Some Syrians in Ireland feel as though they have “two homes”, having spent so many years out of the country.
Following the toppling of president Bashar al-Assad by insurgents after more than 13 years of civil war, many are eager to return home, either temporarily to visit their families and friends or to move back permanently.
However, the Department of Foreign Affairs has long advised against travel to Syria and that view has not changed due to last weekend’s events. It said it continues to “closely monitor the evolving situation on the ground in Syria”.
In 2015, Osama Abou Hajar (31) was a member of one of many families who fled the war and moved to Ireland under a resettlement programme. The end of the 54-year-old Assad regime has been a cause of celebration for him and his family, who eagerly awaited updates as the revolution unfolded.
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He said members of his family who remained in Syria, but were internally displaced due to the conflict, were “so happy” about the prospect of being able to return to their homes.
With Assad having fled the country, Osama said many Syrians displaced abroad are looking to the future and hoping to visit or move home and rebuild their lives. However, this may be unlikely for some who have built lives elsewhere.
“After every revolution, even the Irish revolution, things are not stable for a while,” he said. “That’s why we need to see what’s going on. We have commitments here, we have work, we have college. We would like to visit of course.
“Now it’s harder for us because we belong to two places. We have two homes: we have a place where we would like to keep contributing to, and we have a place where we would like to build up again.”
Meanwhile, his father, who spent the majority of his life living under the rule of the Assad family, always wished and planned to return to Syria. However, he died last year.
[ Ireland’s Syrian community: ‘We are no longer refugees, we are free Syrians’Opens in new window ]
“There’s no doubt that he’s smiling in his grave. All the time here, he said one day he would go back to his shop, open it and clean it, have a cup of tea and ring his friends as normal. He spent 50 years of his life there,” he said.
Others, Osama said, particularly those who sought protection in Ireland more recently, will be looking to return to Syria now that “one of the most dangerous dictators on the earth is gone”.
His family’s relocation was made easier as his sister was born in Ireland 13 years previouslywhile his mother was visiting his uncle, who has lived in Ireland for decades.
“That was the first time when we felt that a government takes care of its citizens. We never felt that our government cared about us. We were living in a small town in Syria, like Portlaoise, so we never expected Irish people to concentrate and reach us on the phone in such a small town,” he said.
Originally from Maarat al-Numan, Osama, a software engineer, moved to Ireland at the age of 22 and received Irish citizenship in 2018. He recalls not being able to “even think” while living under the Assad regime beforehand.
“We used to say the walls have ears and the government can see your dreams,” he said, adding that he, like many other Syrians who fled their home, has waited his whole life for the ousting of the Assad regime.
Since moving to Portlaoise with his father, mother and sister, he said: “I know what freedom means: speaking without fear.”
He said he is “inspired” by Irish history and hopes Syria can rebuild in a “similar way”.
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