Families return to their homes in Damascus

World Today

Families return to their homes in Damascus

In January, around 500 families returned to their homes in Al-Qadam, a neighborhood on the southern outskirts of Damascus.

CCTV’s Xu Dezhi met with one of the families.

More than two years ago, when the Al-Qadam area of Damascus became a flashpoint in Syria’s civil war, rockets destroyed Abo Raed’s house. He and his family survived the attack unharmed.

“The bomb hit the stairs, and we didn’t know where it came from. We heard the sound of booming and then we ran away. The stairs and the wall were destroyed in addition to some stuff in the room, which were all destroyed,” Raed said.

After fleeing their home, Abo’s family rented a house near Damascus. In January this year, he saw his house for the first time in three years. It was heavily damaged, but he could restore it on his own. He even started earning money from restoring doors for other homes in Al-Qadam.

When he isn’t working, he retreats to his garden. “There is no comparison between living in hell and living in paradise. At least I wake up here and I can see this garden in front of me.”

Abo struggles to express his feelings. When interviewed, he kept repeating the phrase “Alhamdulillah” – “Praise be to God.” Back for nearly six months, he remains grateful.

“Here is very safe and we are happy to return back home. We are not afraid, because our army is here, and the checkpoint is close to us,” Raed said.