by Burak Akinci

GAZIANTEP, Trkiye, March 17 (Xinhua) -- For years, Ahmad al-Hamwi held onto hopes of returning to Syria. Now, seated in his dimly lit apartment in the bustling city of Gaziantep, the 34-year-old refugee hesitates, his longing tempered by fear.

"We hear about economic hardships and other issues. I want to go back, but I am afraid for the moment," he told Xinhua, his Turkish fluent from years of exile.

Like many in Gaziantep's Syrian community, which hosts over 400,000 Syrian refugees in a city once famed for cross-border trade, al-Hamwi pores over news from home, weighing fragments of hope against stark realities.

"My children are safer here; they have a normal life. I don't want to take them out of the school they attend here," he explained, his voice trailing off.

The wrenching dilemma echoes across Trkiye, host to the world's largest Syrian refugee population. While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced last week that over 133,000 Syrians in Trkiye had returned home, the vast majority of the 2.8 million Syrians remain.

Their reluctance stems from Syria's fractured peace: reports of sporadic violence, crippled infrastructure, and a broken economy.

"I have to be realistic," Ibrahim Assani, who fled Syria's Aleppo in 2019 for Ankara, told Xinhua. "Conditions here in Trkiye are stable compared to Syria, where there are too many problems right now."

Assani's relatives in Syria describe a patchwork existence: homes reduced to rubble, electricity flickering on for mere hours, limited access to clean water, scarce job opportunities, and a teetery security landscape, among other hardships.

"Ultimately, our fate is in Syria. But not now," Assani said.

Analysts have warned that recovery in Syria remains distant. Metin Corabatir, head of the Ankara-based Research Center on Asylum and Migration, noted that despite efforts from the new government, the Syrian economy is still in tatters, not to mention the recent violent escalation in the country's coastal region that reveals the fragile nature of peace.

"Until Syria achieves lasting peace and economic recovery, the majority of refugees are likely to stay where they are, watching developments closely," he told Xinhua.

"Many Syrians have expressed a strong desire to return, but there are significant challenges on the ground that need to be addressed," he said.

Meanwhile, Trkiye's domestic cost-of-living crisis has led to growing concerns among the public regarding Syrian refugees, who were once welcomed as guests.

The Syrian refugee issue has electrified Turkish politics, with calls mounting for structured repatriation plans. While Ankara maintains that Syrian refugees' returns must be voluntary, the pressure continues to grow.