Enab Baladi – Ali Darwish

The dream of displaced Syrians, both internally and externally, collided in recent days with the reality left by the bombardment of civilian areas by Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the allowing of shabiha and militias to plunder and destroy what had not yet been hit by bombs.

Thousands of displaced persons headed to their towns and villages after they were taken over by the Military Operations Administration, but they could not live in their homes due to their complete destruction or significant damage.

On November 27, the Syrians had an unexpected event, which was the start of a military operation against Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the capture of new areas, providing the displaced with an opportunity to return to their villages.

One of the main goals of the military operation was to bring back the displaced, and fighters from the Military Operations Administration managed to control most of Syria’s territory after the regime’s downfall on December 8, thus allowing a large number of displaced persons, both internally and externally, to return to their homes.

Return with the taste of displacement

The harsh winter waves in Arsal, Lebanon, in the Qalamoun Mountains (Anti-Lebanon mountain range), that the displaced have suffered since 2014, forced some to return to their villages despite the damage to their homes.

Hikmat Darwish, a resident of Arsal, mentioned that the residents of the Qalamoun villages and towns displaced in Arsal hurried to pack their belongings to return to their villages after the regime’s downfall, especially in villages and towns that did not suffer significant destruction like Qara, Flita, Jarajir, Assal al-Ward, Ras al-Ain, and the city of Yabroud.

However, the return of the villagers of Bakhaa (al-Sarkha) was to a lesser degree, due to the destruction that the village experienced during the battle fought by elements of the former Free Syrian Army (FSA) against the regime forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah between March and April 2014. The battle lasted more than a month, during which the town was subjected to artillery bombardment and airstrikes, along with barrel bombs, which played a significant role in the destruction of homes, given that the built-up area in the village is small compared to other villages in the western Qalamoun.

After the Free Syrian Army withdrawal, the village also suffered intentional detonations of several houses, and it was invaded by the notorious looting gangs who first stole furniture, followed by tiles, electrical wires, and sanitary fittings from the walls, and finally the destruction of roofs to extract the iron from the concrete or wood, since there are several houses with wooden and adobe roofs still intact.

Darwish explained to Enab Baladi that several families from the village returned to their homes despite the absence of roofs, doors, or windows, so they covered the roofs with wood and the tents they brought from Arsal, and covered the windows with nylon. They performed some basic repairs, as their financial situation does not allow for more than that after ten years of displacement and living in camps.

Some families moved to other areas in Qalamoun and rented houses there until winter is over, relying on financial remittances from family members abroad.

Darwish described the situation of the village’s families and families from neighboring destroyed villages as “another displacement,” due to the economic conditions and the manner of return.

Darwish and the remaining families from the village stayed in Arsal or other areas in Lebanon due to their inability to return because of the destruction of their homes, their inability to rent houses in Syria, and some even lacked the means to transport their belongings from Arsal to Syria through the border regions, as the transportation cost for one vehicle exceeds 200 dollars.

Completely destroyed

When Abdul Basit Abu Deimas arrived at his home in the village of Maar Shurin in southern Idlib, he found it completely destroyed after nearly five years of displacement.

Since the early years of the revolution, Abu Deimas and his family have been displaced from their home more than ten times to safer areas due to escalating bombardments or the Assad regime’s campaigns to arrest civilians. At the end of 2019, Abu Deimas was displaced to northern Idlib after the regime regained control of the area.

Abu Deimas told Enab Baladi that he had been following the condition of his village over the years via Google Earth, and two years ago, images showed destruction in his home.

Currently, Abu Deimas cannot rebuild his house and will remain in a previously rented house until a solution is found for the issue of destroyed homes, as he cannot afford to rebuild it.

Raed al-Masri (40) from the village of Qabr Fidda in al-Ghab Plain, northern Hama, moved after the previous regime’s forces took over his village in 2015 to live in camps in northern Syria with his family of eight, and later moved to the city of Jindires in western Aleppo.

On December 11, al-Masri entered his village after expelling the regime forces from it, and he had a prior idea of the extent of the destruction due to receiving video clips of the village showing its condition over the past years.

Al-Masri told Enab Baladi that when he arrived at his home site, he initially did not recognize it, as it had turned into a pile of stones. Al-Masri shed tears over his home that he spent years building.

He clarified that his house was not destroyed by bombardment but by the National Defense militias allied with the previous regime to prevent the villagers from returning and living in the area.

However, what comforts al-Masri is that he can now cultivate his land after being absent for ten years.

Destruction across Syrian geography

Cities and towns that rose up against the Assad regime have faced systematic destruction, starting first with besieging them and bombarding them with various types of weapons, ultimately forcing residents and opposition fighters to flee.

Then begins another phase of destruction, with the detonation of several houses as an act of revenge, after which specialized groups enter to steal furniture, others to dismantle electricity and sanitary fittings, kitchens, tiles, and ceramics, and the final phase is the extraction of iron from the roofs.

In March 2019, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) published an atlas showing the extent of the destruction in Syrian provinces and cities over the past eight years.

The figures issued by the institute do not encompass all the destroyed buildings, as they date back to 2019, and thus do not include the destruction caused by the military operations of the previous regime and Russia against the Idlib governorate and the countryside of Hama and Aleppo between April 2019 and March 2020, along with the subsequent destructions resulting from looting operations.

The atlas relied on the analysis of satellite images and presented maps showing the distribution and intensity of destruction in 16 Syrian cities and areas that experienced the highest levels of destruction.

According to UN research, Aleppo governorate witnessed the highest rate of destruction in Syria, with 4,773 completely destroyed buildings, 14,680 severely damaged buildings, and 16,269 partially damaged buildings, bringing the total number of affected buildings to 35,722.

In Idlib governorate in northwestern Syria, the number of completely destroyed buildings reached 311, with 418 severely damaged and 686 partially damaged, totaling 1,415 affected buildings.

The research indicates that there are 3,326 completely destroyed buildings in Raqqa governorate, 3,962 severely damaged, and 5,493 partially damaged, resulting in a total of 12,781 affected buildings.

In Deir Ezzor governorate, there are 1,161 completely destroyed buildings, 2,370 severely damaged, and 2,874 partially damaged, bringing the total number of affected buildings in the governorate to 6,405.

The report noted the presence of 9,459 completely destroyed buildings in Hama governorate, 404 severely damaged buildings, and 666 partially damaged buildings, with a total of 10,529 affected buildings.

In Homs governorate, the count includes 3,082 completely destroyed buildings, 5,750 severely damaged, and 4,946 partially damaged, bringing the total of affected buildings to 13,778.

The number of completely destroyed buildings in Eastern Ghouta of Damascus is 9,353, in addition to 13,661 severely damaged buildings and 11,122 partially damaged buildings, resulting in a total of 34,136 affected buildings.

In the Yarmouk Camp and al-Hajar al-Aswad area, south of Damascus, there are 2,109 completely destroyed buildings, 1,765 severely damaged buildings, and 1,615 partially damaged buildings, giving a total of 5,489 affected buildings.

In the city of al-Zabadani in the Damascus countryside, there are 659 completely destroyed buildings, 1,251 severely damaged buildings, and 1,454 partially damaged buildings, totaling 3,364 affected buildings.

The number of completely destroyed buildings in Daraa governorate, southern Syria, is 224, in addition to 498 severely damaged buildings and 781 partially damaged buildings, resulting in a total of 1,503 affected buildings.