Name: Syrians are moving home, but not everyone is ready to return
Uploaded: 2025-12-07T23:06:04.008Z
Duration: 6 min 13 s
Description: Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are moving back a year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime, but others aren’t sure it’s the right time. For The National, CBC’s Briar Stewart meets Syrians near the Turkey-Syria border who are weighing their options.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are moving back a year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime, but others aren’t sure it’s the right time. For The National, CBC’s Briar Stewart meets Syrians near the Turkey-Syria border who are weighing their options.

Damascus

After the toppling of Syria's regime and the departure of Bashar al-Assad, a number of Syrian refugees in Turkey have begun returning to their homeland. Many families are loading their belongings onto trucks and crossing the border, motivated by a mix of hope, economic challenges in Turkey, and a desire to rebuild their lives in Syria.

However, the decision to return is complex for many. While some are optimistic about starting anew, others remain cautious due to ongoing violence, the high cost of rebuilding, and restrictions on re-entering Turkey. The World Bank estimates that Syria's reconstruction will require over $200 billion USD, and the new government does not yet control all regions of the country.

Syrians are moving home, but not everyone is ready to return

In southern Turkey this has been the scene for about a year. Furniture and anything else that can be strapped down is piled high onto moving trucks. Waiting for the green light to cross the border. All of these trucks are getting ready to head back into Syria. They're loaded up with the belongings of families who have lived for years in Turkey and now they're getting ready to head back home. Hussein Elsheikh Mohammed fled the civil war in Syria to Turkey 13 years ago as a young teen. Now he's preparing to return along with his wife and their young daughter. They're heading back to Aleppo, an ancient city devastated by years of intense fighting and airstrikes. How are you feeling about going back? I feel happy. I'm going to my hometown, he said. We want to go. We want our country to rise up. It was one year ago that Syria's long ruling regime was toppled. Its ruthless dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country after rebel forces quickly advanced on the capital. A seismic political shift that opened the door to the return of millions of Syrian refugees who moved abroad. Our lives have passed here. It was a hard decision to leave, he said, saying Turkey became his second home. For many, the decision to leave now is complicated, motivated by a mix of emotion and necessity. It is hard here. Rent is expensive. No one is working, said Lutfiyeh Hassan. The 62-year-old is returning with her husband but the rest of her family is staying behind for now. More than three million Syrians poured into Turkey to escape Syria's civil war. Spending months, even years, living in camps before settling into cities across the country. The town of Kilis is just four kilometers from the Syrian border. And its population more than doubled in the years after the war broke out. This area became known as Little Syria because of so many Syrian business owners. Now, for rent, signs hang on empty storefronts. How has the street changed over the past year? Due to the Syrians leaving, the population of this place has decreased greatly, said Mustafa Iran, a commercial landlord. He said Turkish citizens have started taking over the shops. Our hope is that it will be much better for them to go to their own country and be able to continue their lives there. The presence of Syrian refugees is often a highly polarizing and political issue here. Some politicians have called for their immediate return. They've been accused of exacerbating Turkey's economic woes. In the city of Gaziantep, 22-year-old Ibrahim Sende works in a family business, dealing in mattresses and beds. He told us he always felt welcomed here. And it's too early for him to consider going back to Syria. All of Syrians here, they want to go back to the hometown. Like they're going to go back to the country. 14 years war, it's now hard for living. Need a time. And I have this. Sende points to a scar on the side of his face. An injury he says he suffered from a bomb that hit near his school. The World Bank estimates that it will cost more than 200 billion dollars U.S. to rebuild the country, including homes, schools and the health care system. My heart is broken. I remember some of my family. I remember, like, I don't remember any good stuff. I remember only the bad stuff of the war. And while Syria is more stable now, the fractured country is far from peaceful. Thousands continue to be killed by sectarian violence. The new government doesn't control all of the regions. This is horrible as you can see now. This video was taken by Shakir Dinshahin, a political science professor who's been studying the Syrian experience in Turkey and now the return. He just came back from a trip to Syria. The Turkish government is trying to make it easier for them and comfortable for them if they decide to go back. If they trust the government, trust the new system, new regime, they would be willing to go back to Syria. Up until July 1st of this year, Syrians could take up to three trips to the country and then return to Turkey. But now if they leave, they aren't allowed to come back unless they have citizenship or another type of visa. For Mohamed's family, this can only be a one-way trip. The neighborhood we live in is a bit ruined, he said. We have houses, I hope we will try to rebuild them. And this is one of them. He sent us this video after he crossed back into Syria along with this message. Beautiful memories are coming back to us, he said. And God willing, this will be the start of a new happy beginning. That's a hope shared by hundreds of thousands deciding to cross back over this border again.

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