The security situation in Homs’ Talkalakh region continues to improve this year. Many people expected this to be one of the most contentious regions racked with sectarian violence after the fall of Assad, yet somehow the communities and new local government have managed to rebuild ties after 14 years of war. I have visited Talkalakh several times this year to meet with activists and community leaders from all sects, and published earlier this spring a transcript from one such meeting.
However, it is always difficult to know if, as a foreigner or even just an outsider, you are being told the whole truth when visiting sensitive areas. Recently, a friend of mine who lives abroad but grew up in Talkalakh before the war visited his family’s home for the first time since Assad’s fall. He spend several weeks this summer meeting with Alawi friends and family in the city and countryside, not as a journalist or researcher but as a member of the community. Below is a transcript of a phone call the two of us had after his visit, recounting some of the key takeaways he had from his first time in post-Assad Syria as well as a detailed analysis of the challenge of economic recovery.