🇻🇪🇸🇾 From Caracas to Tartus: A bridge between two storms

The city of Tartus, on Syria's western coast, holds an unexpected connection to Latin America. In the small, tranquil village of Bsemmakah, nestled among hills on Tartus’s outskirts, The Brazilian Report’s team received a warm welcome from four Alawite Syrian-Venezuelans: Roja and Ibrahim, a married couple, and Yolanda with her granddaughter, Bishera. 

"Hola mis amores, ¿cómo están? Qué placer tenerlas aquí,” said Yolanda, while hugging the team. We sat in her backyard, sitting around a table, drinking coffee and talking about the rarely explored link between these two distant countries. 

The bond between Syria and Venezuela has tied this community together for several generations, going back to the late 19th century, when Syria was under Ottoman rule. Many residents of Bsemmakah have spent their entire lives moving back and forth between the two countries, creating a unique blend of cultural influences and family ties that span continents.

This phenomenon is not exclusive to Tartus. Communities of Venezuelans of Syrian origin are also present in the southern province of Sweida — nicknamed “Little Venezuela” — Aleppo, and Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus. Reports estimate that over 60,000 individuals across the country have a Venezuelan background.

"I moved to Venezuela with my parents when I was just 14, back in 1969," said 70-year-old Yolanda, puffing on a cigarette. "Since then, I returned to Syria in 1987 and again in 1993, where I stayed for 10 years. Later, I lived in Venezuela from 2003 to 2019. I only came back because of my father's illness and issues related to our property here in Tartus."

Several factors contributed to the Syrian migration to Venezuela. Chief among them was the search for better life opportunities, as well as the chance to capitalize on emerging markets, such as the booming textile and oil industry. 

According to journalist, diplomat and writer Diego Gomez Pickering, migration between the two countries really developed during the first half of the 20th century, being directly linked to Venezuela’s oil boom. Another key factor was Syria’s political instability, which has been shaped by its history of French colonization after World War I and its involvement in a series of Arab-Israeli wars since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. 

Once one of the most prosperous countries in Latin America, Venezuela, home to the world’s largest oil reserves, built its economy on oil revenues for decades. However, this former prosperity has given way to economic turmoil. Today, hyperinflation and a staggering public debt are just some of the challenges crippling the nation. 

As a result, according to the R4V Platform, more than 7.8 million people have left Venezuela to escape human rights violations, economic insecurity, hunger, violence, lack of medicine and essential services.

According to the World Food Program’s 2024 data, approximately 40% of the Venezuelan population faces moderate to severe food insecurity. Statista reports that as of 2023, around 82.4% of households live in poverty — and around 50.5% in extreme poverty. 

Ibrahim and Roja, married for over five decades, told us their children are still in Venezuela, living with their grandchildren. Roja dreams of returning to the Latin American country: “I hope to go back again. We really enjoyed life there,” she added, with a nostalgic expression, her gaze lowered to the ground. However, Ibrahim fears returning and losing the house and small plots of land he owns in Syria.

Adding to these conflicting emotions is the harsh economic crisis in Syria, exacerbated by prolonged international sanctions. These measures have not only disrupted trade and financial flows but have also driven up the cost of living, leaving many families struggling to maintain even the simplest aspects of daily life. This was no different for the family that The Brazilian Report met in Tartus.

"We used to make arepas often, but now we just can't afford it,” Roja explained. Arepas, a staple Venezuelan dish, require flour as a key ingredient; due to the rising costs, they’ve had to adapt their diet. According to the World Food Program's Monthly Market Price Bulletin from September 2024, wheat flour prices have surged by 161% over the past two years in Syria.

With the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on December 8, 2024, the future of the Syrian-Venezuelan community — particularly in the Alawite strongholds of Tartus and Latakia — has come under new threats. This community now faces a dual fear: Israeli attacks and the power vacuum left by Assad's fall, which has been filled by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Following Assad's overthrow, Israel launched a series of strikes targeting former government military bases in the region, beginning on December 16, 2024. The Lebanese newspaper Al Mayadeen likened the intensity of these attacks to that of an atomic bomb, reporting tremors that felt akin to an earthquake. The destruction has heightened uncertainty and fear among locals, including the Syrian-Venezuelan community.

