What will be the future of Syrian refugees? Dreams of returning to a Syria without Assad have begun

Following the end of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, the possibility of Syrian refugees in Turkey returning to their home country has become a topic of discussion. Sözcü columnist Saygı Öztürk visited Önder Neighborhood, known as Ankara's "Syrian Neighborhood," to take the pulse of these debates. Listening to the stories of the Syrians, Öztürk conveyed their different perspectives to the public.

'I WILL RETURN TO MY COUNTRY'

Mecit Hamut, who took refuge in Turkey 11 years ago, said he is preparing to return to his country, Syria. Stating that positive changes have occurred in Syria with the departure of the Assad regime, Hamut expressed the following:

"I was 25 when I came to Turkey, now I am 36. We came here fleeing the Assad regime. Now Assad is gone, and I am preparing to return to my country. Power outages have ended, kerosene is available, and bread quality has improved. My business is doing well here; I work as a nut seller. However, I now want to return to Syria and build a new life. We came to Turkey as a family of three; we had three more children here. Hopefully, we will return to my country as six people."

'BEING GRATEFUL IS NOT ENOUGH, WE WILL REBUILD OUR COUNTRY'

Abu Muaviye, one of the opinion leaders of Önder Neighborhood, stated that the return process would happen step by step. Expressing that they are grateful for the aid Turkey has provided them, Abu Muaviye made the following assessment:

“Turkey helped us a lot during the war period. Bashar al-Assad is no longer here. Hopefully, we will return to our country gradually. We will leave Turkey satisfied. However, just being grateful is not enough. We will work on repairing our country and we will be like representatives of the Turks in Syria.”

THERE ARE ALSO THOSE WHO SEE TURKEY AS THEIR HOMELAND

However, some Syrians prefer to stay in Turkey. 7th-grade student Ahmet Bedevi said he loves Turkey very much and does not want to return, while his friend Ahmet Lahmacuncu stated that he and his family have obtained Turkish citizenship. Ahmet said, “We are determined to stay as a family. Turkey is now our homeland too.”

News Source: 12punto