Many Syrian refugees reluctant to return home
601 views · Published 28 December 2018 · 2:53 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(23 Dec 2018) Rozan Qarqour lives with her husband and six children in a tiny room that they use for sleeping, cooking and receiving guests. They share a bathroom with other Syrian refugees who live on the same floor of a giant building under construction in Sidon, south of the Lebanese capital Beirut. Her husband sells small paper cups of cardamom-flavoured Arabic coffee on the streets of this port city to earn few dollars that would buy them bread and vegetables. Despite their dismal life in Lebanon, the family which fled the central Syrian province of Hama six years ago, has no plans to return home. Nor do the 160 other families who live in the Ouzai compound, or most of the 1.2 million Syrian refugees who live in Lebanon. A much-touted Russian initiative to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees from around the region appears to have fizzled out, with only a mere fraction of the nearly 6 million who fled their country since the start of Syria's conflict in March 2011 returning home. According to the Russian military, only 114,000 Syrians returned home since the beginning of 2018, and the UN refugee agency UNHCR says it has verified only 37,000 refugees who have voluntarily returned in 2018. Syria's war has displaced half the country's pre-war population of 23 million people of which 5.6 million have fled outside the country. In Lebanon, which hosts the highest ratio of refugees per capita, most of the estimated 1.2 million Syrians say the intend to stay put, citing economic concerns, ongoing fighting and destroyed homes. "If we go to Syria, our road is not guaranteed and if we go abroad it is not guaranteed either", said Qarqour, 32. She had been cutting fresh fava beans with other women that she later cooked with rice on a small gas burner. The family's Syrian region of Sahel al-Ghab is still in rebel hands and often gets bombarded by the government, and their home has been destroyed. There are no jobs there, Qarqour says, and she hopes they could resettle in a third country, although the family has not yet applied. Fighting in Syria's civil war has settled down considerably after seven years of brutal war. Using overwhelming military force and with the help of Russian airpower and Iranian-backed militias on the ground, President Bashar Assad has retaken control of key cities and major population centres in Syria. But most refugees say they do not feel safe returning to Syria while the regime that they fled is still in place. Some areas still have war, others are completely in ruins. Many are worried their sons would be picked up for conscription or detained, harassed or imprisoned if they go back. Others worry they would not find jobs. Thousands of people have established roots across the region and in Europe and will not risk losing what they built by returning to Syria. Russia, a key ally of Assad, is eager to show a return to normalcy in Syria and has pushed to repatriate Syrians who fled their country amid civil war. The UN has expressed concern about a premature return before the situation in Syria stabilises and without guarantees for returning refugees. Eager to see Syrians return because of the strain their presence puts on the struggling economy, The Lebanese government embraced the Russian plan. The Lebanese General Security organises convoys for refugees to return to Syria on almost a weekly basis. But most will continue to opt out for now. And at the Ouzai compound in Sidon, the time passes slowly for the refugees. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/2b3139353d2b8ec29bc0bfd442f3da7a
