Syrians stuck in camps after finding homes destroyed

Mehdi al-Shayesh thought he would quickly resettle in his central Syrian home town after Bashar al-Assad was ousted, but like many others stuck in camps, he found his home uninhabitable.

“We were unbelievably happy when the regime fell,” the 40-year-old said from his small, concrete-block house in Atme displacement camp, one of the largest and most crowded in the Idlib area in the northwest.

But “when we reached our village” in Hama province “we were disappointed”, said the father of four, who has been displaced since 2012.

“Our home used to be like a small paradise… but it was hit by bombing.” Now, after years of abandonment, it “is no longer habitable”, he told AFP.

Assad’s December 8 ouster sparked the hope of return to millions of displaced across Syria and refugees abroad. However, many now face the reality of finding their homes and basic infrastructure badly damaged or destroyed.

Syria’s transitional authorities are counting on international support, particularly from wealthy Gulf Arab states, to rebuild the country after almost 14 years of devastating war.

Shayesh said he was happy to see relatives in formerly government-held areas after so many years, but he cannot afford to repair his home so has returned to the northwest.

In the icy winter weather, smoke rises from fuel heaters in the sprawling camp near the border with Turkey. It is home to tens of thousands of people living in close quarters in what were supposed to be temporary structures.

– Homes ‘razed’ –

Shayesh expressed the hope that reconstruction efforts would take into account that families may have changed significantly during years of displacement.

“If we go back to the village now… there will be no home for my five brothers” who are now all married, “and no land to build on”, he said, as rain poured outside.

“Just as we held out hope that the regime would fall — and thank God, it did — we hope that supportive countries will help people to rebuild and return,” he added.

Before Assad’s overthrow, more than five million people were estimated to live in rebel-held areas in the northwestern Idlib and Aleppo provinces, most of them displaced from elsewhere in Syria.

David Carden, UN deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis, said that “over 71,000 people have departed camps in northwest Syria over the past two months”.

“But that’s a small fraction compared to the two million who remain and will continue to need life-saving aid,” he told AFP.

“Many camp residents are unable to return as their homes are destroyed or lack electricity, running water or other basic services. Many are also afraid of getting caught in minefields left from former front lines,” he added.

Mariam Aanbari, 30, who has lived in the Atme camp for seven years, said: “We all want to return to our homes, but there are no homes to return to.