Nearly two years after Bashar al-Assad's ouster, the Syrians who rushed to go back home are discovering that what they left behind is no longer what they remember — and that coming home to a country fresh out of war comes with its own challenges.
"I regret coming back," Samer told Euronews. "In Turkey I was making about $1,000. Today my income doesn't surpass $250-300."
Samer* returned from Turkey after the fall of al-Assad's regime. His colleague Mustafa returned from Egypt at the same time. Working side by side in the same Damascus barbershop, they have reached opposite conclusions about whether they made the right choice.
Mustafa lives in his family home and pays no rent. He is back working for the barber who trained him. There he earns around $300 a month, or roughly twice what remained after Cairo rent ate into his Egyptian wages. He does not regret coming back.
Samer does. "My dream is to be able to buy a motorbike for $400, and I still can't, just so I can save on transport fares," he said.
