Amina*, 25, Syria

We had planned to return to Syria by choice, but in the end it was not really a choice.  We came back because we were fleeing bombardment and trying to save our lives.

Amina, 25, was a child when her family first fled Syria in 2013 after conflict reached their home. They found temporary shelter in Beirut before settling in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, where they spent years trying to rebuild their lives. 

Life was never stable. The family depended on informal work to get by. Amina worked wherever she could, including in homes and restaurants, while her husband worked every day to support the household. At one point, their daughter was able to attend school through a local organization. 

In 2024, the family attempted to return to Syria, but their home had been destroyed. With no stability, they went back to Lebanon, hoping they might return on their own terms one day.   

But in 2026, escalating violence in Lebanon changed everything. “What we had hoped would be a voluntary return became something very different,” Amina says. Bombardment, school closures, collapsing work opportunities, and cuts to international assistance left the family with no option but to go back to Syria. 

Now, they are starting over again. “We came back with nothing and have to begin from zero,” she says. The family urgently needs shelter, clothing, medical care, and basic support to rebuild their lives. 

Save the Children, working with local partners at the Joussieh and Masnaa border areas, is providing food, essential items, and child protection and psychological first aid to families like Amina’s as they return under increasingly difficult circumstances. 

*Name changed for protection. 

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