Syrians’ right to return should be an international priority

There is nothing in the international news today that would let people know that, after well over a decade of conflict, Syria continues to be the world’s largest refugee crisis. In complete silence, the Syrian people are suffering between a rock and a hard place — either living in a precarious situation as refugees or risking their lives going back to their home country.

We all forget that, since 2011, according to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 14 million Syrians have been displaced. More than 7.2 million people are internally displaced, with 70 percent of the population needing humanitarian aid and 90 percent living in poverty. Approximately 5.5 million Syrian refugees reside in neighboring countries — Turkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Germany hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees outside the region, with more than 850,000.

Turkiye hosts the largest number, with 3.3 million Syrian refugees. About 92 percent of these refugees live in rural and urban areas, with only about 5 percent in refugee camps. However, living outside camps does not equate to stability, as more than 70 percent of Syrian refugees in Turkiye live in poverty, facing limited access to basic services, education and job opportunities and having little prospect of returning home.

Syrians face significant challenges, which are worsened by the war in Ukraine, global inflation and last year’s earthquakes in southeastern Turkiye and northern Syria. Within Syria, the cost of the food basket doubled between January and October 2023 and had quadrupled in two years, leaving 12.9 million people food insecure.

After suffering at the hands of the Syrian and Iranian regimes, Syrians are now condemned to a life of misery

Khaled Abou Zahr

For Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, conditions have deteriorated. Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees per capita and per square kilometer in the world, with the government estimating 1.5 million Syrian refugees and about 11,000 of other nationalities. About 90 percent of Syrian refugees in Lebanon depend on humanitarian aid.

In Jordan, more than 93 percent of Syrian households are in debt just to meet basic needs, while in Turkiye 90 percent struggle to cover monthly expenses. The loss of livelihoods among refugees has made it increasingly difficult to access essential resources like clean water, electricity, food and medicine. This economic hardship has increased their vulnerability to risks such as child labor and other forms of exploitation.

As mentioned, Lebanon is carrying more than its weight and no amount of international aid will solve the problem. The issue of Syrian refugees, who make up 30 percent of the country’s population, is only keeping the wound open and increasing instability. After suffering at the hands of the Syrian and Iranian regimes, Syrians are now condemned to a life of misery.

There is total international silence about the fact that the Syrian regime dropped nearly 82,000 barrel bombs in the first nine years of war, killing more than 11,000 civilians, including 1,821 children. Why has UN Security Council Resolution 2139 not been implemented? This would have held the perpetrators of indiscriminate bombardment, destruction and forced displacement accountable. Why are only a few officials being tried for their crimes in international courts?

The people of Syria have a right to their land. They have been stripped of this right by their own rulers and the world is silent

Khaled Abou Zahr

Worse, Syrians have suffered the atrocities of torture and killings while the international community has stood silent or even honored their torturers for dealmaking purposes. Needless to say, this violence was targeted toward a single and specific community. This has transformed the demographic constitution of the country. Yet, international pundits are silent or even justify the horrors that this community has experienced. Why such a difference in treatment?

This is why, today, the real goal should not be to institutionalize Syrians’ refugee status but to create a real possibility for them to return to their country without the risk of violence and further suffering. The international community should be working on this objective and not just managing despair, humiliation and suffering with the distribution of aid, while leaving unstable countries like Lebanon to do the heavy lifting. Moreover, allowing the refugees back home in safety and security is what will bring a real end to the never-ending resurgence of Daesh — a resurgence for which the Syrian people pay the price, while Daesh and the regime have learned to live through these crises and even thrive.

The people of Syria have a right to their land. They have been stripped of this right by their own rulers and the world is silent. The world is silent because its interests align with those of Damascus and Tehran. And instead of using this to leverage a solution for the Syrian people, the international community diverts the problem. It is urgent to put forward the right of return for the Syrian people. We are now in the 14th year of displacement; this should not be acceptable, as most areas are now conflict-free. Children born in 2012 are now turning 12 years old and they have only known refugee camps. They know nothing of their country except the stories their parents tell them.

The demand should be for them to go back without facing the risk of retaliation or violence from the regime under any circumstances. As Bashar Assad attempts to make his comeback on the international scene with all sorts of media gimmicks, this comeback should only be accepted only after the Syrian people are allowed back to their hometowns. Like all the people in the Levant, they are resilient and will find ways to rebuild and thrive. Yet, this can only happen if the threat of violence from any party disappears.

Can this happen through a great reconciliation? This is something only the Syrians who have suffered can answer.

• Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.