On the morning of the regime’s fall, Syria experienced a historic moment. Citizens flooded the prisons, govertemental institutions and the former presidential palace – now renamed the People’s Palace. The general atmosphere was marked by euphoria and collective celebration, driven by the hope of finding information about their missing loved ones. However, this popular surge quickly led to disorganization, which partly prevented the recovery and organization of the former regime’s administrative documents for their preservation.

Since December 8, Syria has a new government. For history to be written, for citizens to understand what happened in their country under the Assad family’s dictatorship, and for trials to take place, it is imperative that the documents produced by the former administration be preserved, archived, and accessible – Those produced by prisoners too –¹. However, articles and reports posted online by the journalist or social media since the beginning of December 2024 are alarming. Several filmed scenes show journalists surrounded  by documents, that are scattered, vulnerable and exposed to theft. These documents are archives. These archives must be gathered, protected, and their preservation guaranteed. Several people on the ground have reported thefts and destruction, even after Decembre 8. Some documents are already published on social media by individuals who may be well-intentioned but could also use them for threats or extortion attempts. Photographs, details of detainees’ lives, lists of imprisoned or disappeared persons, as well as the names of their torturers, must join the archives of the New Syria²  Adding to the confusion that led to the loss or deterioration of essential documents are proofs demonstrating that the previous regime deliberately destroyed important archives. For instance, video recordings from the infamous Security Branch 235, known as “Palestine” in Damascus, show shelvesor example, shows shelves full of files reduced to ashes³, destroying by fire the traces of political detainees’ fates.

It is now necessary that all documents from the previous regime be collected and brought together within new national archives of Syria, managed by professionals. They will contribute to preserving the country’s individual and collective memory and provide reliable information sources for responsible and transparent governance⁴.

The responsibility to preserve these documents lies with the new authorities, who must collaborate with exiled Syrian activists already working on collecting and structuring Syria’s national archives. For thirteen years, the Syrian Revolution Archives⁵ have documented the regime’s crimes and violations, and their efforts have already revealed the identities of many officials involved in crimes against political detainees since the regime’s fall. Since 2011, the Creative Memory of the Syrian Revolution digital platform⁶ has archived free expression, art, and culture throughout the revolution and war period in Syria. Others have meticulously archived different parts of this history, which can be cross-referenced with those collected on the ground.

It is imperative to structure and organize these archives to prevent the current disorder from compromising their preservation. Given the current state of Syrian institutions and the considerable challenges facing the new authorities, it is essential that they build on the actions already taken by the diaspora during the Assad years and remain open to collaboration with specialized archiving structures. For this to work, these structures’ neutrality and commitment to preserving an impartial documentation of the Syrian revolution must be ensured. Only a watchful approach will ensure that these archives become an essential tool for justice and collective memory while protecting their integrity against manipulation risks.

This is possible. Let’s remember the 1922 explosion in Belfast of the Irish National Archives building by the English army: today, the archives have been virtually reconstructed with the help of a global collection effort. Let us also remember that during the Tunisian revolution, Hédi Jallab, the director of the National Archives, transported the former government’s archives immediately after Ben Ali’s fall.

Attempt to gather articles on the state of archives in Syria after December 8 – We will add those sent to us along with any reports of archive manipulation or destruction.

Al Mounes, Maher, « Pour la Croix-Rouge, retrouver les disparus en Syrie sera un “énorme défi” »,  TV5 MONDE – Informations,  2025-01-05, En ligne : https://information.tv5monde.com/international/pour-la-croix-rouge-retrouver-les-disparus-en-syrie-sera-un-enorme-defi-2755871 [consulté le 6 janvier 2025].

Cahllaghan, Louise, « Secret Assad files show Stasi of Syria put children on trial », The Times, 28 décembre 2024, https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/article/syria-assad-secret-files-investigation-t5k0k2bnn [consulté le 6 janvier 2025].

Fabio Tonacci, « Syrie : au cœur des archives d’Assad, parmi les documents du contre-espionnage abandonnés », La Reppubblica reproduit dans Le soir, 26 décembre 2024 https:// www.lesoir.be/644738/article/2024-12-26/syrie-au-coeur-des-archives-dassad-parmi-les- documents-du-contre-espionnage [consulté le 6 janvier 2025].

Stéphanie Maupas, « En Syrie, la bataille pour la préservation des preuves des crimes du régime Al- Assad », La matinale du Monde, 11 décembre 2024, https://www.lemonde.fr/international/ article/2024/12/10/en-syrie-la-bataille-pour-la-preservation-des-preuves-des-crimes-du-regime-al- assad_6440888_3210.html [consulté le 6 janvier 2025].

Taken from reports by Al Jazeera arabic,

– 11 December 2024: at 2” 15”’, journalist Amr Halabi shows the archives room of the Damascus prison, Palestinian branch.

– 2 Jannuary 2025 (Ather platform): Khadija Benguenna interviews Osama Othman sheds new light on the creation of the Caesar archive, which for over ten years documented acts of torture inflicted on Syrians. This evidence is essential following the fall of the Assad regime and its implications for the future of a Syria under reconstruction (1′ 47”) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDT_It03lMI

French Version : https://phonotheque.hypotheses.org/48629

The image “à la une” has been extracted from the first report (4′ 5”), right reserved Al Jazeera.

1. On this subject, we refer you to Marguerite Catton’s interview with Farouk Mardam-Bey on France-Culture in which, in discussing Syrian prison literature, he underlines the need for the Saidnaya prison to be given a heritage status (19min): https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/france-culture-va-plus-loin-le-samedi/avec-farouk-mardam-bey-la-litterature-carcerale-syrienne-8555460. [↩]
2. At the Phonothèque – Sound Archives Center, we are still looking for traces of the imprisonment of Bassel Khartabil, the IT specialist who translated the creative commons licences into Arabic and distributed them in Syria before being brutally imprisoned. We found out in 2017 that he had probably died in 2015, a few months before the destruction of the dreadful Tadmor prison by the Islamic State in 2015, destroying with it all the prison’s archives and information on its prisoners. [↩]
3. Numerous films are online; we collect them and have identified these: https://www.instagram.com/alghadtv/reel/DDsIAmivxQa/?locale=ne_NP&hl=en-gb; https://fb.watch/wOtapG3BNA/; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM-k5K-y_7A [↩]
4. As indicated on the ICA – International Council on Archives – website, for an archive to be considered valid, it must demonstrate the following characteristics: Authenticity – the document must be legitimate, created by the person and at the time indicated in it. Reliability – this determines whether a given document presents the subject matter accurately. However, even in the most reliable documents, the information will inevitably be presented through the prism of its author(s). Integrity – that is, the notion of completeness, whereby the document includes all necessary content to form a coherent whole. Usability – the accessibility of an archive, concerning both its physical condition and the conditions and location of its storage. Natural disasters, armed conflicts, and data corruption are phenomena that can render archives unusable. State and institutional policies can also prevent citizens from practically utilizing the archives. To ensure an archive’s authenticity, reliability, and integrity, it is necessary to maintain information about its context and any related documents. [↩]
5. X Account: https://x.com/syr_rev_archive?lang=fr, official website: https://www.syriarevodoc.com. [↩]
6. More on this project: https://creativememory.org/fr/about-us. [↩]