Jawad Anzour Park in Raqqa heavily crowded after rehabilitation process
Raqqa – North-Press Agency
Abdullatif Hilal
Some of the Raqqa’s institutions have worked on rehabilitating the parks of the city, in northeastern Syria, to receive visitors, as most of these parks were destroyed during the military operations that the city has undergone during the Islamic State control.
The Syrian Foundation for Sustainable Development, in coordination with the organizations’ office of Raqqa Civil Council and the People’s Municipality in Raqqa, has rehabilitated the park of Martyr Jawad Anzour in the western part of the city.
After the completion of renovation works, it was officially opened on the 4th of this month, with new decorations that reminded the people of Raqqa of their parks before the war.
The director of the rehabilitation of the park, Khaled Al-Abbou, spoke to North-Press about the rehabilitation works in the park, saying: “We coordinated with the People’s Municipality to start the rehabilitation project of the park due to its importance for the people of Raqqa and their children.”
Al-Abbo explained that the rehabilitation project of the park began on the 4th of last May and was granted two months to be completed, pointing out that the rehabilitation works began with removing the weeds and thorns that covered the park’s ground, then removing the old floor and re-paving it.
He also confirmed that nine workshops were engaged to complete the rehabilitation works, whether paint workshops, tiling or electricity maintenance, which equipped, maintained and painted 10 electric poles, to add a sort of beauty to the place.
Maintenance works also included the installation and equipping of 22 seats, some of which are covered with iron net and others were made of Aleppo stone, and the park was equipped with six pieces of children’s toys such as swings and climbing games.
Al-Abbo said that the exterior fence of the park was painted, decorated with graffiti in bright colors for children, away from the black color “which became the color of fear for people in the previous period.”
He pointed out that artists from the occupied city of Afrin worked on drawing these paintings, to participate in returning the smile to the people of Raqqa and their children, he said.
During maintenance works, five small roundabout circles for pedestrian were built within the park that did not previously exist, adding a beautiful decoration to the park.
Jawad Anzour Park has become very crowded with people of the city and their children after it was opened again for the city’s residents.
Ayman Muhammad, a 40-year-old resident of al-Nawawi neighborhood, said: “We hope that all the parks of Raqqa will be rehabilitated because we have an urgent need for a place where we can breathe clean air after all these years that have troubled our life.”
Jawad Anzour Park is one of nine parks in the city of Raqqa that have been subjected to destruction, vandalism, burning and cutting trees as a result of the hostilities that took place in that area.
While the “White” Park is currently witnessing preliminary maintenance works, which gives a sign that the parks in the upcoming days will be way better than before in Raqqa.