Political pragmatism and investment could help get Syrians back home

There are not any perfect solutions for Syrians who want to return home, but it's time to simply accept that and find the simplest path forward.

The German Christian Democratic Union party has proposed to deport criminal Syrian asylum seekers back to areas in Syria under the protection of Turkey. Currently, the German ministry is evaluating the proposal. Regardless of any decision taken by the German government, this proposal may be a reminder of evaluating the potential for the return of Syrian refugees back to Syria.
The general perception surrounding Syrian refugees is distorted. The voluntary return of Syrians back to their own country is feasible and necessary. Political pragmatism and therefore the will to seek out cost-efficient solutions can open the way for many thousands, if not millions, of Syrians who wish to measure in Syria.
Primarily, four dynamics need to close to facilitate the voluntary return of Syrians back to Syria; the willingness of refugees to travel back to Syria, the willingness of local authorities to welcome them back, security, adequate infrastructure and economic opportunities.
Looking at the four main dynamics, it's certain that no refugee wants to travel back to the regime-controlled areas of Syria. If they might , they might have already done so. Also, refugees do not want to go back to areas controlled by the PKK/YPG terror group.
Even Syrian Kurds in northern Iraq like better to sleep in camps instead of to return to northeast Syria. Lastly, Idlib is neither safe nor does the presence of radicals inspire confidence in any refugee.
This leaves us with the areas controlled by the Syrian Interim Government in northern Syria, but thanks to the huge presence of IDPs, this area has had a huge population growth of 229 percent and can't host more Syrians. Therefore, the sole viable option is that the area liberated during Operation Peace Spring.
The area had a coffee population density before the war but amounts to a hefty 4,125 square kilometres. While the Syrian side features a population of around 200,000 – the Turkish side of the same strip features a population of quite 2 million.
Many Syrians in Turkey are willing to travel back to Syria and therefore the Syrian Interim Government and affiliated entities have repeatedly expressed their willingness to simply accept them. Also, the return of over 400,000 Syrians from Syria to the over-populated areas listed above may be a strong indicator that the desire exists.
What remains is the guarantee of safety. At the instant , this is often provided by the Turkish soldiers . There seems to be no military power that might be willing to challenge Turkish protection over this area. In the case of a comprehensive approach to enable the return of Syrians back home, foreign states can allocate a symbolic military presence to make sure the security of civilians and to guarantee Turkey’s deployment.
Lastly, while the world is large in terms of land, it doesn't have the infrastructure necessary for such a venture. A joint economic development program of nations willing to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees could achieve that. In reality, the aid would be but the economic, social and political costs of Syrian refugees in Turkey and Europe.
Imaginary obstacle
The arguments against establishing safe-zones centre primarily around the notion of 'demographic change', mainly articulated by people with clear political motivations.
Before speaking of demographic change, one possesses to recollect of the realities in and around Syria. Syria is estimated to possess a population of 16.91 million inside Syria, 5.5 million refugees and around a million asylum seekers in Europe.
In addition to quite 1 / 4 of the entire Syrian population outside of the country, 6.6 million Syrians are internally displaced. Only 10 million out of 23 million Syrians live in their actual homes. Demographic change in Syria has already happened, unfortunately, and before the eyes of the earth .
Also, ethnic demographic change has been happening across the country consistently. Currently, more Turkmens from Homs live in northern Aleppo as IDPs than Turkmens in Homs, Bedouin Arabs from the desert of Deir Ezzor live within the Turkmen border town of Al Rai, townsmen from Ghouta live within the mountains of Afrin, townsmen from the historic neighbourhood of Old Aleppo city are now living in tents in Idlib, etc.
Moreover, towns in Turkey like Kilis became majority Arab as 81.31 percent of the entire population, 1 / 4 of the Turkish province like Gaziantep, Hatay and Sanliurfa are now Syrians.
Even neighbourhoods in German cities like Berlin like Neukolln are more Arab than they were before. Accepting refugees and asylum seekers is humanity's obligation and therefore the tragedy that's Syria has already occurred leading to dramatic changes and only sub-optimal solutions remain to bring Syrian refugees home.

 {With input from news agency language) If you like this story, share it with a friend! 

We are a non-profit organization. Help us financially to keep our journalism free from government and corporate pressure.