Cilvegözü, a border crossing between Türkiye and Syria, teems with crowds nowadays. Syrian refugees who spent years in Türkiye either permanently return to their homeland or travel for a brief visit home on the occasion of the upcoming Muslim holiday Qurban Bayram or Eid al-Adha. Ahead of the holiday, which will start later this week, border officials are busy processing the returnees at the crossing in the southern Turkish province of Hatay.
In past years, Türkiye has occasionally allowed refugees to travel home for religious holidays, but this time, Syrians look forward to ending their refugee status after their country was liberated from the oppressive Assad regime when the civil war ended last December. Türkiye streamlined border crossing procedures after the fall of the regime, as hundreds of people flocked to the borders to return home. Temporary protection status still remains for thousands of others, as Syria is still not fully inhabitable for many, due to damage left by years of conflict. Authorities allowed a few round trips until July for refugees to check whether they can resume their lives in their land of birth.
Mahmoud Karzu was 8 years old when he took shelter in Türkiye, and at the age of 18, he had his eyes set on returning home for good. “It is a double joy for us. We will mark Eid; we will reunite with our country. I have been here with my family for the past 10 years. But I am also losing friends I made in Türkiye in those years. So, I am worried too. I love the Turkish nation. May Allah bless them. We may be of two separate states, but we are one nation now,” he told Ihlas News Agency (IHA) on Sunday. “Türkiye has been my new motherland. We are treated here well, but all my relatives are in Syria,” he added.
Fahmi Alamo also returns after 10 years in Türkiye. “Returning to my country is a feeling I cannot describe. I am going to Homs, where I was born. My family is there. Türkiye is a beautiful country and I have many friends here. People have been very hospitable. I will never forget Türkiye,” he said.
Last week, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that the number of Syrian refugees who left for home after the fall of the Assad regime has reached 250,064.
Overall, more than 1.1 million Syrians have departed since 2016.
Türkiye has been home to millions from its southern neighbor as the Assad regime escalated attacks on the opposition and the country’s civil war dragged on. At one point, Türkiye was home to the largest Syrian refugee community in the world.
Syria’s civil war killed over half a million people and left the country in desperate need of reconstruction. Western sanctions imposed on Assad were recently lifted, paving the way for a potential recovery.
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