Thread by @lapatina_

I keep seeing heartbreaking comparisons between #Mariupol and #Aleppo. I asked by friend, @ShaarH, who was born and raised in Aleppo, whether it gets better with time. Here's what he said👇🏼💔

"I can’t tell you for sure it gets better, because it really depends on the outcome. In much of Syria, including eastern Aleppo (which was under constant bombing for 4.5 years, first by the Syrian regime, later by Russia AND the Syrian regime), the fighting eventually stopped...

...but only at the cost of virtually all residents being evicted from their homes. For those of us who don’t feel safe to go back to our homes under this regime - the majority of the residents - the end of the fighting was the end of a battle. A battle that we lost.

So if the people of Mariupol manage to go back to their homes in a year or two, better things will be ahead, but if not (e.g. if Russia keeps its grip on the city for years or decades), then it’s a constant pain that’s difficult to numb.

I now see Aleppo in my dreams every other night.. our house, my father’s office, or I’m at a checkpoint being arrested or about to be arrested, having naively decided to take the risk and go back home.

I don’t have a sigh of relief when I wake up and realize I’m in safety and not about to be arrested. Deep in my heart, what separates me from going home is unreal. This can’t be. I should be able to go back.

Here’s to hope that Mariupol and its people hold, and the siege and bombardment end before too much damage. Losses are rarely reversible, but people could rebuild, if they can be back home."

I choose to believe we will all come home. Both in Aleppo and Mariupol. We have to.