00:00In suburban Sydney streets, 14,000 kilometres from Damascus, beating drums marked the end
00:09of the Assad regime.
00:15On horseback and using horsepower, people clogged roads, bringing traffic to a standstill.
00:22One Campbelltown teacher stayed up all night, glued to the TV.
00:26No one can imagine what has been done to the people of Syria over these years.
00:35Watching the end of a 50-year dictatorship brought new hope.
00:39I want to smell the land, the soil, I want to visit my father's grave.
00:47Police said there was no major incidents, but allegations of anti-Semitic chants heard
00:51in footage have since surfaced.
00:54The chants were in a foreign language, and of course we need to have those translated
00:58and investigated, but they are certainly under investigation.
01:03As the celebrations continued, it isn't clear how the rebels, led by Islamist group Hayat
01:08Tahrir al-Sham, will leave the country, but some say it may encourage those who fled to
01:13return home.
01:14It will solve the big problem, which is the refugee problem.
01:18Currently there are 3.5 million refugees in Turkey.
01:23About one million in refugee camps in northern Syria.
01:26One million in Lebanon.
01:28About a million in Jordan.
01:29The HTS is a listed terrorist organisation in Australia, but some here are now urging
01:35the government to work with the rebels to help rebuild the country.
01:38So I ask all international leaders, please, please give this opposition group a chance.
01:47If they change, don't link them to terrorists, to ISIL or Daesh.
01:53But for now, the celebratory sound of drums will play on in the beating heart of Australia's
01:59Syrian community.
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