Syrians living in Newfoundland rallied outside the Colonial Building on the weekend after learning that Bashar al-Assad, whose family had ruled the country for decades under martial law, had been deposed by a rebel group.

Assad is believed to have fled to Russia after being deposed following a brutal 14-year civil war that is estimated to have killed thousands of Syrians.

Favil Shich Ali says the country now has work to do to rebuild, but he says that some Syrian refugees may go back to the country they left over the past decade and a half.

He calls the development a “beacon of light” for Syria.

Hamza Shbat and his wife Suha al-Sheikh attended this weekend’s rally and say while many Syrians may choose to go back home, Newfoundland is where they’ve built a life.

Al-Sheikh describes the feeling she had on learning the news as like taking a deep breath after not being able to breathe properly “for so long…I truly felt free.” Shbat says. “I wanted the war in Syria to end, so that maybe in the future we can go there, but for us right now at this point, we’ve built a life that we can’t just give up and leave.”