First group of Syrian refugees returns home from Lebanon under new UN plan

JDEIDET YABOUS, Syria (AP) — The first group of Syrian refugees returned home from Lebanon on Tuesday under a new plan the United Nations developed with the Lebanese government following the downfall of Bashar Assad’s rule in December.

Syria’s uprising-turned-conflict displaced half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million over the last 14 years. Lebanon hosted an estimated 1.5 million refugees, at one point making up roughly a quarter of its six million people, with many having been smuggled across the border and unregistered with the UN.

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The new plan has the UN refugee agency offering $100 in cash to each repatriated Syrian refugee and the Lebanese authorities waiving any fees or fines they owe. The UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration will provide them with buses for their return journey.

The UNHCR also says it will help returning Syrians with “cash grants, legal assistance for civil documents, psychosocial support, livelihood opportunities, and other protection services.”

The strain on Lebanon as poverty spreads

Lebanese authorities have repeatedly requested the repatriation of Syrian refugees over the years, a call that grew louder with the widespread poverty in the Mediterranean country and shrinking funding for aid agencies. But Syria under Assad was not yet safe for their return, according to major rights organizations.

Many Syrians had also previously said the war, forced conscription under Syria’s former government, and unpaid residency fines in Lebanon have held them back from returning.

But Syria now has a new government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the surprise offensive that ousted Assad, and the Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government hopes Syrians will sign up for the joint repatriation plan.

The UNHCR estimates that over 205,000 Syrians have crossed back into the country from Lebanon since December, of which at least 126,000 were confirmed to be full returns, said Abou Khaled.

Thousands of Syrian refugees are ready to return home

UNHCR Lebanon spokesperson Lisa Abou Khaled says about 17,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon have already signed up to go back to their home country, though the vast majority have opted not to take the buses.

Tuesday’s repatriation was a “test run,” she said, with only 72 people, mostly going to Syria’s third-largest city of Homs and rural Damascus.

Syrian border authorities greeted the returning refugees with roses and water bottles, as they filled out forms after exiting the bus. Some took pictures in front of Syria’s new green flag. Among them was Rasha, who told The Associated Press she was elated to return for the first time in 14 years.

“We’re going home with nothing, but it’s easier than having to keep paying rent,” she said, using only her first name. She and her husband are heading to Homs.

Before, she wouldn’t leave because her sons were at the age of conscription, which she described as “sending your son to his death.” They also couldn’t afford to pay all the fines for overstaying in Lebanon for 14 years.

Raghad fled to Lebanon when she was 10 years old after her father was killed in Homs, and is returning for the first time to her family home with her siblings and their children. “We’re hoping to fix it so we can live there for a bit,” she said. “I can’t imagine myself living there without Dad.”

A humanitarian crisis still exists in Syria

Despite Washington lifting decades-long sanctions, Syria is still reeling from an economic crisis that has pulled the vast majority of its population into poverty. It’s still also trying to rebuild hundreds of billions of dollars in battered infrastructure after the conflict. Abou Khaled, the UNHCR Lebanon spokesperson, warns that this might hinder long-term returns if not resolved soon.

“We must acknowledge that there is a real humanitarian crisis in Syria that remains very significant,” she explained. “Millions of people will need urgent help to be able to return in a sustainable way.”