Press Release: Resilience Amid Ruin as Syrians Return Home Post-Al-Assad
Al-Hawash, Syria – Aref Shamtan, 73, has chosen to rebuild his life amid the rubble of his devastated home in northwest Syria rather than stay in a displacement camp. Following the downfall of Bashar al-Assad in December, Shamtan and his son returned to their village, only to find their property severely damaged, yet they preferred this reality to life in squalid camps near the Turkish border.
Living in the ruins, Shamtan has resumed farming, recently planting wheat on his ancestral land, a stark yet hopeful step toward normalcy. His sentiments are echoed by the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), which reports that roughly 1.87 million Syrians have returned to their homes following al-Assad’s ousting after nearly 14 years of conflict. However, many returnees face dire challenges, including a lack of infrastructure, essential services, and economic opportunities.
Local official Abdel Ghafour al-Khatib, who also returned after fleeing to a camp in 2019, shares Shamtan’s struggle. "There is nothing here—no schools, no health clinics, no water, and no electricity,” he lamented, sitting in a worn-out tent beside the remains of his home. Despite the dismal conditions, al-Khatib expressed his joy at being back, stating, “Living in my village is the important thing.”
The ongoing conflict, arising from al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on protests in 2011, has resulted in over 500,000 deaths and left half of Syria’s pre-war population displaced. While the desire to return home is strong, the daunting economic challenges mean that many citizens are unable to do so, underscoring the need for urgent international assistance to support rebuilding efforts in this war-torn nation.
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