Returning Home After Years — What to Know Before You Go In

After years of displacement, many families are returning to their towns in the Aleppo countryside. Return is a moment when patience is hard: the longing is great, children run ahead of their parents, and a father wants to see his house before anything else.

But the home you left is not necessarily the home you will find. The place stood for years unmonitored, and its surroundings have changed. That is why we ask returning families to give themselves a few minutes before going in.

Before you arrive

Ask about the situation in your town: have clearance teams worked in the area? Are there marked or restricted places? Neighbours who returned before you and the local council are the best source for this.

On arrival

Enter by the routes people use, not through fields or shortcuts. Keep children with you and do not let them run ahead or explore neighbouring houses.

At the house

Look before you enter. If you see something you do not recognise — in the garden, at the door, under rubble, inside a closed room — stop, do not enter, and report it. Do not move rubble searching for belongings, and do not open what has been shut for years without checking first.

The first days

Do not light fires on ground that has not been checked, and do not dig foundations, a well or a waste pit before asking. Talk to your children about the rule on the first day, not a week later.

If you find something

Note the location as precisely as you can — the neighbourhood, the nearest landmark, a description of the spot — and report it to the responsible authority in your area. Do not try to mark the place by approaching it, and do not act on your own however simple it may seem.

To report within our areas of work, contact us and we will direct you to the responsible authority. For up-to-date reporting numbers in your area, check with your local council or the field teams operating in your town.