...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire..., after
The administration of Bab al-Hawa border crossing announced that the total number of those who return from Turkey to Syria has reached 12.323 ones, as 699 ones have returned home on the tenth day of the decision.
On the other hand, the administration of Bab al-Salameh border crossing said that the number of Syrians who returned home on Friday has reached 745 ones, making the total number 5.959 people.
More than 5.000 Syrians got back home through al-Hamam crossing, near the town of Jindires, in Afrin countryside, northwest Syria.
In addition, 1.424 people got back home through Jarablus crossing, east of Aleppo, as well as, 131 ones, have two citizenships, returned home, according to the crossing administration.
Recently, Turkey has eased border-crossing regulations for Syrian Temporary Protection Identities (Kimlik) holders from any of the earthquake-stricken provinces.
The new law, passed in the wake of the Feb. 6 earthquake, allows Syrians holding "Kimlik" from one of the ten quake-hit
The Syrians crossing the border after the earthquake are not convinced of Turkey’s assurances. Many have made a life in Turkey for over a decade. Turkey hosts 3.7 million Syrians; over half live in the 10 quake-affected provinces close to the Syrian border. In the homestretch before general and presidential elections this year, the
Yet most Syrians have no choice but to return. Many of their homes have been destroyed, emergency shelters are overflowing, and rents elsewhere in Turkey have skyrocketed. Many Syrians also have dead relatives to enter; at least 1.528 bodies have already been returned to Syria. "We have no other choice but to go to Syria," a man in the queue at Bab al-Hawa told the New York Times
... which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
, "but of course there is a fear that Turkey won’t allow us to return. We can’t guarantee it.