Syrian people are seen returning to their city of Palmyra in central Syria on June 14, 2019. The ancient city of Palmyra has seen the vicious attacks and occupation of the Islamic State (IS) two times throughout the Syrian crisis and the people of that ancient oasis city went displaced more than once. After the second liberation of Palmyra in early 2017, the residential part of Palmyra, which has ancient ruins and residential area, were largely damaged. Since then, work has started to rehabilitate the infrastructure of the city and around 200 families have so far returned to their homes in Palmyra in the eastern countryside of Homs province in central Syria. TO GO WITH Feature: (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
PALMYRA, Syria, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The ancient city of Palmyra has seen the vicious attacks and occupation of the Islamic State (IS) two times throughout the Syrian crisis and the people of that ancient oasis city went displaced more than once.
After the second liberation of Palmyra in early 2017, the residential part of Palmyra, which has ancient ruins and residential area, were largely damaged.
Since then, work has started to rehabilitate the infrastructure of the city and around 200 families have so far returned to their homes in Palmyra in the eastern countryside of Homs province in central Syria.
As always, returning home is a sweet experience people usually talk about after long years of displacement and deprivation of the peace of mind.
Ramzi Hmaidi, a man in his 50s, left his house four years ago when the IS invaded the city.
"We escaped the city when IS stormed it and now we decided to return home to rebuild our areas better than before," he told Xinhua.
For his part, Ghassan Botaman, another 50-year-old man, told Xinhua that now they hope to rebuild their lives after all the years of war and displacement.
Botaman has fled to Homs after the rebels took over the city and stayed there for four years.
"We returned home now and we hope to live in peace," he said.
Those people and tens of others are returning home by buses provided by the Syrian government.
Women, children and elderly people are all returning in green buses with one thing in common, a grin of happiness.
Suad Jurjos, a returnee, said she is longing to set foot in her house again.
Recalling the moment she fled, Jurjos said she was overwhelmed when IS took over.
"I was looking around and the room started spinning, because I didn't know what to grab," she said.
Without thinking much, the 40-year-old widow grabbed her three children and left the house so quickly that she forgot to put her shoes on.
It has been such a long time that the house might be far different from the time when she left it, but the woman said she is prepared for the worst and is ready to fix everything.
The widow closed her eyes and pulled her youngest son to her chest, whispering in his ear that everything is going to be fine.
On a seat behind her, Jamal Saed was looking away in the distance through the blurry window of the bus.
His brown skin is rippled by the wrinkles that swept his forehead and around his eyes.
The look on his face speaks of the agony this man endured in his life.
"My heart is still beating," he said, adding that "with every beat of my heart, the hammer will hit to build a new part of my house."
Saed was told by his neighbors who came before him that his house was largely damaged.
"If there is only one standing corner of the house, it would be enough for me to sleep in and from there I will restore the entire house," he said.
In the city, dust was expected as Palmyra is located in the desert.
Some houses were damaged while others were sound.
The residential part of Palmyra is separated from the ancient famous ruins of the city, which took a strong beating during the presence of IS.
The government pledged it will facilitate all reconstruction including fixing the infrastructure to help the people return.
Talal Barazi, the Governor of Homs province, said that around 200 families have so far returned to their homes in Palmyra, adding that the government pledges to facilitate the return of people back home.
"Today the return starts and the Syrian government pledges to meet all basic needs of the people and to restore the infrastructure and all that needed to return life to this city," the governor said.
