UNHCR / 100 YEAR OLD SYRIAN RETURNEE

Great-grandfather Jassim is among more than 500,000 Syrians who have returned from neighbouring countries since the fall of the Assad regime, hoping to rebuild their homes and country despite many challenges. UNHCR

• Video Length: 00:04:13
• Production Date: 16 May 2025
• Asset Language: Arabic
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGUEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: REFUGEES; REFUGEE ASSISTANCE; REFUGEE CAMPS; RETURN MIGRATION; WAR VICTIMS; AGEING PERSONS
• Geographic Subject: SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 3396874
• Parent Id: 3396874
• Alternate Title: unifeed250516f

Description

STORY: UNHCR / 100 YEAR OLD SYRIAN RETURNEE
TRT: 04:13
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 11 MAY 2025, HOMS, SYRIA /FILE

Shotlist

11 MAY 2025, AL NAHRYIEH VILLAGE, RURAL AL QUSYRE, HOMS, SYRIA

1. Various shots, driving shots en route showing destruction
2. Med shot, destroyed building
3. Med shot, family outside building they live in surrounded by rubble
4. Med shot, family sit on floor in house sharing laughs and chatter
5. Med shot, UNHCR makeshift temporary shelter
6. Med shot, temporary shelters made from destroyed home

FILE 2025 - BAB AL HAWA BORDER CROSSING

7. Close up, welcome to Syria sign
8. Various shots, returnees wait by buses and organize themselves for journey across border
9. Various shots, UNHCR and Partner staff help people register and find information
10. Med shot, two people hug at border crossing
11. Med shot, returnees descend off bus at border crossing
12. Close up, man carries suit-case

11 MAY 2025, UM GHRAF, HOMS, SYRIA

13. Various shots, aerial drone shots destroyed housing
14. Various shots, front of returnee house
15. Various shots, inside of returnee home with repaired lighting, water and electricty
16. Med shot, family sat outside their home with solar panel
17. Close up, woman sits outside new house
18. Med shot, group sat inside shelter talking to UNHCR staff
19. Med shot, UNHCR staff speaks with returnees
20. Various shots,woman enters home
21. Various shots, outside of home partly destroyed

11 MAY 2025, SAKRAJA VILLAGE, RURAL AL QUSYRE, HOMS, SYRIA

22. Various shots, woman prepares food

11 MAY 2025, AL NAHRYIEH VILLAGE, RURAL AL QUSYRE, HOMS, SYRIA

23. Various shots, Jassim, a returnee
24. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jassim, Returnee:
“This is my home, I was born here, I lived here, and I will die here.”
“I fled with my wife and my children to Lebanon”
“When we came back, we found our home destroyed.”
“We started clearing the stones, until we found a base
for the house to sit on.”
“I lost three of my sons to the war. They were killed. I haven’t stopped crying since.
“Now we live in freedom. Freedom of the soul, with our dignity, our identity, in our homeland.

Storyline

Great-grandfather Jassim is among more than 500,000 Syrians who have returned from neighbouring countries since the fall of the Assad regime, hoping to rebuild their homes and country despite many challenges.

At over 100 years old, Jassim has witnessed a lifetime of change in Syria, but nothing could prepare him for the horror and heartbreak of conflict. In 2013, as fighting engulfed his village near the city of Al-Qusayr in western Syria, a shell landed near his house, killing three of his children. His family fled to Lebanon.

Then in December 2002, the overthrow of the Assad regime, allowed Jassim plan a return home that he feared may never come. The family finally moved back to their village, Al-Nahryieh, at the end of April.

On 15 May, the number of Syrians who have returned to the country since the fall of the previous government passed half a million – an average rate of 100,000 returns a month.

But despite the palpable sense of hope among those arriving home, the challenges facing them and the country as a whole – remain immense.

Years of conflict and crisis have shattered Syria’s economy and left homes and infrastructure in ruins, while the political and security situation remains fragile. For returning refugees, this means many have nowhere secure to live, they struggle to earn a living and are unable enrol their kids in school or access health care and other basic services.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is working with the authorities and other partners to assist Syrian refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) now returning to their areas of origin. This include help to rehabilitate and repair damaged homes, legal support to replace lost identity and property documents, and initiatives to help people earn a living.