Rather than staying in the evacuation camp following the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar Al-Assad, Aresf Shamtan, 73, chose to build a tent near his faulty home in northwestern Syria.
“Even inside the tile rub, I feel good here,” Shamtan said.
When Al Assad returned with his son in December after his collapse, Shamtan discovered the village of Al Hawash, located in farmland in central Hama State.
His house lost its roof and suffered from cracked walls. Nevertheless, “living inside a tile ble is better than living in a camp,” Siamtan explained, where he lived since fleeing the conflict in 2011.
Since the fall of Al-Assad after nearly 14 years of war, the UN Migration Agency reports that 1.87 million Syrians who were overseas or internally displaced are back to their hometowns.
The IOM identifies “lack of economic opportunities and intrinsic lack of services” as the biggest challenges faced by returnees.
Unable to afford the reconstruction, Shamtan decided to leave camp with his family and young grandchild about two months ago and began planting wheat on his land.
Al Hawash is under Al Assad’s control and is on the forefront of neighbouring Idlib province, which became the hub of Hayat Taharil al-Sham, the opposition fighter jet that led the attack that overthrew the former president.
“We cannot stay in camp,” Shamtan said, lacking basic services and infrastructure despite “all villages have been destroyed and life does not exist.”
“We have decided to live here until things get better. We are waiting for the organization and the state to help us,” he added. “Life is tough.”
The official local Abdel Gahu al-Kativ, 72, also returned in 2019 after fleeing to a camp near the border with his wife and children.
“I just wanted to go home. I was overjoyed… I pitched a worn tent that I’ve returned. It’s important to live in my village,” he said.
“Everyone wants to come back,” he pointed out. However, many cannot afford to buy transportation in countries where 90% of the population is in poverty.
“There’s nothing here. There’s no school, no clinic, no water or electricity,” said Al Khatib, while sitting on the ground in a tent nearby the rest of his house.
The conflict that broke out in 2011 following the brutal suppression of Al-Assad’s anti-government protests killed more than half a million people, displaced half of Syria’s prewar population either internally or overseas, with many seeking evacuation in Idlib province.
More than 6 million people remained internally displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration.
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