For over a decade, war negatively shaped Ahmed’s family’s life: they were displaced, separated, and forced to abandon everything they held dear. When the Assad regime fell in December 2024, they were able to return to their village. What they found, however, was not what they had left: their house was heavily damaged, and the village lacked basic infrastructure.
A family’s battle to rebuild what was lost
Ahmed’s story is the story of countless Syrians: returning to a homeland ravaged by war, where infrastructure lies in ruins and basic services are scarce. His village, like many others, lacks functioning water, sewage, electricity, and healthcare.
Syria remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Over 16.5 million people – almost two-thirds of the population – still require humanitarian support. While the end of major hostilities has brought fragile safety, the transition is complex and will take time.
In 2025, the European Union allocated over €204 million for Syria. Among the recipients of this funding is the NGO GOAL, which provides people in need with emergency cash to help them buy what they need to survive.
War scattered Ahmed’s life into pieces. For over a decade, he and his family were displaced, got separated and lost their family home. In 2012, when the conflict intensified, his wife and children fled to Lebanon.
Ahmed hoped the war would end soon. He lived in the countryside for 2 years with no stable income. Despite bombings, he returned home, but it was too dangerous, so he had to flee to a makeshift camp lacking electricity, water, and sewage.
Ahmed had often to travel long distances to purchase basic food items.
‘At some point, we believed that camp life was our reality and that it would never change’, says Ahmed. Then, in December 2024 the Assad regime fell. ‘Not only was our village liberated, but all of Syria. The joy was indescribable’, he recalls.
Helping families rebuild after a decade of displacement
With Assad gone, they decided to go back to their home. It had suffered severe damage, several walls were destroyed, there were no doors or windows, and the roof was cracked. The village had no functioning water network, sewage system, electricity or healthcare.
There were very few food shops and Ahmed had often to travel long distances to purchase basic food items like rice, oil and bread. ‘Despite the difficulties, we felt relief (…) There was no more shelling, war, destruction, airstrikes’, he says.
Ahmed found a job as a teacher, but €100 a month is not enough for his family of nine. The EU has provided him with emergency cash. ‘We were able to cover most of our basic needs, especially food, which is the most important thing for a family’, he says.
