After 11 years as a refugee in Gaziantep, Turkey, Mohammed returned home to Aleppo for the first time yesterday. He is just one of the thousands of Syrian refugees already returning to Syria in the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power, in the first voluntary, formal return of Syrians since the civil war broke out in 2011.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians in Turkey took to the streets on December 8 to celebrate the end of the Assad regime, but the return home may be more complicated than the celebration suggests. Syria lacks basic infrastructure, and many refugees are missing official documents and legal records.
Mohammed, who arrived in Aleppo yesterday with his wife and children, told The Media Line that he had reunited with his mother after 11 years of separation.
His decision to return wasn’t thoroughly planned, but it seemed inevitable once the regime fell, Mohammed said since Assad was the reason his family fled.
The return of Turkey’s 3 million Syrian refugees has long been advocated by Turkish opposition parties as well as the government. Hosting the Syrians, who have temporary residency status, has created a burden on Turkey. The strain has sparked political tension between parties and increased racist incidents in recent years. Violent attacks on Syrian refugees have often been met with a lax response from authorities.
On Wednesday, Turkey announced that all its border crossings with Syria would operate 24/7 and allow for the free passage of belongings and household items into Syria. Analysts view this as an effort to clear major Turkish cities of Syrians, whom opposition parties have used as a pressure point against the Turkish government.
Human rights activist Molham Al-Sayed said that opposition parties have long pushed for a voluntary return of Syrians when clashing with the government. Turkish authorities made similar arguments when clashing with the EU, Al-Sayed said.
Now that many Syrians are voluntarily returning, those polemics will be put to bed, he said.
Is returning premature?
Many Syrians in Turkey believe it is still premature to make the return, fearing that Syria could spiral back into chaos.
Ahmed Mansour, a refugee living in Istanbul, told The Media Line that he has not yet decided whether to return. He cited Syria’s current state of disorder and emphasized the need for careful consideration.
Legal expert Mahmoud Hammam told The Media Line that refugees ought to resolve any legal issues in Turkey before leaving. He cautioned against a hasty departure, noting that unresolved issues such as bank accounts, electricity and water accounts, or improperly returned properties could result in significant losses.
Some of those returning to Syria have lived their entire lives in Turkey. After 13 years in Mersin, Turkey, Ibrahim is headed back to Damascus with his son and daughter, who were born in Turkey and have never seen Syria.
“My children are thrilled to visit Damascus, but they don’t realize it’s their country,” he told The Media Line. “They’re simply excited to meet their grandparents and relatives whom they’ve only communicated with online for years.”