"Now that the government [of Assad] is gone, we no longer feel safe. So many things are happening … robberies, killings … Before, we lived in peace here, we could even go out at night without fear. But that is no longer the case," Yolanda said. ‘’When the Israelis attacked, we were terrified. The impact was so strong that the windows in our homes shattered."

Yolanda’s comment about the feeling of safety under Assad’s regime is deeply rooted in a longstanding sense of protection that the toppled government provided to the Alawite minority community. The Alawites compose a branch of Shia Islam which makes up about 11% of the Syrian population, whose identity was long tied to the regime — as Assad himself was an Alawite.

Most residents in Syria’s coastal regions belong to the Alawite sect. With the fall of Assad’s government, that protective umbrella has vanished, leaving these communities exposed to the fear of retaliation by HTS — which has already happened in Western Syrian regions such as Tartus, Latakia and Homs.

The origins of HTS can be traced back to the al-Nusra Front, which was established in 2012 under the leadership of Abu Mohammad al-Julani and had ties to the Islamic State and later to al-Qaeda. After the al-Nusra Front was dissolved in 2017, HTS emerged as its successor, now trying to rebrand itself as having a more moderate stance and, at least officially, distancing itself from Bin Laden’s former network.

"Throughout my entire life here in Syria, Christians, Alawites, Druze, people of all religions lived peacefully together. I never asked about someone’s religion, I only care whether they are a good person or not. We are all born from two people. Everyone here is family," Yolanda said.

Now, however, with the escalating sectarian tensions, Yolanda, Ibrahim, Roja and Bishera have expressed their fears, pointing out that they are considering returning to Venezuela for their own safety.

Seventeen-year-old Bishera, the youngest of the group, shared that she feels a true sense of belonging to Venezuelan society — something she does not feel in Syria. “I had such a deep connection with Venezuela that words cannot describe. There, I had my friends, my family, I was happy, I had a normal and incredible life.” 

In Syria, she fears being judged and feels the need to pretend to be someone else. “Here, I need to try to fit in, but I do not feel like I belong. Horrible thoughts run through my mind,” she shared, her voice tinged with a mix of longing and uncertainty. 

“That is why I prefer staying at home. My home is my safe place,” she said, referring to the place where she lives with her grandmother and mother.

Bishera, born in Venezuela, told The Brazilian Report that she moved to Syria with her mother, Yamileth, to be with her grandmother, Yolanda. To make their move, they had to sell everything they owned in Venezuela, including their house. 

While in Venezuela her mother worked fixing shoes, in Syria, she cleans houses for a living. “When the president left and the problems started, my mom's boss's wife began treating her badly because she is Alawite. My mom couldn’t take it anymore and had to quit her job."

According to Juan Viloria, Vice President of the NGO Venezolanos en Barranquilla and a leader in the Venezuelan diaspora community, the Syrian community in Venezuela benefited greatly from the country’s economic prosperity during the mid-20th century. Over the years, they became deeply integrated into Venezuelan society across all aspects, sectors and levels — ranging from social and cultural life to holding positions in government and other influential roles.

Viloria told The Brazilian Report that Venezuela’s economic crisis has further highlighted the parallels between the political realities experienced by Venezuelans and Syrians. Both communities now share the profound experience of a large-scale diaspora, alongside a history of similar political trajectories marked by authoritarian regimes — Hafez and Bashar al-Assad in Syria; Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.

“I believe these Syrian-Venezuelans experience paradoxical feelings," said Viloria. "It’s natural for Syrians — especially those whose families lived through Venezuela’s prosperous years and are now facing the hostile environment of the Syrian war — to feel a desire to return to Venezuela. Perhaps they hold on to the memory of being part of the small portion of the population that had access to basic services, which is not the common experience in Venezuela today.”

Ultimately, the Syrian-Venezuelan community in Syria now faces a new challenge: the revival of sectarianism in the post-Assad era. 

For those in the village of Bsemmakah, in Tartus, this reality seems to present a painful dilemma — whether to endure an increasingly hostile environment or return to a homeland that, while familiar, is also marked by its own profound economic and political crisis.