Over a million Syrians return home, but major challenges lie ahead

Faisal Turki al-Najjar was among the first to return home in early December after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a surprise offensive by anti-government forces. Just two weeks after the government's collapse, Najjar packed his bags, preparing to return to Aleppo with his wife and children the next day.

The UN said on Tuesday that more than one million people have since returned to their homes in Syria, including 800,000 internally displaced Syrians and 280,000 Syrians returning from abroad. However, two months into his new life in Syria, Najjar spoke of challenges that may take time to overcome. "I haven't had a job since I came back," he told Middle East Eye, adding that the education his children are currently receiving is "very bad."

Despite this, he remains determined to contribute to a new phase for Syria, noting that the security situation has at least improved. "While the security situation is stable, living conditions and the lack of job opportunities are the main problems," he said. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that more than 14 million people were forced to flee their homes during the Syrian civil war. About 7.4 million of these were internally displaced, while the rest went to neighboring countries and other regions.

Emma Beals, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, told Middle East Eye: "Refugee surveys, as well as analysts and policymakers, have been saying for years that the main obstacle to people returning to Syria is the security situation, primarily the regime." In a 2024 survey by UNHCR, only 1.4% of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt said they intended to return to Syria in the next 12 months. Following the fall of the Assad government, this figure rose to 27% in early 2025.

Beals said: "Now, this huge obstacle has been removed. That's not to say that there aren't other obstacles, but for some people, that was the main reason they weren't going home." Furthermore, among those who said they would not or were unsure whether they would return in the next year, 53% said they would return within the next five years. UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said on X that while Syrians are eager to return, "early recovery efforts must be bolder and faster, or people will leave again: this is urgent now!"

In the UNHCR survey, the main obstacles to return included "concerns about the condition of existing housing and refugees' own property, security guarantees, economic challenges within Syria, and concerns about existing basic services." In addition, 60% of respondents felt that a "go-and-see" visit was very important before deciding to return, but some countries may not allow this due to refugee regulations. Najjar said that while some reconstruction work has begun around him, progress is still slow. Most internally displaced people are choosing to stay in the camps until the end of winter and the end of their children's school year.

While his area of Aleppo has water and electricity, the situation is far from the same in other areas. "I see some villages completely empty," he said. "How can people come back if there is no place to live, no electricity, no services? There is no infrastructure, even the cables have been taken. That's why people can't come back." Najjar said that some Syrian families who have settled in the region are sending one family member back to Syria and giving him money to repair their homes in case they decide to return.

Reconstruction and recovery efforts in Syria have been slow since Assad's fall, partly due to limited aid entering the country and continued sanctions by Western countries on the former government, which continue to prevent any investment from flowing in. "So, a new government faces a daunting task of trying to fix a country that has been through 14 years of conflict, and even in the best of circumstances, that's not going to happen overnight," Beals said.

"This is certainly not going to happen without a concerted effort by the international community through public, private and policy tools to facilitate this." Beals also echoed Grandi's words that if Syrians who return home find conditions unfavorable to a decent life and leave again, they are unlikely to return. She urged regional and Western countries eager to deport Syrian refugees to show more patience.

Beals said: "Politicians in the region and in Europe should take some time to ensure that the situation in Syria is conducive to large-scale returns, including social reconciliation, the restoration and reconstruction of houses, property and legal issues, livelihoods, so that when people choose to go back, they can rebuild their lives, hopefully stay there, and contribute to a new Syria."