Feature: Syrians see detente, as crisis enters 6th year

As their country is entering its sixth year in conflict, Syrians from different cities have expressed optimism about a possible near solution to their country's long-standing conflict.

Buoyed by the recent cessation of hostilities, which have been in place for over two weeks in parts of Syria, the Damascenes, particularly those in eastern districts close to rebel-held areas, have seemingly overcome their fears and thronged the streets and marketplaces.

Together with a humanitarian access to besieged Syrian areas and the currently-underway peace talks in Geneva on Syria crisis, the Syrians have regained hope that their country is put back on the tracks of the political solution.

In the predominantly-Christian district of Bab Tuma in the eastern part of the capital Damascus, the people's daily routine was normal, as any other day, and maybe more vibrant.

Tony Bushara, a 40-year-old Syrian merchant from Damascus, said he had sensed a big difference between this anniversary and previous ones.

"There is a big difference between now and five years ago. At the beginning there was bombings, chaos, siege and a growing violence, but now and on this anniversary, the situation appears to be soothing," he said.

Bushara said last years there was no hope on the horizon, in terms of the military situation, and the political one.

Now, he said, the World powers seem determined to resolve the Syrian crisis.

"I don't care what they are cooking under the table, all I care about is a near solution to this crisis, and we are sensing that," he said.

In Geneva, representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition were meeting Tuesday, indirectly, to hammer out a solution to the country's war.

Even though they might not be immediate results, but the current achievements on ground, in terms of the largely-holding ceasefire, which has been conducive in reducing the violence, as well as the humanitarian access to besieged areas and the military progress on ground, were all reasons for Syrians to revive their hope.

"I think that this year will be the year of solution. The army is advancing and the reconciliations seem to be working. I think that the majority of the people here share my optimism, you can sense that in their faces," Bushara said.

For his part, Rifat Habib, a Syrian Christian from Wadi al-Nasara town in the central city of Homs, said the crisis has been extremely hard "with everything suffocating us."

He, however, added that the situation now seems better, saying "the situation is gradually improving. There is a big difference between now and the beginning of the crisis. At the beginning we have felt that everything was tightening on us, but now we feel the opposite."

Being more realistic, Habib said that "I don't say the crisis is over, but it has started to end."

Habib's city, Homs, which is the largest in Syria, was among the first cities to fall to the conflict, as the anti-government protests there rapidly evolved into a bloody conflict, where sprawling districts fell to the rebels, before the Syrian army managed to secure it all again, save for some towns in the countryside.

Even though Homs has become almost empty of insurgent groups, but several deadly explosions have recently rocked the districts, which are inhabited by the people from the Alawaite minority, to which the ruling class in Syria belongs.

Qassif Ibrahim, a former journalist from the hard-hit al-Zahra' neighborhood in Homs, said after last month's deadly bombings in his neighborhood, where tens of people had been killed, the security situation has notably improved.

"The country is moving toward the unknown, but in Homs the situation has become better, with a notable security detente, which is reflected in crowded marketplaces," he said.

He added that "the situation is now better, we can sense that in the people's movement in the markets. I think the solution to the crisis demands an international decision, more than a local one. All of us got affected during the crisis, economically and socially."

From Daraa, the birthplace of the Syrian conflict in southern Syria, where the first anti-government protests erupted, Youssef, a 55-year-old teacher, shared with Xinhua his thoughts about the last five years of conflict.

"I consider the last five years as a test for the solidity of the Syrians. I believe in my country and believe in my Arabism," he said.

Much of the Syrian cities have tasted the bitterness of war, and Daraa was no exception, he said, adding that the city, which is bordering Jordan, is torn between rebel-held areas and the government-controlled ones.

"The people's hopes are now about how to make a living, not to protest and take to streets. I personally hope if we can have a country that is far from sectarianism, far from the violence and hate so that we can have a true Arab nation," he said.

Youssef said he believes there should be a solution that could preserve the unity of the country with all of its components.

"We are a melange of sects and beliefs we used to live in harmony and unison together and we shall learn to how to live with one another again. I say the Syrians must be patients in order to rebuild their country again."

Muhammad Hussain, a Syrian Kurdish man from the northeastern city of al-Qamishli, told Xinhua that "I feel that the situation is becoming better, that's our feeling. We sense that security has started returning. Now we can be relaxed that the solution is down the road."

In Geneva on Tuesday, Salem al-Muslet, the spokesman of the main opposition group, the Higher Negotiation Committee (HNC), told reporters the group was ready to hold direct dialogue with the government representatives, after the talks were planned to be indirect, through a UN mediator.

The HNC's new stance came apparently against the backdrop of the withdraw of large parts of the Russian forces from Syria, whose declaration came a day earlier after a phone call between President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Russia said the move aims to push forward the political process in Syria, while Damascus said the surprising decision was "carefully studied and coordinated between Moscow and Damascus." Endit