One year ago this month, the Syrian people achieved the impossible: After nearly 14 years of brutal conflict and five decades of dictatorship, they drove out the regime of Bashar al-Assad and stepped into a new era. Assad’s legacy is staggering: over 500,000 killed, 13 million displaced, a prison system built on torture and disappearance, and an economy so broken that more than 90 percent of the country had fallen into poverty.

This August, we traveled to Damascus and saw the civil war’s devastation up close. But while meeting with President Ahmed al-Sharaa, his cabinet, and leaders from Syria’s many religious and ethnic communities, we also saw something remarkable: Syrians treating this moment as a once-in-a-generation chance to rebuild their country and reshape their region for the better.

One year ago this month, the Syrian people achieved the impossible: After nearly 14 years of brutal conflict and five decades of dictatorship, they drove out the regime of Bashar al-Assad and stepped into a new era. Assad’s legacy is staggering: over 500,000 killed, 13 million displaced, a prison system built on torture and disappearance, and an economy so broken that more than 90 percent of the country had fallen into poverty.

This August, we traveled to........

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