Displaced return home and reclaim lost roots as Syria tries to rebuild

Tremseh, Jubb Alis and Homs, Syria – Tremseh was celebrating. The streets of the tiny municipality northbound of Hama were packed.

Despite the blazing prima and sweltering heat, each the residents had travel retired of their homes to witnesser a historical moment, the instrumentality of hundreds of exiled sons and daughters of the town.

A convoy of colourful trucks carrying full families was driving done the streets, packed to the brim with belongings – mattresses, furnishings and adjacent motorbikes and trees.

Some passers-by filmed with their cellphones. Others beamed with joy. A assemblage danced to a “zaffeh”, a accepted creation and euphony set usually fashionable during weddings, portion immoderate men fired agelong salvoes of celebratory gunshots into the air.

Several months earlier, successful December, the authorities of President Bashar al-Assad had been overthrown, ending a 14-year civilian war.

That allowed the much than 180 returning families, who had spent much than a decennary successful exile, to travel backmost to their homes and their roots successful Tremseh.

A fewer hours earlier, they had near the Atmeh campy connected the outskirts of Idlib, 1 of the largest displacement camps successful the country, 150km (93 miles) northbound of Tremseh, wherever much than 80,000 radical had been surviving successful unsanitary and miserable conditions.

Trucks from the 3rd returnee convoy betwixt the Atmeh campy and Tremseh walk done the municipality of al-Safsafyieh [Philippe Pernot/Al Jazeera]

“When we were expelled, it felt arsenic if our souls had been torn from our bodies. Now that we person returned, it feels arsenic if we person regained our souls,” Mamdouh al-Sattouf, a 50-year-old erstwhile schoolhouse principal, told Al Jazeera.

Like the bulk of Tremseh’s population, helium near aft the events of July 12, 2012. That day, Syrian authorities forces surrounded the municipality and killed dozens of absorption fighters and civilians. Most survivors near successful the pursuing months.

Since al-Assad’s autumn connected December 8 and the extremity of a 50-year play during which the al-Assad household ruled Syria, convoys similar this 1 person been progressively frequent. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, of the 14 cardinal radical who had fled their homes successful Syria, much than 2 cardinal have returned – including 1.5 cardinal internally displaced and 600,000 refugees from abroad.

“In the camp, we ever told our children that Tremseh is paradise connected earth. Now they tin spot it for themselves,” Mamdouh said.

Mamdouh al-Sattouf returned to his location successful Tremseh aft much than a decennary of exile, lone to find it had been plundered by the al-Assad authorities [Philippe Pernot/Al Jazeera]

Returning aft exile

About 130km (80 miles) northeast of Tremseh, Azzam Freij was besides yet feeling live again.

The 34-year-old Syrian had returned from Lebanon to Syria lone 10 days aft the autumn of the al-Assad regime. Since then, helium has been surviving adjacent Homs, wherever his woman was from. But helium was present yet backmost visiting the spot helium grew up, Jubb Alis, a farming colony an hr southbound of Aleppo wherever helium had been calved and raised.

Living present is not feasible for Azzam. Jubb Alis is small, and determination is small enactment here. But he’s inactive anxious to usage his newfound state to sojourn a spot helium has fond memories of.

Seven-year-old Kheiro sat connected his father’s thigh successful the rider spot arsenic they drove to the colony and could hardly hold to arrive. “That’s our home!” helium exclaimed, pointing to a clump of accepted mud houses.

It was not Kheiro’s archetypal sojourn to the spot his begetter had grown up nether the clay domes that operation implicit the different single-storey buildings. Azzam had brought Kheiro on erstwhile before.

Azzam Freij with his lad Kheiro returns to his colony of Jubb Alis successful the confederate countryside of Aleppo governorate [Philippe Pernot/Al Jazeera]

The scattered homes are surrounded by barren hills, which had been greenish conscionable a fewer years earlier.

“Everyone successful the colony worked successful agriculture. But aft years of warfare and with nary 1 to attraction for them, the trees died,” Azzam explained portion climbing retired of the car.

The trees had been abandoned and plundered for 14 years, conscionable similar Syria – and Azzam wants to respire caller beingness into them, arsenic helium does into his rediscovered country. But similar millions of different returning refugees, helium has been faced with a parched scenery and an expanse of destruction.

Thanks to a good successful the garden, however, Azzam has been capable to h2o the trees since helium came backmost to Syria. Some of them were already looking better, and pomegranates were adjacent increasing nether the blazing sun.

It whitethorn not beryllium Azzam’s archetypal sojourn backmost since his instrumentality to Syria, but helium is inactive excited each clip helium walks done the gross of his puerility home. Kheiro was already moving and climbing onto the domes of the mud house. “It’s not dangerous. I played the aforesaid games erstwhile I was little!” Azzam laughed, his eyes afloat of joy.

The aged cemetery and accepted terracotta houses of Jubb Alis successful the confederate Aleppo countryside [Philippe Pernot/Al Jazeera]

The heavy walls made of terracotta – an 11,000-year-old accepted homebuilding method threatened with extinction – supply an astonishing freshness inside. It is 1 of galore specified houses successful the portion though newer homes are built with much modern materials. Azzam sat down adjacent to the tiny unfastened model to chill disconnected successful the breeze.

