by Hummam Sheikh Ali

HAMA, Syria, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- In the flattened village of al-Hawash in Syria's central Hama province, 40-year-old Fouad Ali swings a pick into the rubble where his home once stood.

Beside him, his six children gather smaller stones, clearing space for a canvas tent erected on top of the debris. Their hands grow dusty and their faces smear with sweat as they try to impose order on ruins that stretch across the horizon.

Though they returned four months ago, life amid the wreckage demands daily labor: cleaning, clearing, and struggling in the hope of one day restoring their home.

Al-Hawash, once a modest farming community in Hama's countryside, has become a graveyard of broken concrete and twisted rebar. Where children once played in courtyards, they now balance on the shattered remains of collapsed roofs. Families haul salvaged stones in buckets and wheelbarrows to mark out spaces for their tents, pitched amid gutted walls and skeletal beams.

"We returned to the village and found it completely destroyed," said Marwan Shehadeh Atiyeh, 48, a father of four who was standing on what used to be his living room. His wife swept the dirt floor of a tent nearby, her broom raising small clouds of dust.

"We have absolutely no services, no water, no healthcare, no schools, nothing at all. And there is no authority that has provided us with support in any way. As you can see, the village is destroyed and without services whatsoever," he added.

Ali said people face obstacles at every turn, from clearing rubble to securing clean water.

The most pressing concern is the absence of schools. Mothers watch their children play on piles of debris, knowing the new school year is only weeks away and there are no classrooms.

"People are returning, but schools are still in ruins. Families are building tents on the rubble, and no authority has engaged with us in an effective way," said Ali.

Humanitarian agencies say al-Hawash is not unique. Across Syria, returning families are settling in areas with little to no infrastructure, driven by the pull of home despite dire conditions.

"In eight months, 2.3 million Syrians have decided to go back home," said Celine Schmitt, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' Syria office, referring to the figure since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024 following a lightning advance by Syrian militants.

"Despite the challenges, despite the material hardships, they have hope for a better future. They want to be back home," Schmitt said.

In al-Hawash, life resumes tent by tent. Women sweep makeshift rooms as if they were permanent houses. Children carry plastic jugs to fetch water, weaving between jagged slabs of concrete. Families stack stones into rough walls to create a sense of privacy where roofs once stood.

Standing amid the ruins of his home, Atiyeh gazed at the tent behind him, his voice tinged with disappointment. "We came back because this is our home. But we cannot rebuild it alone."