'We're not afraid anymore': Syrian filmmaker shares his hopes and fears as Assad regime falls

Journalist Humam Husari spent years documenting the reality of life during Syria's civil war for ITV News and was finally reunited with his family in 2018

With only a small camera and a laptop, Humam Husari spent years documenting lives of ordinary people during the Syrian civil war for ITV News.

Now, after 50 years of Assad family rule, Humam shared his joy that the regime has fallen.

"It is a happy day in Syria, the happiest. We're not afraid anymore of anything," Humam said, "It's a wonderful feeling. It's the best, one of the best."

As a young filmmaker, Humam bore witness to the brutal Assad regime from a small rebel-controlled corner of Damascus, and helped to highlight the suffering of the Syrian people.

Due to his work filming the protests in 2011, Humam was forced to flee with his wife, as Assad's forces came looking for him.

ITV News followed Humam as he was reunited with his parents in Turkey, who he had not seen for five years

But he later secretly returned to Damascus, to the suburb of Ghouta, after feeling a sense of duty to return to his home country.

"I couldn't just live my life normally knowing that people are living under bombing," he said. "I thought, something must be done, just to let the world know what's going on."

It was near where he was staying in Ghouta that Humam was first able to confirm the use of chemical weapons by Syrian government forces on its own civilians to ITV News.

"I think somehow the camera creates some kind of a shield between you and what you are trying to feel. And I think the adrenaline in your body just tries to protect you," he said.

"When I look back at my footage, I just don't believe that I was there. It's just a lot of bodies trying to breathe. You just don't know how to help them."

"To do such thing just to remain in power, I think it's unbelievable," he added, referencing the Assad regime.

Using Humam's footage, ITV News made dozens of reports on the Syrian war over the last 13 years. But the consequences of documenting the war have not been easy for him or his family.

During the regime, Humam's sister, Haber, was jailed for nine months, paying a heavy price for his journalism.

Humam was able to reconnect with Haber in the last two days, and was also able to reach other members of his family in Damascus for the first time in months.

"She said: I'm happy that they didn't get to you," Humam said, "we can now plan to live together again in Syria and to build our country again."

Over the years, Humam has documented the lives of thousands of people impacted by the war, but now, he says, he is looking to rebuild his own, hopeful for the future of his homeland and its people.

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