by Burak Akinci
ANKARA, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- "I have a homeland today to return to, I belong there." At 25, Islam Al-Masri's life has been marked by displacement during Syria's civil war. Now, after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government, he has decided to end his exile and return.
"I want to be there when Syria is reconstructed," the young single told Xinhua in Türkiye's capital city Ankara, where he has resided since 2015.
In the chaos that engulfed Syria over the past decade, his family fled their home in Syria's Mediterranean coastal province of Tartous, eventually finding refuge across the border in Türkiye.
During the time of displacement, al-Masri said he had to rebuild his life in a foreign land, adapting to a new culture and language. "Millions of Syrians were displaced because of the civil war, but times have changed," he noted.
Now, with the tide turning, Islam is eager to return to his birthplace.
"There are many fellow Syrians in Türkiye who are planning to return in the coming months," al-Masri indicated. Once there, "in a couple of months", he intends to launch a food delivery business.
However, among the millions of Syrian refugees in Türkiye, not all share the same enthusiasm for immediate repatriation. Many, like Ibrahim Assani, remain deeply conflicted about uprooting the lives they have painstakingly built in Türkiye to return to a nation still grappling with uncertainty.
"I don't know what awaits us there. Aleppo has been destroyed," said Ibrahim Assani, a car mechanic who came to Türkiye in 2015 with his wife and two children from this major northern city.
Torn between the life he has built in Türkiye and the pull of his homeland, Ibrahim finds himself in a difficult position.
"My children go to school here, and I don't want to disrupt their studies for an uncertain future," he told Xinhua, explaining his decision to stay in Türkiye until next summer to see how conditions in Syria evolve.
For many Syrian families who have spent years in Türkiye, roots have been firmly established. Their children attend Turkish schools and universities, and their lives, though precarious, have taken on a sense of normalcy.
Yet, serious challenges persist. Many refugees work in unregistered jobs, earning substandard wages and lacking access to social security. Their futures remain uncertain, tethered to Türkiye's economic and political climate, which is often not so welcome to their presence, especially as Türkiye grapples with high inflation and unemployment.
Metin Corabatir, head of the Research Center on Asylum and Migration in Ankara, highlighted the complexity of the situation facing the refugees.
"Thousands have already returned home, but I don't expect a mass return," he said.
"Many are in a wait-and-see mode. If stability and order are restored, I believe a majority will eventually choose to return within a year," Corabatir added.
Abdullah Al-Hassan, an insurance worker in Gaziantep, a southern border city home to Türkiye's largest Syrian refugee community of 430,000, acknowledges his hesitation.
"We don't want to remain guests in Türkiye forever, but we must face realities. It is too early," Abdullah said. ■
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