Yarmouk: From Palestinian Hub to Battle-Scarred City

Under the sweltering sun of a scorching summer day, inspectors carefully navigated a narrow passageway, critically assessing the battle-scarred remnants of a once-thriving Palestinian refugee camp bordering Damascus.

After 14 arduous years of Syria's civil conflict, Yarmouk's population plummeted dramatically from 1.2 million, including 160,000 Palestinian refugees, to a mere few hundred. This area once served as a vibrant hub for the Palestinian diaspora and a center of resistance, but it now lies largely abandoned.

Many makeshift buildings remain, characterized by missing roofs and walls and staircases that lead nowhere. These structures speak to a desperate need for speed and low cost instead of durability. The walls are peppered with bullet holes and shrapnel scars.

"This is beyond repair; we need to demolish it completely," said one inspector, Mohammad Ali, pointing at a heap of indistinct rubble where a staircase protruded awkwardly.

As his colleague Jaber Al-Khatib climbed onto the framework of a dilapidated three-story edifice, Ali documented the scene on a tablet. It was just past nine in the morning, yet the temperature was steadily climbing beyond 96 degrees, with numerous evaluations still pending.

Rebuilding Amidst Rubble

Restoring Yarmouk demands countless weeks of effort from volunteer engineers of the Yarmouk Committee for Community Development, a task crucial for breathing life back into this devastated landscape.

Combat and aerial assaults, coupled with inevitable looting, have left approximately 40% of the camp's 520 acres in ruins. Essential services such as electricity, water, and sewage systems are sporadic at best. Mountains of debris, estimated by the committee to fill 40 Olympic-size pools, line nearly every street.

Committee leader Omar Ayoub noted, "Yarmouk paid the steepest price in Syria in terms of damage and suffering." Though much of Yarmouk remains in disrepair, conditions have somewhat improved compared to nine months ago before Assad's departure.

Despite these improvements, the return of residents has been slow. As per Ayoub's account and humanitarian organizations' reports, only 28,000 have come back, including 8,000 Palestinians. For those who dream of returning, the notion of 'home' – whether Yarmouk or their ancestral lands left in 1948 – remains elusive.

Past, Present, and Future of Yarmouk

"Back then, Yarmouk felt like a small version of Palestine," said Ayoub. Streets bore the names of places back home, weaving a tapestry of cultural nostalgia.

Muhyee Al-Deen Ghannam, an electrician from the camp who resettled in Sweden in 2013, returned last month considering a move back. However, the disappearance of familiar landmarks made his old apartment difficult to find despite it surviving the chaos.

While Yarmouk forged strong connections to Palestinian identity, Ghannam never felt out of place in Syria. But returning permanently isn't feasible with children, as pursuing studies like aeronautics in Syria remains a distant prospect.

Financial constraints compelled many, like 50-year-old contractor Wael Oweymar, to return. The high cost of living in other Damascus suburbs left him no choice. Over the last four years, he has worked not just on his apartment but also its surroundings.

"What were my options? Just give up and risk my health?" he said with a grin. Oweymar took it upon himself to clean an entire street, initially sharing it only with stray dogs.

Oweymar sees this as a victory: proof that effort inspires more returnees. His words echo the sentiment that the massive destruction was a deliberate move by Assad’s regime to keep Palestinians from returning.

Palestinians During Assad's Regime

The Assad family's uneasy relationship with Palestinians meant that, compared to refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, those in Syria, numbering around 450,000, fared better. Although they weren't granted citizenship, they could work and own property.

Under Hafez Assad, Palestinians joined a special corps in the military known as 'The Liberation Army,' and various Palestinian factions had bases in Syria. However, this did not save Palestinians from the repressive attentions of Syrian security agencies during Assad's reign.

While Assad aligned Syria with the Axis of Resistance, boasting support for the Palestinian cause, thousands of Palestinians were jailed through the civil war. The factions' divide mirrored the broader conflict: some supported Assad, others joined the opposition, leading to internal strife.

When conflict engulfed Yarmouk, it became a microcosm of the larger war, fraught with battles and a punishing siege. From street combat to starvation-induced deaths, the camp endured horrific conditions.

After eventually driving out the Islamic State in 2018, Assad's forces engaged in widespread looting and destruction, gutting homes of their fixtures and reselling them.

Challenges Under a New Regime

Eight months after Assad's removal, Syria's new administration has yet to clarify its approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Officials underscore Syria's current inability to engage militarily with Israel and note that the nation has sacrificed enough for Palestine.

As the United States facilitates high-level dialogue between Syrian and Israeli officials, it presses Syria's government to quash groups it labels as terrorist, including some Palestinian factions.

Abu Bilal, from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, reports that the authorities have strictly limited political and military activities post-Assad, focusing solely on social and academic initiatives.

Al-Khatib and Ali, former Liberation Army members, express disappointment that Palestinian groups didn't remain neutral. They view the outcome as a destruction of Yarmouk's economic base, leaving inhabitants more destitute than ever.

Looking upon the charred remains of a building, Ali explains, "These burn marks? They're from looting. But without knowing how long it burned, we can't assess the structural impact."

While some nations recognize a Palestinian state, Yarmouk's residents have immediate concerns. "We can't worry about a homeland; our priority is securing a place to live," Al-Khatib concludes.