Damascus in change: between war and cultural survival

The fall of the Assad regime in Syria has triggered a geopolitical earthquake in the Middle East. Within a few days, Islamist groups have conquered large parts of the country, including the capital Damascus. Bashar al-Assad has already left to Moscow. The Syrian Civil War, which started in 2011, cost hundreds of thousands of people and forced more than twelve million Syrians to flee while the country is in ruins.

on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at 10:30 p.m. href = "https://www.ots.at/presseaus-sung/ots_20241210_ots0105/weltjournal-reportage-assads-in-wrie-mar-keen-akte-am-dezember-um-2230-in-orf-2-und-und- on"> World Journal Syria - a war with many actors, ”produced Andrezej Klablablmt and Manhal Arroub. The documentation explains how the initial protests for political reforms converted into a far-reaching international conflict, in which various foreign actors such as Russia and Iran on the side of the Assad regime and Turkey, the USA, as well as the golf states on the opposite side, struggle and influence.

A look at Damascus

Afterwards, at 11:20 p.m., the Weltjournal + The city portrait "Mein Damascus" by the ORF Reporter Fritz Orter. This documentation offers a unique insight into the cultural contradictions of the oldest continuously populated city in the world and shows how a lively life continues there despite the war. Orter describes the pulsating nightlife and creative activities of young artists who try to artistically process their reality in the middle of destruction and fear. The program deals with the people of life of the people in Damascus, which are hoping for peace despite all the adversities.