Paper details

Paper authors	Batoul Ibrahim
In panel on	Refugee Social Integration: Resettlement, Protection & Europe
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

As people are assumed to belong in a certain place, known in shorthand as “home”, it is often expected that people who the war conflict made to leave their homes will return there when the conflict is finished. Between working to establish a “new” life in the “refuge” country and nostalgia of “home”, the decision to return remains a controversial issue. This paper aims to inspect the displaced Syrians' opinions on returning decisions. We also aim to compare these results with our previous analysis on plausible post-conflict development scenarios and see to what extent they are consistent and what methods could be recommended to help better awareness of possible future. Using the semi-structured open-ended question, we conducted 25 interviews with Syrian families and individuals who were displaced during the conflict. Several questions were raised, most importantly: what are the motivations behind the return decision? Where will they plan to settle? And what is the deeper meaning of “home” for them? The findings highlight the differences and similarities of Syrian perspectives on returning home. We conclude with the importance for deep further analysis to be conducted with consideration of intersectional returning dynamics drivers.

Co authors: Prof. Karel Maier and Dr. Barend Wind

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