Locations
In the heart of Salah al-Din Governorate, amidst the ruins of war and the scars of displacement, stands Khawla Saleh, a 35-year-old woman who has endured a harrowing journey from loss to hope.
Fleeing to safety
She had no choice when she was forced to flee Baiji with her husband, a member of ISIS, and their children, leaving behind everything she had ever known. As battles raged and airstrikes intensified, she found herself in the city of Al-Qaim, where she sold all her gold to pay smugglers for passage to Al-Hol Camp in Syria in 2016, hoping to survive. Inside the camp’s confines, she gave birth to three children, who grew up without any official documents proving their identity. Then, in 2021, her life changed when her husband passed away, and with his death, the chains that had bound her for years were finally broken.
Her difficult journey home
In 2022, Khawla returned to her homeland. But home was not as she had left it. Her house had been reduced to blackened walls and a missing roof, offering no protection from the bitter cold of winter or the scorching summer heat. She pointed to a cramped room, barely livable, and said, "Here, we endured the hardest days. Hunger, cold, fear... all we had was patience."
Amidst this suffering, hope emerged. With support from the United Nations Development Programme and through the " CRRISA" project under the Social Cohesion Programme, her home was restored. Today, Khawla stands in her rebuilt home, smiling for the first time in years: "I am grateful to everyone who helped me. Now, my children go to school, we have a roof over our heads, and even my parents, who lost their home, are living with me."
Dreaming and working for a better life
But her ambitions do not stop here. Despite her improved circumstances, she continues to seek a way to support her family. With determination and resilience, she says, "I want to start my own business. I don’t want to rely on the assistance I receive from neighbors—I want to be self-sufficient."
As we left Khawla’s home, it was no longer just a repaired house but a life rebuilt. The once-blackened walls had turned pristine white, the once-cold space had become warm, reflecting a new light for her and her children’s future. And through it all, her smile remained a living testament to resilience and the reality that returning home is not just a step, but the beginning of a new life.
