By Zoey
When Syria’s long civil war finally came to an end in late 2024 with the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad, many displaced families believed they would soon return home and begin rebuilding their lives after more than a decade of destruction and displacement.
For Sobhieh al-Saleh, however, that hope quickly gave way to despair.
She still lives in a worn tent in the sprawling al-Karama displacement camp in the northwestern Syrian town of Atmeh near the Turkish border, alongside her husband and 11 children. Like thousands of others, she expected the end of the war would finally allow her family to leave the camp and return to their hometown.
Instead, when she visited her former home in al-Lataminah, she found nothing left.
“My house was completely destroyed,” she said while describing the devastation she encountered after returning to inspect the property she fled years earlier during the height of the fighting.
Although more than half of the camp’s residents have since departed, many displaced Syrians remain trapped by extreme poverty and the enormous costs of reconstruction. For al-Saleh and countless others, returning home is simply impossible without financial support.
Until then, life in the camp continues under harsh and exhausting conditions. Rainwater leaks through aging tents during winter, while summer brings suffocating heat, insects and deteriorating sanitation for the tens of thousands of people still living there.
Syria’s civil war, which began in 2011 as a popular uprising before evolving into a devastating multi-front conflict, left the country shattered economically, socially and physically. The conflict lasted until late 2024 and caused destruction on a scale unmatched in the country’s modern history.
According to United Nations estimates, more than 90% of Syria’s population of approximately 26 million people now lives in poverty. The war killed an estimated 500,000 people, injured more than one million and displaced more than half of Syria’s prewar population.
Despite the official end of the conflict, the humanitarian crisis remains severe.
More than seven million Syrians displaced within the country still cannot return home, according to the United Nations. Roughly one million of them continue living in temporary camps and tent settlements scattered across northern Syria.
The government led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has attempted to present itself as a reform-oriented administration focused on rebuilding the country and restoring Syria’s ties with the international community.
Since taking power, al-Sharaa’s government has secured several diplomatic breakthroughs, including the easing of major international sanctions and promises of economic cooperation from regional and foreign partners. Officials have also pledged large-scale reforms aimed at stabilizing the country and attracting investment.
Al-Sharaa has repeatedly vowed that displaced Syrians will no longer be living in tents by the end of 2027, promising alternative housing and reconstruction projects designed to help families return home permanently.
Saudi Arabia has pledged approximately $1.5 billion in support of the initiative, offering a major boost to the government’s reconstruction ambitions.
However, despite growing international engagement and investment commitments, the scale of destruction across Syria remains overwhelming.
The World Bank estimates the cost of rebuilding Syria at approximately $216 billion. Nearly a year and a half after the collapse of the Assad government, major sections of cities such as Aleppo, Raqqa, Homs and even parts of Damascus remain heavily damaged or completely destroyed.
Entire neighborhoods still lie in ruins, with collapsed buildings, shattered infrastructure and limited access to essential services such as electricity, clean water and healthcare.
At the same time, humanitarian organizations that have supported millions of Syrians throughout the war are increasingly struggling with funding shortages after years of budget cuts and declining donor contributions.
For families still living in displacement camps, the reduction in aid programs has added new hardship to already desperate conditions.
“Where are we going to get money to rebuild?” al-Saleh asked. “We are barely able to provide bread and water for ourselves. Since the liberation, no aid has reached the camp.”
The World Food Programme recently announced that it had cut its food assistance operations in Syria by half, reducing support for vulnerable families who previously depended on aid for survival. The organization also scaled back a bread subsidy program relied upon by millions across the country.
Inflation has further deepened the crisis, driving up the cost of food, medicine and construction materials to levels beyond the reach of many Syrians.
Abdulhamid Abu Alaa, another resident of al-Karama camp, said basic survival has become increasingly difficult even after the war ended.
“The prices of building materials are beyond imagination,” he said. “I can barely afford my medication.”
He explained that many families in the camp remain trapped in debt after borrowing money during the war years simply to afford food, fuel and daily necessities.
Although he acknowledged the government’s recent diplomatic successes and economic outreach efforts, Abu Alaa urged authorities to focus more urgently on Syrians living in extreme poverty.
“The government’s priorities need to change,” he said. “The needs of the poorest people should come before anything else.”
The United Nations says it remains committed to supporting displaced Syrians and assisting the government’s efforts to close displacement camps over the coming years, though officials acknowledge the challenge is enormous.
During a recent visit to camps near Maarat Misrin in Idlib province, Nathalie Fustier said additional support from international financial institutions and private investors may be necessary if Syria hopes to meet the ambitious 2027 deadline for rehousing displaced families.
“I don’t know exactly how long it will take,” Fustier said. “There may still be camps for some time, but we will continue working again and again to end them.”
For many displaced Syrians, however, the reality remains painfully unchanged. Even though the war has formally ended, millions continue living in poverty, uncertainty and displacement, waiting for promises of reconstruction and recovery to become reality.
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