The United Nations estimates that over one million internally displaced Syrians have returned to their hometowns since the fall of the Assad regime. But 6 million others remain in temporary shelters. DW reports from Zardana, Idlib.
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00:01Zardana in the Idlib countryside.
00:04It's an area filled with slums and displacement camps for families from northern Syria.
00:10Muhammad left his hometown of Ma'ar-Shurin in northwestern Syria over six years ago,
00:16fleeing attacks by Assad regime forces.
00:19I want to end my displacement and my status as a refugee
00:23and return to my land and live and rebuild my life there, but how can I do so?
00:27There are no hospitals, no schools, no clinics, no mosques. Everything's destroyed, so why should we return?
00:34Like hundreds of refugees in this camp who left in search of safety,
00:39they live in plastic tents that fail to protect them from the winter frost or the summer heat.
00:45They long to return, but where to?
00:49This is our neighborhood. Where can people return amidst the devastation and destruction?
00:54This place is inhabited only by hyenas and beasts. This sums up my entire life.
00:59I worked for 20 years to build this house. This is my home. How can I return to it when it's destroyed?
01:05Muhammad's hometown of Ma'ar-Shurin is one of the many cities produced to rubble during the civil war in Syria.
01:13It is only 50 kilometers away from his camp, but far from being a place to live.
01:20Where will I get water for my children to drink? Even a water tanker can't get through the destroyed roads.
01:26It's all destroyed. This isn't just my situation. It's the situation of the entire village.
01:31The schools are destroyed, as are the clinics. Everything is completely destroyed.
01:36It's not just the result of bombing. It's all looting by Assad's thugs.
01:40The former regime did this to our homes. They took the iron bars and destroyed everything.
01:46Despite the destruction, Muhammad clings to the hope of returning to his village one day.
01:52For now, with a heavy heart, he's staying in Zardana.
01:57Today, after Syria's liberation, we don't know what our future holds, but it appears to be unknown for now.
02:04We hope it won't be. We, who gave so much and were displaced, hope and ask the entire world not to forget us.
02:11We'll see you soon.
02:12We'll see you soon.