‘Hope has returned to Syria. Spring could be a breakthrough’ – Wojtek Wilk on the future of refugees in Lebanon

I don’t expect a mass return of refugees to Syria at the moment. There are a lot of unknowns, and it’s winter. But in this country, something has returned that has not been there for a long time – hope has returned that the nightmare that has been going on since 2011 may finally be over.

The Polish Centre for International Aid Foundation has been working on the border between Lebanon and Syria since 2012. For the past 12 years, it has been supporting tens of thousands of refugees, who mainly come from villages located 50 km or so from where we work. Some refugees, if they stand on a hill in northern Lebanon, see their homes on the other side of the valley, already in Syria.

In 2014, we promised Syrian refugees that we would be with them until this crisis was over. And although the last decade has been a time of only increasing challenges here – we have stayed put. We have helped despite a declining interest in the region, a decline in funding and an increasingly complex security situation. Lebanon has also been plunged into a very severe economic crisis. The country’s GDP and economic size have fallen by almost 40% since 2019. These different kinds of challenges were piling up, and here, suddenly, the Assad regime was toppled. And now, we will finally see the Syrian people return home.

Spring of returns

I do not expect a mass return of refugees at the moment for several reasons. The main one, of course, is the situation inside Syria, which has not been fully clarified. We do not know what the government will be like, what the human rights situation, the security situation, respect for minority rights, and the restitution of property will be; the list is very long.

The reasons are also very prosaic. It is winter, and this is the winter that refugees prefer to wait in a place they know. They do not know what awaits them 50 km away, and it is known that it will be cold there, too. They will need heating and fuel, and they don’t know if they will be able to count on all this in Syria at the moment. The situation in Lebanon is tough, but at least known.

However, hope has returned that maybe this black tunnel that the whole Middle East, and especially Syria, has been in since 2011 is nearing its end. A spark of hope is smoldering. In spring, I think Syrians will likely start to return to their country. Provided, of course, that the security and political situation on the ground allows it.

Help made possible by Polish donors

Huge thanks are due to all those who have supported the PCPM Foundation’s work in Lebanon over the past 12 years. Assistance in many places was only possible thanks to the private support of Polish donors. We will also be able to support returnees thanks to the support of the Poles. In many cases, Syrians will be returning to the ruins of their homes, to the ruins of their villages, to a country that is a shred of what it was in 2011. I hope we continue to support them. Firstly, the restoration of the education and health systems and the creation of basic jobs will be needed.

I hope we move from humanitarian aid to development aid. If resources allow, the PCPM Foundation will work in the border area between Lebanon and Syria, this time on both sides of the border – supporting the return of refugees. I hope to shift the focus of activities from helping refugees inside Lebanon to, if the situation allows, helping inside Syria.