In brief
Millions of Syrians want to return home now that the civil war has concluded, but many face daunting challenges due to widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure.
Lubna Labaad is among the many Syrians yearning to return to her home after the abrupt end of the country's brutal civil war, which claimed numerous lives and displaced millions. The interim president has expressed hope that the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad will allow countless displaced citizens to return, yet the reality on the ground tells a different story. Walking through what was once her neighborhood in Qaboun, Damascus, Labaad reflects on a landscape decimated by 13 years of conflict. A solitary mosque stands amongst the rubble, a reminder of past struggles, with a message from the past written on its wall: "Forgive us, oh martyrs." "When the war ended, we were ready to come back to our life," Labaad shared, her family optimistic despite the condition of their home, which had been stripped of essential fixtures by occupying soldiers. They are among the lucky, as many returning residents find their properties uninhabitable, reduced to piles of debris. According to United Nations estimates, over 13 million people were forced to flee during the conflict, marking it as one of the largest displacement crises globally. More than six million left Syria, with another seven million displaced within their own country. The Labaads, like other families longing for normalcy, face immense obstacles in rebuilding their lives.
