qassa', which was a stomping ground for youth and lovers ahead of the crisis, has lost its glamour with the prolonged crisis.

Khitam was strolling down the street between al-Qassa' and Bab Touma with her friend, enjoying the balmy afternoon on Saturday.

"We have felt the tranquility and peace, we felt the old peace again, especially last night as we slept without hearing the rattling sound of shelling echoing from Jobar," she said.

"That feeling of fearlessness is great I hope it could last for a long time, because we are in a desperate need of that. I really wish if all the parties could continue to honor the truce... we want Syria to be strong again," Khitam added.

While that was the case in Damascus, the people in Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once the economic capital of Syria, didn't share the relief the Damascenes have felt.

Abdul-Qader, a 26-year-old photographer from Aleppo city, expressed with very touching words how the people in Aleppo feel nowadays.

"When you live a crisis for five years, you become inclined to see hope in a grain of dust, but unfortunately such hope is quickly become a mirage," he said of the feelings the people in Aleppo experienced when they first heard about the truce and later turned out that their city is largely excluded as it has a thick presence of the Nusra Front and allied militants.

"Good news always attract people's attention, but after two days, such news become a joke. In Aleppo, each good day is usually followed by a bad month full of troubles and burdens," he added.

Abdul-Qader said people's minds in Aleppo are fixated on how to secure water, and electricity, two main necessities largely lost in Aleppo due to the ongoing crushing conflict.

"The people in Aleppo have become fed up with thinking about the political situation because they are now like robots, they get programmed on every new situation. For instance, if they would see a warplane striking, they would go out as if there was nothing."

He said there are areas in the rebel-held eastern Aleppo that have no significant armed groups that if 10 Syrian soldiers went in they would capture them, adding that there are other areas with full weight of the Nusra Front such al-Shaa'r, Karm al-Jabal, and Bustan al-Qaser, whose crossing with the government-controlled parts in western Aleppo is controlled by the Ahrar al-Sham Movement in coordination with al-Nusra.

In al-Kalasseh district in eastern Aleppo, there is a big mix between Nusra and other rebel factions, he said, referring to the complex map of rebel alliance in Aleppo, which makes the implementation of the truce an extremely difficult task.

Abdul-Qader said he thinks that the military solution inside the city of Aleppo will not work, noting that only a reconciliation can unite Aleppo once again.

As for the countryside, he added, "I think the opposite is right. the people in the countryside of Aleppo were the reason why Aleppo drowned in the crisis. They came and attacked the city and caused this chaos in the beginning of the crisis. For them, the only solution is fight them militarily. if they didn't leave Aleppo city, it will not return to what it used to be."

"In Aleppo we need time to heal, because families have become divided between antagonist and protagonist to the government. You can find families split in half, some live in government areas, and the other half is fighting with the insurgency," Abdul-Qader said.

In rebel-held areas, a lot of people hold resentment against the government forces for the airstrikes and in the government areas people resent the rebels for the blind shelling, he added.

"That's why I say only reconciliation can fix the situation. I would like to urge the government to release a pardon for the young men who are wanted, so that it could be a trust building step in Aleppo." Enditem