In Beirut, Lebanese soldiers recently conducted a deportation operation that resulted in the expulsion of Syrian refugees from two buildings in the Bourj Hammoud neighborhood, forcing them to cross the border to Syria. Among them was Rasha, a 34-year-old mother of three who escaped from Syria in 2011. After one night’s sleep on the streets of the capital, Damascus, Rasha paid a smuggler to take them back to Lebanon, adding that she will die before being sent back to Syria again. The restoration of diplomatic relations between President Bashar al-Assad and the Arab world after more than a decade of Syrian isolation is worrying millions of Syrian refugees who fled the 12-year civil war.
Many Arab countries that have welcomed President al-Assad back into the fold have made the return of Syrian refugees a top priority at their summits. For example, the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, expressed his interest in Syrian refugees returning home safely during the Arab League summit hosted by Saudi Arabia. Despite reassurances from countries sheltering refugees that safe returns are possible, human rights groups have said that returning refugees to government-controlled areas is not safe, and many who have returned have faced arbitrary detention, disappearance, torture, and extrajudicial executions. According to the United Nations, over six million Syrians fled the conflict, with most of them seeking refuge in neighboring countries.
Human rights groups, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have been warning of the dangers of sending Syrians home to areas controlled by the government where people risk disappearing into a notorious prison system where torture and killings are rampant. The International Crisis Group’s Syria expert, Dareen Khalifa, has stated that talks of safe and voluntary returns should not be taken literally, as they may only conceal different ways of sending people back or making it very difficult for them to stay.
Lebanon has already deported over 1,700 Syrian refugees in a systematic operation backed by security forces that has been ongoing for months. Lebanon felt the strain of the influx of Syrians, with the country’s population of four million people overwhelmed by the arrival of 1.5 million Syrians. Human rights groups stress that many deportees face arbitrary detention, disappearances, torture, and even death in Syria. In Turkey, with over 3.3 million Syrian refugees, sending them back became a prominent issue during the recent presidential election. In response to his performance during the election, where he pledged to ensure the voluntary return of a million Syrians within a year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won re-election.
A recent survey conducted by the United Nations refugee agency found that only 1.1 percent of Syrian refugees wanted to return to Syria in the next year. Only 56 percent said they hoped to return someday. Najib, a defector from the Syrian army, his wife, and their two children were deported by Lebanese soldiers back to Syria but have yet to be located. In fear, Najib’s brother, Mohammed, spends time trying to find any information about his whereabouts, anxious that sending people back to Syria is still dangerous.
