Waiting for the departure of the lion
Syrian refugees in Turkey dream of returning to their country
Inonu Avenue is one of the main commercial streets in Gaziantep.
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Zakaria Al-Sabbagh, 23, is a dried fruit seller.
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Muhammad Abu Al-Nar, a barber shop owner, dreams of returning to his country.
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In Turkey, Syrian refugees dream of returning to their country, some of them have a very bad situation, and some are better off, but in any case, they will not take any step to return, as long as President Bashar al-Assad is in power.
Of the approximately 5.6 million Syrians who have taken the migration route since the start of the conflict, which enters its 11th year on March 15, more than 3.6 million have sought refuge in neighboring Turkey, bringing about a profound demographic change in Turkish border provinces, such as Gaziantep and Hatay.
According to official figures, there are about 450,000 Syrian refugees in Gaziantep, that is, one out of five residents.
Most of the Syrians in it hail from the city of Aleppo, which is 110 km from the other side of the border, and its region.
Ismail Abtini owns a restaurant with his family on Inonu Avenue, one of the main commercial streets in Gaziantep, the center of the governorate of the same name.
"I wish to return to Syria, but at the same time I am trying to obtain Turkish citizenship, because as long as Assad is in power, it is impossible for us to return," he says.
Ismail left Aleppo in 2013 with his family, brothers, sisters, wife and children "to escape the barrel bombs that the regime was throwing on our neighborhood."
One of his brothers was killed in the bombing process.
In front of my chicken mashwati, a rotating shawarma shish, and a large falafel plate, Syrian employees prepare orders for delivery services, or for customers to receive them themselves, in light of the restrictions imposed to contain the outbreak of the Corona virus.
They will leave it and go to Syria immediately
Ismail admits that business is booming, but he will not hesitate to return to Syria if the regime falls.
"We left behind shops, houses and a large farm," he said.
In this part of İnönü Avenue, better known as the Iranian Bazaar, Syrians invest most of the shops, even if the names on the facades are written in Turkish letters, as is required by law.
Zakaria Al-Sabbagh (23 years old), a seller of dried fruits, says, "We left to escape the Assad regime. If we were told now that the Assad regime had fallen, you would not see anyone (of us) here in Turkey." On this street?
Everyone will leave it and go to Syria immediately. ”
Khader Al-Hussein, a 41-year-old merchant, said that if the lion remains in power, "there is no hope for return, my children are dear to my heart, it is impossible for me to experience again what we have lived."
In his hairdressing salon, 28-year-old Muhammad Abu Al-Nar, and his clients, present possible scenarios for their return to Syria, and possible exits to the conflict.
"If we return to Syria, at first we will be imprisoned, and no one will know anything about our fate," says the barber, who cuts a gray customer's hair.
"It is impossible for someone to return as long as the system remains," he added.
maybe one day
While Inonu Avenue merchants have managed to rebuild a new life in Gaziantep, other Syrians are trying to live with simple resources.
Like Zina Elwi, who lost her husband in the bombing in 2014, and today lives with her four daughters and two sons, in a poor apartment in a miserable neighborhood, close to the city center.
The epidemic crisis prevented her from doing small businesses, and she now depends on philanthropists to feed her family and pay the equivalent of $ 60 in rent for her house.
A coal-fired decoration is used to heat the main hall in the apartment, which features two mattresses and an old sofa.
She talks about her country with nostalgia, but without mentioning the possibility of an imminent return.
"I say (to my children) that Syria is a beautiful country, and life in it is special, and that we were happy in our house without having to do the kind of work that we do here, but this is the will of the Lord of the Worlds," she says.
Ahed al-Wali, for her part, left Aleppo with her only son in 2014, a year after her husband, who was fighting against the regime forces, was killed.
She owns a grocery store today, and is close to many of the Syrian families who live in the neighborhood.
The 39-year-old says, "The tyrant is still present. Whoever killed us and displaced us is still present, so how will we return to live under his rule?"
And she adds, “Shall I walk in the street to see his picture hanging against the destruction that killed children, orphaned children, and killed women?
How will I be back?
I will definitely not come back. ”
According to the numbers, there are about 450 thousand Syrian refugees in Gaziantep, that is, one person in five residents.
Of the approximately 5.6 million Syrians who have taken the migration route since the start of the conflict, which enters its 11th year on March 15, more than 3.6 million have sought refuge in neighboring Turkey, bringing about a profound demographic change in Turkish border provinces, such as Gaziantep and Hatay.
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