Syrians reunited as border opens for first time in years
Syrians living in Turkey were reunited with family members for the first time in years on Wednesday, when they were allowed to use the Bab Al Hawa border crossing.
The border point had been open only to aid shipments since 2017, but those holding Turkish identity documents are now able to register online for a three-month visa to enter north-west Syria.
“Today, I’m the happiest person in the world,” said a young Syrian man who had been apart from his family while living in Turkey.
“I have been in Turkey for four years. It has been four years since I saw my mother, my father,” said another.
Even the scorching summer heat and long list of bureaucratic procedures could not dampen the high spirits of people making the crossing.
Syrians crossing the border into their home country smiled as beads of sweat ran down their foreheads and on to their face masks.
Having endured displacement, the demolition of their homes and the deaths of loved ones, they remained optimistic.
“There is no place like Syria,” said another man in his 30s, who had also been living in Turkey for four years.
The border will remain open for arrivals from Turkey until the first day of Eid Al Adha and will open for departures from Syria after the end of the holiday. The first day of Eid Al Adha is likely to be around July 20.
Bab Al Hawa is a vital crossing for millions in north-western Syria, with aid bypassing regime-controlled Damascus and arriving through Turkey.
But the joy may not last. Russia, which backs the Syrian government, has the power to veto a UN Security Council vote scheduled for Saturday to extend the opening of Bab Al Hawa for aid.
Russia skipped a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the vote on the crossing.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN, called Bab Al Hawa “a lifeline to millions of people” in north-western Syria and said closing it could cause people to “starve to death”.
Scorching heat and a long list of bureaucratic procedures could not dampen the high spirits of those crossing