Returnees to Afrin begin rebuilding homes and rehabilitating

For nine years, the people of Afrin have been writing the chapters of their story of displacement, marking a fresh start time and again. Despite the suffering, displacement, and harsh conditions they have endured, they have never wavered in their attachment to their land.

After years of waiting, the agreement reached on January 29 rekindled the displaced residents' hope of returning. Families began returning to Afrin in waves, resettling in their towns and villages.

Upon their return, they found their homes and properties looted and vandalized, prompting them to begin restoring their ruined houses and repairing what could be salvaged. They also resumed cultivating their land and tending to their olive trees in an effort to reclaim their normal lives.

Many returnees emphasize that, despite the scale of the destruction and the challenges involved, they view their return as a new beginning. One resident recounted how his home had been completely stripped—with doors, windows, and even electrical wiring looted—adding that the perpetrators went further by setting the house on fire before leaving.

Despite the devastation inflicted upon their homes and property, the returnees insist that what happened to Afrin will not deter them from rebuilding it; for them, returning to this land of olives marks the start of a new chapter defined by reconstruction and stability

Sh-S

ANHA