Over 42,000 Syrians Return While Colombia Faces Fresh Displacement Crisis
AMMAN/CUCUTA — A significant number of displaced individuals are grappling with the intricacies of returning home and the uncertainties of safety, as current events highlight two disparate yet related displacement crises around the world.
According to the Jordanian Ministry of Interior, over 42,675 Syrians have returned to their homeland since the fall of Bashar Al Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024, signaling a notable shift for Syrian refugees. The report, relayed through Al Rai Newspaper, revealed the breakdown of these returns: 7,117 were voluntary departures from refugee camps, and 35,558 returned from different regions across Jordan.
Following the closure of the Jaber border crossing on December 6, due to security concerns, specific categories of individuals were granted the ability to cross back to Syria, including Jordanian investors and students enrolled at Syrian universities, as well as those holding Jordanian citizenship.
"These measures aim to facilitate economic cooperation, increase commercial activity and support stability in Syria," emphasized the Ministry, adding the updated travel policy was set to commence on December 22, 2024. With these changes, Jordan, which hosts around 1.3 million Syrians, continues to deal with the extensive challenges presented by the refugee populations and their varying statuses.
Conversely, Colombia is currently mired in its own displacement crisis due to resurging violence. More than 55,000 individuals have been forced to flee their homes due to clashes between FARC dissidents—who rejected the 2016 peace agreement—and the National Liberation Army (ELN) since mid-January this year. This situation marks the largest mass displacement within Colombia's borders since the United Nations began monitoring such events.
A representative family’s narrative reflects the harrowing decisions faced by many. After being threatened, one mother fled Tibu with her newborn baby and five-year-old son, leaving her husband behind due to fears of retaliation from the ELN. "They were threatening us. We were so afraid,” she recounted. “I hope he will be able to leave so he can join us here.”
Now residing temporarily at the General Santander Stadium in Cucuta, the family is one among many seeking refuge from the chaos. The stadium has transformed from an ordinary venue to humanitarian aid center providing food, clothing and medical support for those displaced.
Fernando Sandoval Sanchez, director of the Colombian Civil Defense, reflected on the unprecedented scale of the displacement. "We haven’t seen this kind of displacement before. So many people taken from their homes, from their land, from their belongings,” he stated, underscoring the urgency of local responses to the crisis. With resources already stretched thin, temporary shelters are filling rapidly, leaving many to fend for themselves.
Political instability is also complicifying recovery efforts. Colombian President Gustavo Petro's efforts to negotiate peace and stabilize regions like Catatumbo have been thwarted by violence, forcing him to declare emergencies and suspend negotiations with the ELN. Activists contend, as emphasized by adviser Albeiro Bohorquez, the failure lies not just with negotiations, but rather the lack of state presence and infrastructure to fill the vacuum left after FARC's dissolution.
Bohorquez analyzed, "This conflict will only stop the day when the apparatus of the state really arrives. Four years ago, they were promising infrastructures like the University of Catatumbo and yet nothing has commenced.”
The lack of progress has allowed illicit economies, such as the cocaine trade, to persist, with coca becoming predominant as farmers flee and crops remain untended. Compounded with the added pressures on humanitarian resources for those displaced, it forms a complicated tableau of crisis.
Meanwhile, the Jordanian and Syrian saga offers insights on the complex dynamics of return migration, where the desire to go home must contract with security realities. With over 660,000 of the 1.3 million Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR based in Jordan, their eventual return to Syria may depend on stable governance and conditions on the ground.
"Everyone wants to go back home," said the young man from Tibu, echoing the sentiments of many as they navigate this precarious period. His faith remains steadfast, indicative of the resilience seen among displaced populations.
Jordan and Colombia present two divergent examples of international displacement: one witnessing refugees returning amid cautious optimism and governmental support, the other facing increased violence resulting in fresh dislocation and uncertainty. Both cases serve to highlight the need for continued humanitarian assistance and effective peace-building strategies to prevent future crises.