IBtihal and his family returned home in January, in the city devastated by the Deraa war in southern Syria, after more than a decade of exile in Jordan. Their house still wore the stigma of the conflict: cracked walls, broken windows, damaged water tanks … Ibtihal’s husband also showed us a hole in the roof, caused by a shell. There was no electricity or light. With the help of their neighbors, they tackled Pierre after Pierre, to rebuild their home. Despite the destruction, they were crazy about being back. “When I arrived, I was shocked by the state of the whole country,, Then told us Ibtihal. But I have great faith in God that Syria will one day be rebuilt. »»
During the same month, in Amman, the Jordanian capital, I saw other refugees loading their suitcases on buses, ready to take the way back: one day that they would never have thought seeing arriving, after fourteen years of war. These moments when people forced to exile can finally return home are among the most striking for those who, like me, work in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [HCR]. While forced trips reach new levels, we today have a rare opportunity to help Syrians rebuild their lives. It is also an unexpected opportunity to promote peace and stability in Syria and the region. But this window will not remain open indefinitely.
Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in early December 2024, we believe that a million Syrians have already returned home, that they have returned from other countries or other regions of Syria. Many intend to follow this movement: in a recent survey that we conducted, 27 % of refugees expressed their intention to return in the coming year, against less than 2 % before this historic turning point.
But fourteen years of chaos and violence left the country in ruins. The magnitude of the destruction is indescribable. Nothing has been spared: housing, schools, hospitals, offices, roads, power plants, wastewater treatment plants … Basic services – water, electricity, waste management – are extremely limited, even nonexistent. In such conditions, people wonder: how to survive? How to support everyday life?
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