Thu May 29 10:24:58 UTC 2025: **Syrians Return Home to Rebuild Amidst Rubble After Assad Ouster**
**Hama Province, Syria** – Over 1.87 million Syrians displaced by years of brutal conflict are returning to their shattered homes after the recent ouster of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad. While the end of the war offers a glimmer of hope, returnees face immense challenges rebuilding their lives and communities amid widespread devastation and a severe lack of basic services.
Aref Shamtan, 73, is among those who have chosen to return, setting up a tent near the ruins of his home in the village of al-Hawash, Hama province. “I feel good here, even among the rubble,” Shamtan said, expressing a sentiment echoed by many returnees who find even a destroyed home preferable to life in displacement camps.
The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirms the large-scale return, noting that the 1.87 million figure encompasses both refugees who were abroad and internally displaced persons (IDPs). However, the IOM also highlights the enormous obstacles facing those returning, primarily the “lack of economic opportunities and essential services.”
Al-Hawash, like many other towns and villages in Syria, suffered extensive damage during the conflict. Shamtan’s house lost its roof and suffered structural damage. Yet, he and his family left their displacement camp near the Turkish border two months ago to return and plant wheat on their land.
Another returnee, local official Abdel Ghafour al-Khatib, 72, echoed Shamtan’s sentiments. “I just wanted to get home. I was overjoyed… Living in my village is the important thing,” he said from inside the worn tent he now calls home.
Despite the widespread desire to return, many Syrians remain unable to do so, hampered by poverty and a lack of resources. Al-Khatib lamented the absence of essential infrastructure in al-Hawash: “There is nothing here – no schools, no health clinics, no water and no electricity.”
The Syrian conflict, sparked by al-Assad’s violent crackdown on protests in 2011, resulted in over 500,000 deaths and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population. While the recent change in leadership brings hope for a more peaceful future, the long road to recovery for Syria and its people has only just begun. The IOM estimates over six million people remain internally displaced, awaiting their opportunity to return home.
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