It was a morning in May 2025. With spring arriving and, with it, the first fine days without dictatorship for Syrians, it was just six months after the rebel offensive on Damascus that brought down Bashar al-Assad’s monstrous regime.
Anouar and Firas Khatim, two brothers aged 21 and 27, step over debris and potholes in the al-Haidariya district of eastern Aleppo, devastated by bombardments during the civil war. They push open the door of a house they are considering renting: the rent is very low, like that of most homes in this city, one of the hardest hit by the war. In this neighborhood, running water arrives only intermittently. Most homes are, at best, dilapidated, and sometimes barely inhabitable. Some are occupied free of charge; the owners are unknown, absent, or aware they cannot reasonably charge rent for their property.
“All of a sudden, in the attic, we came face to face with two men with long black hair, barefoot. They looked as surprised as we were to see them, but they were…
