Türkiye is mobilizing all means to help rebuild neighboring Syria in its new era as the country sets out on an uncertain path after anti-regime forces ousted Bashar Assad from power earlier this month.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has ordered his ministries to explore steps Türkiye can take for Syria, both political and economic, as well as ways to provide support through various institutions that can travel to Syria when necessary, a report in the Turkish newspaper Sabah said.
Assad’s overthrow brought to a stunning end five decades of rule by the Assad clan that was marked by fear and horrific abuses. But the joy sparked by his departure has not put an end to the woes of a country wracked by years of civil war and which has become heavily dependent on aid.
Syria was also handed crippling sanctions first in 2011 in response to Assad’s violent crackdown on protests. While the European Union mulls lifting some of the heavier sanctions, the Syrian economy is wrecked, poverty is widespread, and inflation and unemployment are high.
Türkiye, which has called for equal representation of national will in Syria, said the country “can only recover through the assistance of neighboring countries and the international community.”
"Sixty-one years of oppression and darkness ended but the Baathist regime left a trainwreck behind. We are talking about a Syria tired of 13 years of conflict, a Syria where about 1 million people were killed and half of the population is displaced," Erdoğan said Tuesday at a news conference with EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in the capital Ankara.
"Syria should swiftly recover through the strong support of its neighbors, friendly countries and the international community, including the European Union and international bodies. The international community failed to convey sufficient support to the people of Syria while they were being slaughtered over the past 13 years. Now they can compensate for it through support to reconstruction, recovery of Syria," Erdoğan said.
The president noted that Türkiye and the EU jointly completed many projects for Syrians during 13 years of conflict.
"We expect the EU to diversify its support that it used to relieve our burden in the past to facilitate voluntary returns of Syrians. It is also essential that this support would include basic infrastructure investments in Syria so that it can be long-term, comprehensive and sustainable," he said.
"We are ready to work together as a country that has been active in Syria's north in many projects.”
As part of a new business model between Türkiye and Syria, Turkish businesspeople and nongovernmental organizations have started probing ways of reviving bilateral trade in meetings with their Syrian counterparts, whose expectations will shape the coming moves, according to Sabah.
In addition to investors and funds expected to flow into Syria from around the world, numerous Turkish companies will be undertaking a huge portion of the country’s reconstruction.
Plans are underway for Turkish ministers and lawmakers to visit Syria in the coming period.
Should the necessary security measures be established, Erdoğan too could be traveling to Syria soon, Sabah wrote.
Currently, the temporary protection documents of Syrian refugees returning home are canceled, making it impossible to ever come back to Türkiye, which could prove a major hurdle for boosting trade.
Sources have said Syrians who will be dealing in trade or other exceptional cases could be issued exclusive identity cards to avoid this problem.
Relevant authorities have been told a new system is necessary for Syrians traveling to and from Türkiye, one that would not entirely ban their entries or exits, if Türkiye is looking to bolster trade with its neighbor.
Trade actors, in particular, have complained it would be senseless to ban the return of Syrian refugees to Türkiye since it would limit trade with Syrians, especially those who speak Turkish.
It’s also an open question how Syrians returning from Türkiye without identity cards will fare in their homeland.
More Syrians lined up at the three border checkpoints in southern Hatay province on Wednesday to cross over to their homes.
Gendarmerie officers supervising the crossings were seen helping dozens of Syrians with their luggage and furniture.
Women and children have been given priority but high demand has created long lines at the Cilvegözü, Yayladağı and Zeytindalı border gates where the Turkish Red Crescent is handing out hot food to keep families warm in the mid-winter chill.
Vahid Gerer took his canaries with him as he returned to his hometown in Homs while Ali Akka, who came from the northern Kocaeli province, was visibly thrilled to be going home to build a new life with his family.
“I came to Türkiye when I was 11 and now I’m 24 years old,” Akka told Anadolu Agency (AA). “I have missed my homeland very much but I will also miss Türkiye. We will always love Türkiye.”
Hüseyin Aziz, who was born in Türkiye, was excited to see his homeland for the first time in his 10 years.
“I’m sad to be leaving Türkiye. I almost cried when I got on the bus but I didn’t. I will miss my friends here,” Aziz said.
Most recently, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) dispatched rescuers to search for missing people at the notorious Sednaya prison outside Damascus.
The rescue workers have ended their search for survivors in Saydnaya, their leader said Tuesday, after finding no detainees languishing in any hidden cells.
Located just north of Damascus, the prison became a symbol of rights abuses under Assad.
The search by a 120-member team was conducted at the request of Syria's new authorities, according to Okay Memiş, director of the AFAD.
"The entire building was searched and analyzed with a scanner, and no living person was found," Memiş told journalists at the site.
Prisoners held inside the complex, which was the site of extrajudicial executions, torture and forced disappearances, were freed early last week by the anti-regime forces.
But the complex is thought to descend several levels underground, fueling suspicions that more prisoners could be held in undiscovered hidden cells.
The Association of Detainees and Missing Persons of Sednaya Prison (ADMSP), however, believes the rumors about hidden cells are unfounded.
The prison complex was also thoroughly searched by Syria's White Helmets emergency workers but they wrapped up their operations on Tuesday, saying they were unable to find any more prisoners.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 100,000 people have died in Syria's jails and detention centers since 2011.
