Syria Conflict: Refugees return to war-torn homeland

World
Europe

02:12

Many Syrians are now finding their way home after eight years of war. The United Nations says more than five million refugees are in neighboring countries, last year, thirty-seven thousand returned to Syria. The number is expected to rise tenfold this year. CGTN's Stephanie Freid traveled to the border between Jordan and Syria to meet those trying to go home.

He was born in a Jordanian refugee camp, but he knows where home is.

"SYRIA"

Long cues are the daily norm at Jordan's Jaber border crossing. Syrians who lived as refugees for years are piling up their belongings and heading back.

"I'm going home thank God. Thank God."

Aid agencies aren't formally organizing the homecomings, so numbers are unclear.

STEPHANIE FREID JABER BORDER CROSSING, JORDAN "About a hundred Syrians go through this border crossing every day. The UN refugee agency UNHCR is predicting that this year a quarter of a million will return home."

RIAD TOUR BUS OPERATOR, AMMAN, JORDAN "We run three trips a day and there is enormous demand on the trips. People are willing to go back to Syria back and forth from different nationalities: Jordanian, Syrians, Arabs, Europeans."

Willing, yes. But key challenges are safety and housing. Unexploded ordnance and landmines need to be cleared from residential areas and an estimated 3 million destroyed homes need rebuilding. Processing returnees who left ID's behind while fleeing presents a challenge and recognizing citizenship of a million Syrian children born abroad is up to the Assad government.

REFUGEE "I'll get to see my son again. Thank God."

For now, there is no suppressing the anticipation of leaving behind years spent living in limbo.

STEPHANIE FREID, CGTN, on the border of Jordan and Syria.