Ibtihal and her family returned home to the war-torn town of Daraa in southern Syria in January, after more than a decade as refugees in Jordan. The house had taken extensive damage to the walls, windows and water tanks – her husband pointed to a hole in the roof where a mortar had punched through. There was no electricity and so no lighting. Piece by piece, Ibtihal's husband and his neighbours were putting the building back together. Despite the destruction, they were overjoyed to be back.
"When I first arrived, I was shocked by the state of the entire country," said Ibtihal. But I have great faith in God that Syria will be rebuilt."
The same month, I was in Amman, Jordan’s capital, watching refugees load their suitcases onto buses, take their seats and prepare to follow Ibtihal back to their homeland. For millions of Syrians, displaced by 14 years of brutal conflict, this is a day they thought would never come.
Moments like these, when people forced to flee their homes can finally make the journey in the opposite direction, are among the most uplifting sights for anyone working at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. In an era when forced displacement has reached record levels, we have been given a rare opportunity to help people return home and rebuild. It is also an unexpected chance to promote peace and stability both in Syria and the wider region. But this window of opportunity will not be open forever.
Since former president Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in early December 2024, we estimate that over a million Syrians have gone home, counting those returning from other countries and from within Syria’s borders. Many more intend to follow suit: In a recent survey we conducted, 27% of refugees expressed an immediate intention to return to their homeland in the next 12 months, up from less than 2% before Assad was ejected.
But 14 years of chaos and violence leave a mark. The sheer scale of the destruction is hard to convey. Nothing has gone unscathed – housing, schools, hospitals, office blocks, roads, power plants, sewage treatment... Basic services, including water supply, electricity and trash collection, are limited, if non-existent. In such circumstances, people wonder how they will live, and how they will make a living.
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