And so yes, Mr Al Sharaa, let us rebuild Syrians’ broken bricks and return our fellow women, children, and men home—they have suffered enough, and they deserve to start over. That said, I do not hear anywhere of the task of rebuilding our shattered hearts and minds. Thirteen years of war is enough to wound an entire nation, and we have over 4,700 of those days to process. This is the time for sacred activism—to rebuild our collective self-esteem and reawaken our belief in what is possible. Let us not be hoodwinked into feeling impotent. Power does not come from controlling outcomes; it flows from our endless capacity to choose.

Once upon a time, a brutal regime terrorised an entire nation. And then, it didn’t. Poof. In a matter of days, 54 years of iron-fisted control and a devastating 13-year war ended. Just like that.