Hopeful Syrians head home to an uncertain future

Since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, 1.9 million Syrian refugees have headed home to Syria. After 14 years of civil war, much of the country is in ruins, while over 90 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line.

Yet, Syrian refugees are not losing hope: UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has found that more than 80 per cent of the diaspora hope to return one day, a major shift compared to surveys conducted before the fall of the old regime.  

There are more than six million Syrian refugees, and over seven million are internally displaced. UNHCR is committed to helping all those who want to return home.

UN News’ Emma Trager-Lewis spoke to agency spokesperson in Syria Céline Schmitt, who’s just returned from a field visit to Dara’a, birthplace of the Syrian revolution in 2011.