Leila Fadel

In short, no. I mean, the elite are a tiny sliver of an otherwise really poor community. And Assad's loyalists, the elite in Syria... We're Sunni, we're Halawite, we're Christian. And it's evident, this poverty, as soon as you drive into the Meza 86 neighborhood in Damascus that's in the shadow of Bashar al-Assad's palace.

In short, no. I mean, the elite are a tiny sliver of an otherwise really poor community. And Assad's loyalists, the elite in Syria... We're Sunni, we're Halawite, we're Christian. And it's evident, this poverty, as soon as you drive into the Meza 86 neighborhood in Damascus that's in the shadow of Bashar al-Assad's palace.

Right away, you see the cinderblock homes, the electric wires tangled and hanging in the narrow alleys. The pot holds streets. A lot of families here say Alawites stayed in military service because the Assad family gave them no other economic choices. Listen to what Ibrahim Issa, who runs a perfume shop in the area, said.

Right away, you see the cinderblock homes, the electric wires tangled and hanging in the narrow alleys. The pot holds streets. A lot of families here say Alawites stayed in military service because the Assad family gave them no other economic choices. Listen to what Ibrahim Issa, who runs a perfume shop in the area, said.

Right away, you see the cinderblock homes, the electric wires tangled and hanging in the narrow alleys. The pot holds streets. A lot of families here say Alawites stayed in military service because the Assad family gave them no other economic choices. Listen to what Ibrahim Issa, who runs a perfume shop in the area, said.

And if you could see Issa, I mean, he was so excited that Assad is gone. He had this twinkle in his eyes and what seemed like an incurable smile because he can finally leave his neighborhood. He was evading military service for two years because he didn't want to fight fellow Syrians. That military service is mandatory.

And if you could see Issa, I mean, he was so excited that Assad is gone. He had this twinkle in his eyes and what seemed like an incurable smile because he can finally leave his neighborhood. He was evading military service for two years because he didn't want to fight fellow Syrians. That military service is mandatory.

And if you could see Issa, I mean, he was so excited that Assad is gone. He had this twinkle in his eyes and what seemed like an incurable smile because he can finally leave his neighborhood. He was evading military service for two years because he didn't want to fight fellow Syrians. That military service is mandatory.

And because conscripts are paid next to nothing to fight for this regime, that gave them next to nothing. So he couldn't risk getting snatched up at a checkpoint.

And because conscripts are paid next to nothing to fight for this regime, that gave them next to nothing. So he couldn't risk getting snatched up at a checkpoint.

And because conscripts are paid next to nothing to fight for this regime, that gave them next to nothing. So he couldn't risk getting snatched up at a checkpoint.

I mean, in a word, no, not in this neighborhood. When the rebel fighters first came to their neighborhood, they were polite and peaceful, people in the area told me. They took away weapons from soldiers and told them, go home, now you're civilians. The new leadership has said they will be protected and part of a new Syria, but they're still scared.

I mean, in a word, no, not in this neighborhood. When the rebel fighters first came to their neighborhood, they were polite and peaceful, people in the area told me. They took away weapons from soldiers and told them, go home, now you're civilians. The new leadership has said they will be protected and part of a new Syria, but they're still scared.

I mean, in a word, no, not in this neighborhood. When the rebel fighters first came to their neighborhood, they were polite and peaceful, people in the area told me. They took away weapons from soldiers and told them, go home, now you're civilians. The new leadership has said they will be protected and part of a new Syria, but they're still scared.

This is a community that had both soldiers in Assad's army and people fighting with the rebels. They've bled in this country's civil war on both sides. The community was also targeted with bombings by extremists, including in this neighborhood. And now they're starting to see threats on Facebook, warning Alawites that revenge killings are coming.

This is a community that had both soldiers in Assad's army and people fighting with the rebels. They've bled in this country's civil war on both sides. The community was also targeted with bombings by extremists, including in this neighborhood. And now they're starting to see threats on Facebook, warning Alawites that revenge killings are coming.

This is a community that had both soldiers in Assad's army and people fighting with the rebels. They've bled in this country's civil war on both sides. The community was also targeted with bombings by extremists, including in this neighborhood. And now they're starting to see threats on Facebook, warning Alawites that revenge killings are coming.

One showed me a video of an Alawite shrine that he said was recently burned outside of Damascus. And it is showing up not from leadership but in their daily lives. I met a man who is engaged to a Sunni Arab woman and the family loved him until Esed fled. Now some have turned on him and don't want him in the family because of his religious sect.

One showed me a video of an Alawite shrine that he said was recently burned outside of Damascus. And it is showing up not from leadership but in their daily lives. I met a man who is engaged to a Sunni Arab woman and the family loved him until Esed fled. Now some have turned on him and don't want him in the family because of his religious sect.

One showed me a video of an Alawite shrine that he said was recently burned outside of Damascus. And it is showing up not from leadership but in their daily lives. I met a man who is engaged to a Sunni Arab woman and the family loved him until Esed fled. Now some have turned on him and don't want him in the family because of his religious sect.