The new head of security arrived at Damascus’ international airport with his men, who marched with other rebels across Syria to the capital. The few maintenance staff who showed up for work huddled around Maj Hamza al-Ahmed, eager for answers about what happens next. They unloaded all their complaints, pent up for years during the rule of President Bashar Assad, which now, inconceivably, is over.

They told him they were denied promotions and perks funneled to pro-Assad favorites, that bosses threatened them with prison for working too slowly. They warned him of hardcore Assad supporters among the airport staff, ready to return whenever the facility reopens. As al-Ahmed tried to reassure them, Osama Najm, an engineer, confessed: “This is the first time we talk.”