Anticipation builds among displaced Palestinians as prospect of return to al-Yarmouk draws near

Damascus, SANA-The multi-storied buildings at the entrance of al-Yarmouk camp which have preserved the signs indicating the names of doctors, pharmacies, lawyers and commercial stores offer a glimpse into a once-bustling district before terrorism snuffed out every sign of life in the area that Daesh, an Arabic acronym for ISIS, and al-Nusra Front, both designated terrorist organizations, turned into a stronghold near Damascus for the last three years.

As al-Nusra Front terrorists in the camp were being bused to the north as part of an agreement that provides for freeing the besieged in Kefraya and al-Foua’a towns in Idleb, many Palestinians who have been uprooted from their homes in the camp assembled near the camp’s entrance to live the historic moments of liberating it from terrorists, buoyed up by fresh hope in the wake of the army’s significant advances.

Mariam, who had lived in the camp until she was 18, paints a grim picture of life under terrorists’ control. Now living with her husband in the nearby al-Takaddum neighborhood, Mariam reflects on the suffering of her family back in the camp. “My mother died in the camp. My sister disappeared and her son was martyred,” she says.

She did not escape unscathed, though. As she stands propped by crutches, Mariam points to her gauze-wrapped tight leg. She said she sustained shrapnel injuries after terrorists targeted with a mortar shell a building close to her residency in the camp.

Mariam’s anticipation is plain to see. Speaking with her eyes fixed on the entrance of the street that the buses carrying terrorists and their families are using in the evacuation process, she recalls the details of her life in the camp with obvious hope tinged with nostalgia.

“We had an embroidery workshop. We used to make embroidered gowns and wedding dresses. Those were good days.”

Asked about her reaction if she finds her house destroyed when she returns, Mariam answers with a smile and an amiable Palestinian accent. “God will make amends for us. What matters is that terrorists leave, and we will restore the camp to its former days.”

Manal

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