Syrian refugees in Kurdistan Region of Iraq hope to return home

Dar Shukran camp in Kurdistan Region of Iraq - North Press
Dar Shukran camp in Kurdistan Region of Iraq - North Press

ERBIL, Iraq (North Press) – Although Syrian Kurdish refugees have managed to achieve relative stability in camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG), they have never forgotten their dream of returning to their areas in northeast Syria.

A number of refugee camps established in KRG from 2011 to the end of 2012 witnessed development after the majority of Syrians were able to turn their tents into houses (with concrete foundations) ranging from 55 to 100 square meters.

According to head of the Refugee Council in Dar Shukran Camp Ali Mishki, eighty percent of the tents have been turned into foundations with the efforts of refugees, while international organizations contributed to 20% of the construction.

“The overwhelming majority of the tents in Dar Shukran camp have been converted to homes, with dozens of rooms whose roofs are still covered with nylon,” added Mashki, a refugee who arrived from Syria’s Derik in 2013.

He expects that civil organizations will contribute to the camp next year by covering the remaining foundations with roofs so that they will be transformed into homes like others.

Muhammad Seyid Khidr, a refugee from the countryside of Tirbespi, recently moved to a house in the camp after he was living with another family in one house inside the camp.

 “We thought we would not only stay for two months or two years, but it seems that we will stay longer here,” Seyid Khidr added.

“Despite the improvement in living conditions and the availability of services in the camp, most of the refugees will return to their homes if there is stability in our cities,” says Seyid Khidr.

13,000 refugees reside in Dar Shukran camp (20 km west of Erbil), which is entering its eighth year, numbering 3,000 families in 2,480 homes.

Nine camps for Syrian refugees are distributed in KRG, including four in Dohuk, four in Erbil, and one camp in Sulaymaniyah.

Bardarash Camp, which was opened after the Turkish-backed armed opposition groups invaded the areas of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad (Gire Spi) in late 2019, remains the only one composed of tents.

According to the latest statistics of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of Syrian refugees in KRG reached 241,682 in December.