The sound of church bells ringing in the village of Al-Quniyah, west of Idlib, marked a significant moment for a community displaced for more than a decade by the Syrian civil war .
After years of silence caused by conflict and displacement, Christian families have begun returning to their villages in the Jisr Al-Shughour area of western Idlib countryside, carrying the keys to homes they were forced to leave behind, along with old photographs of weddings and holiday celebrations held before the war scattered their communities.
On the ground in Al-Quniyah and the neighbouring villages of Al-Yacoubiyah, Al-Jadidah, Hallouz, Al-Ghassaniyah and Qastal al-Burj, residents are beginning to restore their homes and communities after years of displacement .
Homes are being reopened, farmland is being cleared, and churches damaged during the war are being repaired.
For many returning families, the process is not only about repairing damaged buildings but also rebuilding their lives in places they were forced to leave behind.
The villages of western Idlib were once home to thousands of residents, many of whom worked in agriculture and built their lives around farming, family networks and religious traditions.
The war forced most of them to leave, with many spending years moving between different parts of Syria or settling abroad.
Among those returning is Suad Boutros, who left Al-Quniyah more than a decade ago and spent years moving between cities before finally returning.
On the winding road linking the city of Jisr Al-Shughour with the villages of western Idlib countryside, Suad looked silently out of the car window as she approached her hometown.
Located in the Al-Ghassaniyah area near the Syrian-Turkish border, Al-Quniyah was once home to a close-knit Christian community before the war forced residents to flee.
During the years of displacement, Suad moved between Latakia, Tartous and other areas in search of stability. But she said she never lost the feeling of being a stranger away from her village.
When she arrived at her old stone house, she stood in front of the door that had remained closed for years.
The house was no longer as she remembered it. Parts of the roof had been damaged, and cracks had appeared in the walls, but she cried as she touched the stones of the home she had spent years hoping to see again.
"I never thought I would stand here again," the 58-year-old tells The New Arab.
"This house witnessed my marriage, the birth of my children and the Christmas celebrations we held every year. During the years of displacement, we lived in rented houses and moved from one to another whenever the owner asked us to leave or increased the rent. We never felt they could be our real home."
After returning, one of the first places Suad visited was the village cemetery, where her parents are buried.
"I felt that part of me had returned to its natural place. Every inch of this land holds memories, relatives and a sense of belonging that nowhere else in the world can replace," she explains.
Rebuilding roots
The Christian villages in the Jisr Al-Shughour area of western Idlib have long been known for their religious and social diversity.
Before the war, the villages were home to thousands of residents, many of whom worked in agriculture, growing olives, tobacco, and fruit.
Families lived alongside one another for generations, with daily life shaped by farming, religious celebrations and close community ties.
As the war spread across Syria, repeated battles and insecurity forced most residents to leave. Many fled to Latakia, Wadi al-Nasara and Damascus, while others moved abroad to Lebanon, Europe, Canada and Australia.
More than a decade later, improving security conditions in parts of the area have allowed some families to begin returning, although the number of returnees remains far below the villages' pre-war population.
In Al-Yaqoubiyah, around 10 kilometres west of Jisr Al-Shughour, George Hanna, 47, returned with his wife and three children after more than 11 years of displacement.
Standing beside the olive grove next to his home, George pointed to trees planted by his grandfather more than 70 years ago.
"My grandfather planted this grove more than 70 years ago. During displacement, I worked in different jobs to support my family, but I thought about this land every day," he tells The New Arab .
"Many people asked me why I was returning while services remain limited. The answer is simple: a person can live anywhere, but cannot forget the place they belong to."
For George, the return also meant introducing his children to a place they had only heard about through family stories.
Two of his children were born during the years of displacement and had never lived in the village. Until now, their connection to Al-Yaqoubiyah had only been through photographs and memories shared by their parents.
Today, they can finally see the home where their father grew up and meet the neighbours and relatives they had previously only heard about.
Joy and grief
In the nearby village of Al-Jadidah, residents are also working to restore buildings that were damaged during the war, including the village church.
Parts of the church remain visibly damaged, but residents have begun cleaning the building and making initial repairs.
Maryam Rizq, 42, returned from Latakia with her husband and children and said entering the church again brought mixed emotions.
"When we entered the church for the first time after returning, we felt sadness and joy at the same time. Sadness for what had happened to the place and joy because we are still able to return to it," Maryam says.
She said her family home had also been looted and damaged during their years away, with no furniture, doors or windows left behind.
"It will take months, perhaps years, before the house becomes even partially habitable. That does not matter. What matters is that we have finally returned and that safety has returned to the village after years of shelling and bloody battles. The children now know their neighbours and relatives again. These are things that cannot be replaced," she adds.
A village remembers
Although the number of families returning remains limited compared with those who left during the war, residents say the returns represent an important step towards restoring the area's social fabric.
For many in the villages, the return of Christian families is also a reminder of the relationships that existed before the conflict, when people from different religious backgrounds lived alongside one another for generations.
In Al-Quniyah, Abu Ahmad Al-Khatib, a 63-year-old Muslim farmer from the area, joined other residents in cleaning some of the homes belonging to families who had recently returned.
He said the arrival of Christian families had brought back a sense of normal life to the village.
"Before the war, we lived together for decades. We visited one another during holidays and social occasions, and we never felt there were barriers between people, especially because families here have known each other for generations," he shares.
"That is why everyone felt this return belonged to the whole village, not just one group."
While some families have returned, many others remain abroad or in other parts of Syria, waiting for conditions to improve before making the journey back.
Among them is Antoine Nemeh, who now lives in Germany but continues to follow developments in his village of Hallouz through relatives who have returned.
"I left Syria in 2016, but I never sold my house and never considered doing so. I want to return when circumstances allow," the 55-year-old tells The New Arab by telephone.
"Many people from the Christian villages now living across Europe maintain a strong connection with their home villages. Even those who have settled abroad still talk about returning, or at least visiting the place where they were born," he adds.
The difficult road home
For those who have already returned, however, rebuilding their homes and restoring basic services remain major challenges.
Fadi Girgis, an engineer from the Jisr Al-Shughour area who works in building restoration, said many houses require extensive repairs after years of damage and neglect.
Some properties were partially destroyed during the fighting, while others deteriorated after being left empty for more than a decade.
He said the cost of restoration remains a major obstacle for families returning with limited financial resources.
Beyond individual homes, Fadi said the wider infrastructure also requires significant investment, including water and electricity networks, roads, schools and healthcare centres.
Some families still living in Aleppo and Latakia also face difficulties with travel and return procedures, slowing the process for those hoping to return.
Despite these challenges, he said the importance of the returns goes beyond numbers.
For residents, the return of families to villages that were once emptied by war represents the possibility of restoring the diversity and social ties that existed before the conflict.
Seeing people once again standing outside their old homes, he said, is a sign that years of displacement have not completely broken their connection to the places they came from.
Hadia Al Mansour is a freelance journalist from Syria who has written for Asharq Al-Awsat , Al-Monitor , SyriaUntold , and Rising for Freedom Magazine