Syrians returned to their homes from which they had fled, only to find that they had been destroyed Syrian War News
Damascus, Syria – Nizar al-Madani, 34, stood with tears in his eyes as he looked around Qaboun.
After seven years of displacement, he returned to his neighborhood in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Tuesday, only to find it flattened.
He said, “We had heard that the regime demolished the neighborhood, but to see it with our own eyes was completely shocking.”
When al-Madani and his family were displaced from Qaboun in 2017, many buildings in the neighborhood were damaged.
“But today, there is no trace of these buildings… The regime has erased the character of the neighborhood.”
He was not the only person who came to Qaboun to see what was left after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Many residents of Qaboun who fled to save their lives are wandering around trying to locate where their homes might be.
revenge and destruction
After gaining control the al-Assad regime would deliberately destroy areas that stood against it, and used various laws to legitimize this.
Chief among these was Law No. 10 of 2018, which authorized the establishment of new urban areas in war-damaged areas and gave Syrian refugees only 30 days to prove ownership of their property. Failure to do so will result in property being confiscated.
Many were afraid to return to Syria or their neighborhoods, fearing they would be arrested and accused of opposing al-Assad.
Nadida Hannawi, 50, told Al Jazeera that her family was unable to prove ownership of their home, they fled to the north where there was no regime-controlled bureaucracy, and because they did not have documentation of their ownership.
“The fallen al-Assad regime didn’t just displace us; It tried to steal the houses we built with our life savings,” Hannawi said.
She added, “Identifying where my house and my husband’s shop used to be was no easy task.” “Even the graveyard that houses the graves of our loved ones has been destroyed.
“The most important thing today is that the criminal Bashar al-Assad has fled, his regime has fallen, and our land has been returned to us. “Together, we will rebuild,” Hannawi said.
Mahmood Jahbar, 53, echoed his sentiments.
“Al-Assad’s regime destroyed our homes and memories, but we hope to rebuild so our children can have a place to call home.”
