President al-Assad and wife receive tens of women and children freed from al-Qaeda Captivity 9 February 2017 Articles 1902 Source: SANA Damascus – President Bashar al-Assad and his wife received on Thursday tens of women and children who were released after they had been abducted from their villages in Lattakia countryside by terrorist groups for more than three and a half years. “We have waited for this moment for long time… since three and a half years… everyday, the people have been asking for you, and the State, with all its institutions, have been searching for you, the target of each soldier and each martyr was your return,” President al-Assad said during the reception. The President added “In spite of all suffering you have encountered, we want you to return to your normal life with your families, villages and country… we want you to be an example in steadfastness, challenge and patriotism, and you are so.” President al-Assad went on to say “We will be with you and we will not abandon you… what has passed, has passed, we all believe in God, because believing in God, Home and people is the thing that makes you steadfast, stand with each other in that crisis which you have passed through.” For her part, Mrs. Asma al-Assad affirmed that the strength of will, embodied by the abducted, women with their children during the years of abduction, should continue through rebuilding their life and trying to compensate the children for what they lost of education and life. The freed women said that in spite of the inhuman conditions and difficult days they have passed through while abducted, their confidence in the state and its institutions hasn’t been shaken since the first day of their abduction, showing determination to overcome difficulties.
