Alaa Badawi was forced to flee to Turkey for seven years.
Now he is one of those who have returned to their home quarters – in ruins.
– Which is our house? Which street is ours? It cannot be seen, he says.
The Damascus suburb of Qaboun was known for early participation in the uprising against the Assad regime, during the Arab Spring.
The residents had to pay dearly for that.
Alaa Badawi was forced into exile in Turkey for seven years. Now he is back in his home quarters.
– We came here and searched among all the rubble. Which is our house? Which street is ours? It cannot be seen. We dug a little in each house to find our house, finally we did.
– I don’t know if I’m happy to have found the house or shocked, because my home was no longer there, says Alaa Badawi, who is nevertheless firmly convinced that he will be able to rebuild the family home, somehow.
$400 billion for reconstruction
The UN estimates that it will cost at least $400 billion to rebuild Syria after 13 years of war. The Islamist-led rebels, who seized power, have called on the millions of Syrians in exile to return home to help.
Today, Turkey is the country with the most Syrian refugees – three million – and the return was likely one of the topics of conversation when Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited the HTS leader in Damascus today.
Hope for help from neighboring countries
In Qaboun, the residents hope that the neighbors will help rebuild everything that has been destroyed. Ziad Al-Hilli spent twelve years in Syrian prisons. Now he is a free man – but his home no longer exists.
– I came here to look at the ruins. I couldn’t find my house and I don’t know where it is because of all the rubble. Everywhere there are piles of ruins, he says.