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EXCLUSIVE: The Express spoke to refugees in Jordan who said they have nothing to return to in Syria.
12:43, Mon, Jan 19, 2026 Updated: 12:43, Mon, Jan 19, 2026
Jordan deployment. Gaza and Syrian families at the orphanage and camps. PICTURE BY HUMPHREY NEMAR. (Image: Humphrey Nemar)
Over a year after Syria was liberated from the brutal rule of Bashar Al-Assad, Hisham Asmar still gets goosebumps when he remembers the moment he heard the dictator was gone. The 34-year-old moved to Turkey a decade ago, as the regime’s cruelty intensified. He now works as charity SKT Welfare’s programmes director for the Middle East. He said: “Even after more than one year, we still think this is a dream because no one thought we would have this happiness. It’s something that cannot be described.”
The Assad family's 53 years of repressive rule had a lasting effect not only on Syria but on countries that took in a share of more than six million people who fled abroad. The Express recently joined SKT Welfare on a week-long deployment to Jordan, where UK volunteers completed tasks including the distribution of food and cold weather supplies to Syrian refugees.
Hisham (right) works with SKT Welfare supporting refugees like Sana and Farhan (Image: Humphrey Nemar)
International governments are increasingly encouraging Syrians to go back to their homeland, cutting aid or even offering cash incentives. But many of those we spoke to were reluctant to return to an uncertain future.
At an orphanage near Jordan’s capital, Amman, widow Umm Mustafa, 50, lives with her son Mustafa, 12, and daughter Noora, 8.
They left Syria in 2014 and lived in “harsh” conditions in tents after arriving in Jordan. She moved to a small apartment in the orphanage after her husband passed away.
Umm Mustafa recalled: “Life was really tough in Syria; fear was the thing that controlled us the most. There was fear, there was terror, it was like we were living in a war. Now we're just living here, hoping this situation stays the same.”
The widow said she hoped Syria would be rebuilt but, for now, going back is “impossible because I have no house, no belongings at all”.
At an unofficial camp near Mafraq, we heard similar sentiments from refugees living in basic shelters on the rocky ground.
Fatima Ali, 54, left her home in Aleppo in 2014, and has lived in the camp for 11 years with her husband, who has health problems.
She said: “My husband is very sick, his heart. He had surgery to insert a balloon but he is not well. He also has problems with his eyes, he can’t see far away. And he can’t work because he’s sick.”
Asked about the possibility of returning to Syria, Fatima said: “I have nothing in Syria, not even a place to sleep. We need money and here maybe someone will help us. There, we would be even poorer.”
Umm Mustafa and her two children live in an orphanage in Jordan (Image: Humphrey Nemar)
She added that she was “very happy” about Syria’s liberation but said: “Nothing changes for me. I’ll still be living here.”
Sana Mubarak, 48, and her husband Farhan, 45, took their two children and left their home in Homs in 2016 as airstrikes intensified. Removing her shoe, Sana showed us she was missing a toe from a blast injury.
Farhan said they may return one day, but for now their situation in Jordan remained better than what they expected to find across the border.
He added: “There’s no safety there like here. People are still shooting each other in Syria, it has not stopped 100%.”
Clashes are continuing between the Syrian army and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, after both sides accused the other of violating agreements.
Hisham, who has dedicated his career to humanitarian aid work since leaving Latakia, said many charities were grappling with how to help Syrian refugees as the flow of support dwindles.
He said: “People who are receiving assistance will not go to another country when they have something to lose. When you have something to lose, you don’t take the risk.
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“This is one of the biggest challenges for us as a charity. After the liberation, many of the projects [supporting Syrian refugees] have been closed due to lack of funding.”
Hisham added: “I wish all the best for Syria and, inshallah, I’m optimistic. When it’s stable and safe, everything will be good.”
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