Twenty-five year old Mohammed Afif al-Othman was killed in the Afrin countryside two weeks after he was deported from Turkey to Syria.
This shocking incident was met with demands to not to consider this as a general case in order to not “spread fear” among the large number of Syrian refugees in Turkish deportation centers–a large number of whom are sent back across the border on an almost daily basis.
Meanwhile some refugees have considered returning voluntarily against the backdrop of anti-refugee violence by racist Turks and increasing fear of Erdogan’s recent statements saying he wants to restore diplomatic relations with the Assad regime.
Some people voice the opinion that there is no point publishing facts about returnees meeting a bad fate in Syria while no solutions exist to prevent violence against refugees and removing Bashar al-Assad from power remains implausible.
What happens to Syrians who are deported and how do they get on with their lives?
With increasing waves of deportation, many Syrian families have been dispersed. One video features a Syrian father holding his twin children, aged several months, appealing for the return of his wife, who was deported after updating her data at a center in Turkey. In another, a mother demands the return of her sons, the sole breadwinners of a large family in which the father is physically disabled and unable to work.
Numerous stories abound of families torn apart, with some members deported and others remaining in Turkey.
The post-deportation suffering of Syrians begins at the border crossings, where they find themselves subject to insults and beatings by Turkish border guards as well as sometimes detention by the Assad regime, according to accounts told by deportees.
Deportees arriving in Syria immediately look for shelter, often finding their homes destroyed by shelling. Difficulties continue with attempts to issue official documents proving their identity and securing daily sustenance amid an economic crisis, which is getting worse day by day.
Returnees to opposition-held Northwest Syria confront the constant threat of death from Russian bombing, a return to the tragedies that made them leave.
One Syrian says in a tweet, "How will I return to a place where the main reason I got out of Bashar al-Assad is still there, how will I be assured that at any moment he will not be able to return to abandon us and bomb our homes again?"
Syrians live with daily suffering, starting with getting a daily loaf of bread, passing through suffering to secure the simplest needs of water, electricity and energy sources for heating or transportation–this is especially the case in territory under the Assad regime’s control.
“A person who has no children or relatives outside Syria cannot live a normal life.”
“The most beautiful moment will be the one when I get out of Syria.”
“It's hard to have a child in Syria, the child here lives oppressed all his life, our country is not a place to build a family.”
These sentences are said and heard by any Syrian living in the areas under the control of the Assad regime on a daily basis.
Is Syria really a safe and stable place to continue living?
The largest percentage of Syrians living in Syria do not feel safe, but they have no other choice but to stay with the hope of eventually emigrating one day, as the vast majority of Syrians inside Syria are planning or want to leave Syria in the near future.
A November 2021 report by the Operations and Policy Centre highlighted that current security and economic conditions in Syria are unsuitable for the safe and dignified return of refugees and internally displaced persons. Key findings included, “17% of returnees or their family members experienced arbitrary arrest or detention… 50% reported their property was destroyed or uninhabitable… 23% stated armed groups seized their homes, rendering them unclaimable… 26% lost or left documents in Syria, and 21% could not afford to renew them.”
Obtaining alternative documents may mean arrest, but not obtaining them means restricting movement, losing the opportunity to prove ownership of some property, and the inability of students to study.
Only 40% of those who returned to Syria said that their return was the right decision because of the difficulties they were experiencing in the areas of displacement.
This is what some of the Syrian returnees said when they were asked to send a message to the international community:
"We live under almost daily shelling and constant death threats," returning from Turkey to Idlib.”
"We returned to our homes, but we are not feeling well," returning from Turkey to Azaz.
"Please help me travel outside Syria," returning from Lebanon to Jaramana.
"Syrians need the support of all countries," returning from Bahrain to Damascus.
What has changed in the last three years since 2021?
The economic situation has worsened, with the regime unable to improve living conditions or address issues like low salaries, inadequate daily life provisions, and deteriorating education. Additionally, Israeli airstrikes have impacted areas with a heavy Iranian presence.
These economic and security conditions are putting extraordinary pressure on Syrians, both those who chose to stay in Syria and those who have returned after being deported.
Returning to Idlib means being bombed again by the regime and the Russians, as well as difficulties at the level of education for students of Idlib universities and schools due to the lack of international recognition of universities there.
In addition, some areas are still suffering from the effects of the devastating earthquake that struck northern Syria in February 2023, which resulted in the displacement of many families and the loss of their homes without any serious efforts to solve their problems so far, increasing the burden on other unaffected areas.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a strategy outlining twenty-two protection items and criteria for refugee return, emphasizing non-coercion and ensuring social and psychological security. However, observations indicate partial or non-fulfillment of these criteria, challenging perceptions of Syria as a safe country.
Policies to be adopted at this stage should be based on a realistic perspective that conditions in Syria are unsafe for return and there is no evidence that these conditions will improve in the near term. It consists in combating hate speech and crimes against refugees in host countries and finding solutions to the legal status of Syrian refugees that ensure their human rights and take their needs into account.
Yes, the Syrians in Syria are alive, eating and drinking, trying every time to get up once again, to learn and face their difficult conditions.
But before demanding the return of those who are outside Syria to Syria, it is necessary to look objectively and closely at the situation of Syrians living in Syria at the moment. One must ask about the fate of returnees not only the moment they cross the crossings, but also about their lives after days, months and years of crossing.
Normalization with Assad, demanding the return of Syrians to Syria, and portraying Syria as a safe country is a distraction from finding real solutions to achieve a safe return and rebuild Syria as a viable country.
Syrians currently face two dire prospects: a homeland failing to provide basic necessities and safety, and fear of their fate in other countries.
Editor's note: The painting shown in this article's thumbnail is Strangers in Their Own Land by Wissam al-Jazairy.
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