Syrian refugees are leaving Türkiye to return home
Many of the 4 million Syrian refugees living in Türkiye, who traveled to Syria to celebrate Ramadan, plan to stay in Syria afterward, if they can find work and avoid facing fierce clashes at home.
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| A Syrian child carries two bird cages to return home. Photo: AFP |
Sputnik correspondent spoke with Syrian refugees who recently crossed the border in the area of the Karkamysh-Jerablus checkpoint. According to the border service, about 5,000 people cross the Syrian border every day. As most of them said: if the situation in Syria with living and working conditions improved, they would be ready to return to their homeland.
Mohamed Ismail (28 years old) shared his joy that he will see his homeland for the first time in 6 years:
"I am very happy to return to my country, to my home in Jerablus. As soon as I learned about the normalization of the situation there, I immediately decided to return. If life in Syria has returned to normal, if there are no problems with work there, I will stay there and not return to Türkiye. There are many people like me. We are very grateful to Türkiye for sheltering us. Now I have the right to stay in Syria for 3 months. During this time I plan to visit several different regions. If I can find work, I will stay in Syria. Many of my friends returned with me. They think the same as me. Türkiye cares for us, but it is still a foreign land. We want to live in our homeland," Ismail said.
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| Syrian refugees are leaving Türkiye. |
Hesen Eli (27 years old) said: "I will go to Syria to see my parents, I have not seen them for 4 years. I wanted to visit my family before, but the situation in the region is difficult and I cannot. Now I work in Gaziantep, but if I find a job at home and I am not drafted into the army, I will stay there, I will not return to Türkiye. In the areas controlled by the Democratic Union Party and the Syrian army, military service is compulsory. There young people are forced to join the army. In the areas where the Euphrates Shield operation is taking place, there is no such practice. Those who want to join the army voluntarily will serve under contract. Many do not return to Syria because of compulsory military service. With me, there are uncles and their children who returned to Syria. Some uncles want to open their own businesses in Syria. If everything goes well, if there is stability in the region, they will not return to Türkiye either."
"I will go to Kobani with my two young children, 5 and 8 years old. The older children cannot come with me, because they can be drafted into the army. Most people like me have not brought adult children to Syria. In Kobani, I will stay for 2 months, if life returns to normal, if there are no serious problems with life there, I will return to Türkiye, take my children to Syria" - said Leyla Henesh.