Azzam’s location had been plundered by the erstwhile regime’s troops and militias similar each the others successful the village. “They near down lone a chandelier and an 80-year-old mirror,” the begetter said arsenic helium walked done the rooms.

“Thank God they near the Quran,” Kheiro added successful a superior voice, making the adults laugh.

Azzam estimated that 50 families person returned to Jubb Alis and said this fig was inactive rising contempt the hardships awaiting them. All kinds of basal infrastructure are lacking, from h2o to electricity.

Apart from the walls, thing other remains successful the village.

Difficulties successful Lebanon

Azzam had fled Syria successful 2012 due to the fact that helium was wanted by the service and concealed work for his antigovernment comments connected societal media. Like astir of his family, helium past settled successful the bluish Lebanese metropolis of Tripoli.

He took connected respective jobs, selling java and moving arsenic an electrician astatine the aforesaid time. He joined Rasha, a Syrian pistillate from Homs whom helium met connected Facebook. She moved to Tripoli to beryllium with him soon afterwards.

Their beingness determination was thing but casual oregon pleasant.

“In Lebanon, it was an beingness afloat of fearfulness and racism,” Rasha told Al Jazeera successful an interrogation implicit a cupful of beverage successful their cosy surviving country successful Homs, wherever the mates settled successful December.

About 1.5 cardinal Syrian refugees are estimated to unrecorded successful Lebanon. Their beingness has led to growing resentment from galore Lebanese, compounded by authorities crackdowns against them.

They besides person faced economical pressures successful a state that is going done an economical situation – with fewer occupation opportunities.

When the al-Assad authorities fell, Azzam and Rasha did not hold a second: They returned to Syria arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable with their 2 sons, Kheiro and Adam, aged three.

“When they [opposition fighters] reached Damascus, I was implicit the moon! In little than a week, I had visited Syria, and I said to myself, ‘It’s over! Lebanon is down me,’” Azzam said with a large smile.

“It was easier due to the fact that I travel from [Syria], and my full household is inactive here. We are blessed here, convey God,” Rasha explained.

Rasha inactive returns to Tripoli occasionally to sojourn her relatives. Azzam refuses to go, saying he’s good successful Homs. Although helium hasn’t been capable to find a occupation successful Syria, for Azzam, beingness successful Lebanon was miserable, and helium present feels free, yet capable to “be someone, not conscionable a refugee”.

As Al Jazeera followed him done Homs’s past souks, his newfound consciousness of pridefulness was disposable arsenic helium greeted aged friends, galore of whom had besides lived successful Tripoli. They exchanged tiny talk, and helium examined their recently opened shops.

Syria’s future

In Homs – similar successful astir Syrian cities – galore buildings are near successful ruins, enactment is hard to find and deficiency of information remains a problem. This scares galore refugees from coming back.

Azzam is 1 of the fewer members of his household who person returned to Syria. His brother, Mohamed Freij, who is nicknamed “Hamoudi”, is inactive successful Tripoli, wherever helium met with Al Jazeera.

The 20-year-old lives with his father, stepmother and cousins successful the bosom of the Ottoman souks of the aged municipality beneath the Crusader fortress.

Like galore others, helium tin hardly hold to instrumentality to his country. But helium is waiting a small longer earlier leaving.

“Maybe I’ll spell to Syria successful 2 years. The state is inactive successful the aboriginal stages of improvement and rebuilding its infrastructure due to the fact that al-Assad threw america backmost into the 15th period and we person to commencement each implicit again,” the young antheral said arsenic helium sipped java nether the ivy and trees of the fashionable Tell al-Olya cafe.

“I privation to settee successful a city, not successful the countryside, which has been neglected by the authorities and wherever beingness is inactive precise difficult. My friends who person moved to the metropolis are happy,” helium explained.

Mohamed prefers to hold until Syria is rebuilt and the system is much stable. At the moment, the Syrian colonisation is inactive struggling with overmuch of the country’s infrastructure destroyed oregon damaged, lone 2 oregon 3 hours of energy per time and h2o shortages, particularly successful agrarian areas.

More than 90 percent of Syrians unrecorded beneath the poorness line, and jobs are hard to find, truthful the state inactive needs clip to sorb caller workers.

There, helium would beryllium capable to survey governmental subject and machine subject but besides invited overseas tourists to the guesthouse helium dreams of opening.

Even though Mohamed is looking guardant to yet returning home, helium has loved his beingness successful Lebanon. “Tripoli is decidedly a portion of me. It welcomed maine during the war. I volition ne'er hide that. I’ve spent fractional my beingness here. You tin lone emotion a state that has taken you in,” helium explained with serenity. Unlike Azzam, helium said helium had ne'er experienced racism successful mundane beingness successful Lebanon.

Before the extremity of the war, Mohamed had seen his aboriginal abroad, similar different 1 of his brothers, who had gotten joined and emigrated to England. “But present I lone spot Syria. It’s my country. I volition ever instrumentality there,” helium said with a determination of a full procreation intent connected reclaiming its future.