Displaced Syrians long to return home after Assad fall

DW (English)

The United Nations estimates that over one million internally displaced Syrians have returned to their hometowns since the fall of the Assad regime. But 6 million others remain in temporary shelters. DW reports from Zardana, Idlib.

Transcript

00:01Zardana in the Idlib countryside.

00:04It's an area filled with slums and displacement camps for families from northern Syria.

00:10Muhammad left his hometown of Ma'ar-Shurin in northwestern Syria over six years ago,

00:16fleeing attacks by Assad regime forces.

00:19I want to end my displacement and my status as a refugee

00:23and return to my land and live and rebuild my life there, but how can I do so?

00:27There are no hospitals, no schools, no clinics, no mosques. Everything's destroyed, so why should we return?

00:34Like hundreds of refugees in this camp who left in search of safety,

00:39they live in plastic tents that fail to protect them from the winter frost or the summer heat.

00:45They long to return, but where to?

00:49This is our neighborhood. Where can people return amidst the devastation and destruction?

00:54This place is inhabited only by hyenas and beasts. This sums up my entire life.

00:59I worked for 20 years to build this house. This is my home. How can I return to it when it's destroyed?

01:05Muhammad's hometown of Ma'ar-Shurin is one of the many cities produced to rubble during the civil war in Syria.

01:13It is only 50 kilometers away from his camp, but far from being a place to live.

01:20Where will I get water for my children to drink? Even a water tanker can't get through the destroyed roads.

01:26It's all destroyed. This isn't just my situation. It's the situation of the entire village.

01:31The schools are destroyed, as are the clinics. Everything is completely destroyed.

01:36It's not just the result of bombing. It's all looting by Assad's thugs.

01:40The former regime did this to our homes. They took the iron bars and destroyed everything.

01:46Despite the destruction, Muhammad clings to the hope of returning to his village one day.

01:52For now, with a heavy heart, he's staying in Zardana.

01:57Today, after Syria's liberation, we don't know what our future holds, but it appears to be unknown for now.

02:04We hope it won't be. We, who gave so much and were displaced, hope and ask the entire world not to forget us.

02:11We'll see you soon.

02:12We'll see you soon.

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