RAQQA, Syrian (North Press) – Residents of Raqqa used to be proud of the city’s milestones prior to the war that has ravaged the country since 2011. Raqqa had various heritages, it used to be known as home to the largest cultural center across Syria.
Nearby the banks of the Euphrates River, the largest ever Cultural Center was built in Syria in 1980s to be a witness to culture and art rise in the city.
Ibrahim was very fond of the Cultural Center since its establishment. He accompanied a relative to the center to be enrolled in a band.
The 67-year-old Ibrahim al-Khidir, an actor and a director, said his fist steps were in the center that has been destroyed in the war. His skills were unfolded on the stage.
Skills of al-Khidir cultivated day after another, he took part in a number of festivals held in the capital Damascus on behalf of the Cultural Center that embraced him among other elites of intellectuals. His capabilities were very helpful.
He remained attached to the center that accommodated a lot of his likes. Many activities were held on the stage over years.
Reduced to Debris
When war erupted in Syria in the year 2011, art in Raqqa was immensely affected. The city fell to the control of different military formations. Intellectuals were harassed and freedoms were repressed, forcing most intellectuals to flee the city.
After the city run out of Syrian government control proper, its planes shelled Raqqa’s Cultural Center on March 7, 2013. It was taken as a military headquarter by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS- formerly al-Nusra Front) which robbed its contents.
A large part of a library that was within the center was burned in the raid, according to al-Khidir.
The Cultural Center was a very first spot to be shelled in the war by the government planes, destroying large portions.
The center used to house a rich containment. A lot of books were assigned to the library in 1960s with nearly 60.000 books, all were burned by “extremists”. Few ones were taken by intellectuals and survived.
Three years later, and exactly on February 4, 2016, warplanes of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS destroyed the building which was morphed into a headquarter by the Islamic State Organization (ISIS). It was reduced to a stockpile of debris.
Prior to the aforementioned date, ISIS used the center as a tribunal. The stage that displayed art turned into more bloody ones. Executions and beheadings were displayed on the screen. Screams of prisoners replaced theatrical displays and songs. Orange [in a reference to ISIS executions] became predominate signaled horror displays.
The basement and the ground floor were used as a tribunal relevant to marriages, divorces and the likes. Part of the center was used as a detention.
From the very first moment the ISIS controlled Raqqa, it fought intellectuals and culture. They all underwent “sharia law (repentance) courses.” Books and libraries were reduced to ashes.
Re-birth
Being on crutches, owing to old-age, al-Khidir flashes back to his prime days, saying “ I wish such a time returns.”
The center was a lighthouse to the young men in the city through which they embraced art and education. There was a silent revolution developing in the city where illiteracy was said to have been 30% in 1990s.
The Cultural Center was one of the largest regionally. Its whole space with the backyard is 10.000 m2. The building had many sections; a reading hall, reception one, theatre, administration office, and the stage.
After the ISIS was expelled from the city in 2017 at the hands of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) supported by the Global Coalition, men of pen took the responsibility to get rid of what had ISIS seeded in the society and residents’ minds.
However, this remains short of expectations, owing in part to the migration of a large number of intellectuals from the city. Many up to date reject to return to Raqqa.
Raed al-Fadel, a poet and member to the Raqqa Intellectuals’ Union, wishes intellectuals return and youths attend forums and activities that are run by the union.
Al-Fadel said, ”Raqqa was liberated from ISIS. However its ideology is still there. The biggest problem is the abstention by a large class of young men from reading and culture in general.
However, al-Fadel attributes that to the hard living conditions and peoples’ preoccupation with securing basics of daily life.
Stark difference
In April 2019, the Cultural Center was re-opened to replace the old ones destroyed by ISIS when it controlled the city. The local council of the city chose a place close to the old bridge for the center.
However, the new center is a limited one regarding the space. The hall and a drawing one are on the ground floor, while on the first floor there is a library with some empty shelves. All books are “gifts” presented by locals and intellectuals of the city, who kept the books in darkness during ISIS rule.
Co-chair of Union of Intellectuals in Raqqa Abdurrahman al-Ahmad said, “throughout its glorious history the city used to be destroyed, however, it stands again more beautifully.”