After 12 years away from his homeland, Mohamad Tomeh said being back in his mother's arms made him feel "safe" and young again.

She was the first person the 42-year-old Hamilton restaurateur went to see after his July 11 return to Syria, where he was born and raised. He has a restaurant in the Ontario city called Tomah: A Taste of Syria and used to run a cheese factory in his hometown of Al-Nashabiyah.

"She was very happy," he said 12 days after his arrival.

Bashar al-Assad was ousted as Syria's president and his government overthrown late last year after a rapid offensive by armed factions. At the time, then prime minister Justin Trudeau wrote on social media: " The fall of Assad's dictatorship ends decades of brutal oppression."

Tomeh said he felt "very happy" when he heard the new

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