ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan: They have lived for years in Zaatari, the world’s biggest refugee camp for Syrians, but many are unsure they want to return home from Jordan even after the ouster of former president Bashar Assad.
They fear the security situation might once again deteriorate after 13 years of civil war, and some say their homes have been destroyed while others lost their jobs and feel they have nothing to go back to.
In 2012, a year into the war in Syria, neighboring Jordan opened Zaatari camp to host people fleeing the conflict.
It is now home to 75,000 people, according to UN figures.
To begin with, it was a squalid collection of tents dotting an arid landscape, but over time, it grew into a town of prefabricated homes, supplied with free electricity, water, health and schools.
On a street named the Champs-Elysees, after the famed Parisian avenue, 60-year-old shop owner Yousef Hariri told AFP he wanted to stay in Zaatari with his family, where they feel safe.
“I can’t go back. That would mean losing everything and selling the shop would be hard,” said Hariri, whose store sells construction materials.
“The situation in Syria is not good at the moment and it is not clear what will happen. Prices are through the roof and there are armed rebels. Our houses are destroyed.”
The war in Syria, which began with Assad’s crackdown on democracy protests in 2011, forced millions of people to flee the country, with most of them seeking refuge in neighboring countries.
Tens of thousands have returned since an Islamist-led coalition ousted Assad on December 8, but most refugees have yet to make the journey home.
Most of the refugees in Zaatari came from the south Syrian province of Daraa, near the Jordanian border.
It was, earlier in the conflict, home to 140,000 people.
Refugees in the camp receive cash assistance for food, and they have the right to work outside the camp.
“Where are we going to go back to?” said Khaled Al-Zoabi, 72, who has lived in the camp since 2012, and who cited the destruction wrought by the war.
“The refugees’ finances aren’t good enough for anyone to return, and no one knows what will happen in Syria,” he said.
“We fled the injustice and tyranny of Assad’s gangs in Syria, where human life had no value. Here, I feel I am a human being, and I prefer to stay,” said the shop owner.
To date, there is no financial assistance to help people return.
Radwan Al-Hariri, a 54-year-old father of three, said his contacts in Syria had all advised him to stay put.
An imam at a mosque, the grandfather of 12 children all born in Zaatari said that in Syria, “no one helps you and there is no work.”
According to the Jordanian authorities, 52,000 Syrians have returned home through the Jaber border crossing between the two countries since Assad’s overthrow.
“Insecurity remains a concern. There is still a lot of instability, armed clashes in some parts of the country and an increasing number of civilian casualties due to remnants of war and unexploded ordnance,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesperson in Jordan Roland Schoenbauer said.
“Every refugee has the right to return to their homeland,” he said. “However, when it is the right time to voluntarily cross into Syria will have to remain their decision.”
The UN says around 680,000 Syrians were registered in Jordan from 2011 onwards, though the kingdom says it welcomed 1.3 million.
Not all Syrians in Zaatari were hesitant to return.
Mariam Masalmeh, 63, said she and her husband have decided to go home, as have their children.
But she said she would be “sad to leave Zaatari, which has become my homeland,” as she showed off her garden of rosebushes and apple trees.
Mohammed Atme, 50, could not wait to go home.
“It is time to go back to my family, I haven’t seen my mother and brothers for 13 years,” he said.
“Here, we were treated with respect and our dignity was preserved. But everyone’s destiny is to go back to their country.”
Syrian refugees in Jordan camp say they have nothing to go home to
https://arab.news/4gehh
Syrian refugees in Jordan camp say they have nothing to go home to
- Refugees fear the security situation might once again deteriorate after 13 years of civil war
- In 2012, neighboring Jordan opened Zaatari camp and is now hosting 75,000 Syrians
Editorial: The threat of Yemen’s fragmentation is far reaching
- The southern issue is a just cause — one that must be addressed in any future political settlement and not reduced to the ambitions of any single individual, including the likes of Aidarous Al-Zubaidi
RIYADH: As Yemen’s political landscape continues to shift at a dizzying pace, it is worth pausing to reflect on the official Saudi position — and the commentary of some of our leading Saudi columnists — regarding the recent unilateral moves by the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the governorates of Hadramout and Al-Mahrah. These actions, taken without the consent of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) or coordination with the Arab Coalition, represent a dangerous gamble with the future of a fragile nation — one that Saudi Arabia, like its Arab neighbors, wishes only peace, stability, and prosperity.
There is no ambiguity in the Kingdom’s stance: it has worked tirelessly to preserve calm in Hadramout and Al-Mahrah, steering both regions away from military escalation and toward peaceful solutions. In a bid to contain the situation, Saudi Arabia, in coordination with its brothers and partners in the United Arab Emirates and the PLC, dispatched a joint team to negotiate with the STC. The goal was clear — facilitate the withdrawal of STC forces and hand over military sites to the National Shield Forces.
Yet despite Riyadh’s call for de-escalation and its appeal to the STC to prioritize national interest and social cohesion, the Council has persisted in its confrontational posture, seemingly indifferent to the grave consequences of its actions.
Observers in Riyadh will note that the Kingdom remains steadfast in its support for the PLC and Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Its commitment to Yemen’s stability is not rhetorical — it is political, economic, and developmental. Saudi Arabia’s vision is to shepherd Yemen from the shadows of conflict into an era of peace, prosperity, and regional integration. This is not merely a function of geography or shared borders; it is a reflection of the Kingdom’s religious, political, and economic responsibilities in the Arab and Islamic world.
From this vantage point, the newspaper firmly believes that the STC’s unilateral actions in Hadramout constitute a blatant violation of Yemen’s transitional framework. They undermine the legitimacy of the recognized government, threaten the fragile peace, and jeopardize the political process. Worse still, they echo the very tactics employed by the Houthi militias — an alarming parallel that should not be ignored.
It is therefore essential to reiterate the Kingdom’s position: the STC must withdraw its forces from Hadramout and Al-Mahrah, restoring the status quo ante. This is not a punitive demand, but a necessary step to safeguard national security and prevent further military flare-ups.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia has consistently affirmed that the southern issue is a just cause — one that must be addressed in any future political settlement. It is enshrined in the outcomes of Yemen’s National Dialogue and must be resolved inclusively, reflecting the aspirations of all southern Yemenis — not reduced to the ambitions of any single individual, including the likes of Aidarous Al-Zubaidi or other STC figures.
Ultimately, we urge the separatists to choose reason over recklessness. Partitioning Yemen will not bring peace — it will sow the seeds of future wars, embolden extremist actors, and pose a threat not only to Yemen’s internal cohesion but to regional and international stability. As Western and American policymakers know all too well: what happens in Yemen never stays in Yemen.
