Ramadan markets in Syria are characterized by a specificity that differs from the rest of the months of the year (Al Jazeera)

Northern Syria -

The elderly Syrian woman, Suad al-Muhammad, is busy preparing a few dishes from the Ramadan Iftar meal, an hour before the Maghrib call to prayer, inside her modest home in the city of Aleppo, northwestern Syria, before she receives a conference call from her three children who immigrated to Turkey and Europe several years ago.

Communication between separated family members spreads feelings of nostalgia and familiarity that they miss with the advent of the month of Ramadan, which has always been a beloved spiritual ritual that brings them together at the table and in the period after Iftar, in regular conversation and the performance of religious rituals.

Syrian Idlib markets are active during Ramadan in selling drinks such as licorice and tamarind (Al Jazeera)

A lonely absence

The mother, while crying often, tells her children how lonely the house seems in their absence, after she was accustomed to having even married people by her side on the first days of the holy month, before mentioning to them how the economic crises have deepened the pain of Syrians grieving the loss of loved ones and family.

As the movement in Syria turned into an armed conflict, members of Al-Muhammad’s family migrated - like millions of Syrians - in a major wave of migration witnessed in 2013 and 2014 towards Turkey and Europe, and these waves continued at a slower pace later, so that Syrian families became living in a state of diaspora.

More than 6.5 million Syrian refugees, distributed in 130 countries around the world, find themselves facing isolation, 13 years after the revolution against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, at a time when they recall memories of Ramadan via video calls and congratulatory messages among themselves.

More than 6.5 million Syrian refugees are distributed in 130 countries around the world (Al Jazeera)

Incomplete joy

Ramadan rituals in Turkey contributed to alleviating the alienation of the Syrian refugee Zaid Rahal, who lives in the city of Gaziantep in southern Syria. He points out that the atmosphere of Ramadan in the Turkish city is similar - to a large extent - to his city of Idlib.

Rahal tells Al Jazeera Net how the markets of Gaziantep are active during the holy month in selling Ramadan drinks such as licorice and tamarind, as well as sweets and pastries (maaruk), which the Turks call “Aleppo cake,” in reference to its primary source.

Despite this, Rahal does not hide his feelings of longing and nostalgia for his brothers who were dispersed between Syria, Turkey and Germany, stressing that they have not gathered for a Ramadan dinner for more than 10 years, and he hopes that his scattered family will be reunited one day.

Rahhal says that the month of Ramadan has become an occasion of incomplete joy in light of the absence of loved ones from the Iftar table, as calls and greetings do not extinguish the flame of longing and longing to meet in one place in the family home.

Fears and longing

In the Swedish city of Malmo, Syrian refugee Omar Al-Sayed is diligently searching for Ramadan lanterns to add a few aspects of Ramadan to his room, amid the absence of the month’s manifestations in his place of residence, in an attempt to restore memories in his country.

Al-Sayed confirms to Al Jazeera Net that he has not met his mother, who has lived in the city of Aleppo for 9 years due to the conditions of war and immigration, noting that he tried to meet her in Turkey several times, but he was unsuccessful in doing so because his mother did not obtain an entry visa.

Al-Sayed expresses his fears that he will never meet his mother after it has become almost impossible, and the advent of the month of Ramadan represents an occasion filled with mixed feelings of joy and sadness for him and his family, as he describes it.

In northern Syria, no home is empty of an expatriate, a detainee, or a martyr who was absent from the war, attending the Ramadan dinner and leaving his place empty, as Syrians spread around the world welcome the holy month and say: “Ramadan has returned, so who will bring back our loved ones?”

Source: Al Jazeera