'I escaped Syria like a criminal, and came back a hero'

"When I left Damascus, I knew for sure I was on the Assad regime's blacklist. I didn't plan on ever going back, because if I did, I would be either killed or kidnapped."

"I escaped Syria like a criminal, and came back as a hero. Assad's blacklist is now our honour list,"

"In 2013, Damascus was filled with Assad's colours. His photos were everywhere, his forces were everywhere. It was really scary,"

"It's a city trying to build itself all over again with a much better image an image of freedom, of rebuilding, of new government, most importantly without a dictatorship."

Chef Imad Alarnab fled Damascus in 2015 after being placed on the Assad regime's blacklist and fearing kidnapping or death. Assad's forces destroyed all of his restaurants in 2013, prompting him to cross Europe and rebuild his life in London, where he worked as a car salesman before reopening his culinary career with a pop-up and later two restaurants in central London. Opposition forces toppled Bashar al-Assad last December, enabling Alarnab to return to Syria for the first time. He found Damascus transforming into a city focused on freedom, reconstruction, and new government rather than dictatorship.

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