Christian families forced to leave their homes during the civil war due to attacks by the Bashar al-Assad regime have begun to return to their homeland in Idlib province in northwestern Syria a year after the overthrow of the 61-year-old Ba’ath regime.
Before the war, about 20 thousand people lived in the four Christian villages of western Idlib – Ghassaniye, Ya’qubiyeh, Judeida and Qinye. During the most difficult years of the war (2013-2015), under massive artillery and air strikes by regime troops and fighting in the region, the Christian population dropped to about 500 people.
One of these villages, Kynye, was almost completely deserted during the war. Today, its residents are gradually returning and sharing with Anadolu their memories of their experiences and hopes for the future.
Semmaye Egop, a resident of Kinye, said that she spent her childhood and youth in Idlib, but because of the attacks of the Assad regime, she had to flee. “When intense bombing began, I left for Tartus with my husband and children. I worked as a civil servant, but the work there was not suitable for me, so I quit and moved to the private sector,” she said
According to the woman, after the revolution, the family returned to their native village. “We returned to breathe the air of our land. Yes, there is no water, no electricity, no Internet – we can’t even contact our children normally. But we are back on our land. With the permission of the Almighty, everything will be completely fine,” she noted.
“Traces of the bombing and earthquake are still preserved.”
“In 2013, when the bombing began, we first went to Lebanon, then to the United Arab Republics Emirates. With God’s help, we returned to our village and to our land. This is the dream of every Syrian. We have been living here for centuries, attached to this land,” said Lebanon Muwas.
According to him, when they returned 12 years, the Syrians saw enormous destruction. Traces of bombing and earthquakes are still visible. Problems with infrastructure, no Internet, poor mobile communications – all this creates difficulties. But there is brotherhood between all representatives of Syrian society. We will rebuild Syria together,” he said.
Hannah Jellouf from Kinye also had to leave at some point due to the bombing of the Assad regime. “After the overthrow of the Assad regime, I returned and see that the situation has become better. Priest Luai helped us a lot – they put everything in order. I liked school. I feel that life has become better than before,” added the Syrian.