Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain are relatively back to their old days. The two towns in Syria’s north attract more former residents who had to flee years ago due to the ongoing war. Returnees from Türkiye say more people will return amid the region’s safe environment and stability.
On the occasion of World Refugees Day on Tuesday, freshly returned residents of Tal Abyad hail the restoration of public services in the town, liberated from terrorists thanks to Operation Peace Spring by Turkish security forces in October 2019. The operation was among a string of cross-border operations by Türkiye concerned about threats from terrorist groups across its border.
Tal Abyad and other liberated towns are now run by local councils and are now located far from hot spots of the conflict that evolved from the unrest that broke out in 2011. Thousands streamed into Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain since the Peace Spring, some on their own and others by bus rides covered by local Turkish administrations.
Starting out a new life in a war-torn country can be challenging, but Syria’s northern towns controlled by the opposition offer new opportunities for returnees. Through local councils in two towns, some 10,000 people now have jobs, the first step in their new lives. Some work in health care services and others are employed in education. No longer ravaged by traces of the conflict, towns largely shed their war-torn image; Tal Abyad has welcomed more than 30,000 people from Türkiye since October 2019.
Osman al-Ali was one of the first returnees. He reunited with his parents he had not seen for about six years. “I was safe in Türkiye but always longed for my homeland. I am finally here with my family, back in my home and shop,” al-Ali, a dairy products seller, told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Tuesday. Al-Ali said the business he ran with his father is thriving. Now a resident rather than a “returnee,” al-Ali is also a father of two after getting married in Tal Abyad.
Ahmed Selmo left Tal Abyad after the YPG/PKK terrorist group occupied it in 2014. He describes his flight as something that left in him “deep scars.” Within a few weeks after the end of Operation Peace Spring, Selmo returned home. “I missed everything, my relatives, my home, even fig and olive trees here. I had a good life and a job in Türkiye, but I was always missing my hometown,” he said. However, he returned to square one upon his return as the occupation damaged his house and fields. He said that returning to his old life has been tiring. “We planted new trees here. It was difficult for us. But I knew not everything would be smooth when I returned here. What mattered was returning,” he said. Selmo added that services have improved in Tal Abyad since then, including the restoration of electricity and water services. He calls upon others to join him. “We need workers, teachers and engineers so that these lands will be developed again. I advise everyone to return,” he urged.
It is not only Syrian refugees in Türkiye seeking to return home. In Iraq’s north, desperate displaced people hope for an end to the presence of YPG/PKK in their Syrian hometowns for a chance to return. Iraq’s north, governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), is home to more than 29,000 Syrians living in a camp in Duhok. Abdurrahman Haidar Rajab is one of them. The 62-year-old man says being a “refugee” is hard. “We expect things to go back to normal and we can return to our lands,” he said. Ibrahim Khalil Kalo, who hails from Syria’s Qamishli, said it has been years since he left home. He laments the fact that he has been unable to visit his parents back in Syria for 11 years.
