"What took you so long", my cousin asked as he picked me up from the airport. Fifteen long years had passed, years during which at one point I had completely given up ever being able to return in my lifetime, and here I finally was... Once again returned to Syria.
Below is the album of photos that capture every moment of that journey of return.
Arrival in Syria
I wonder what my life would have been like, had I been able to have a stronger connection to Syria growing up; what it would have been like if I had been able to proudly say that I was Syrian without seeing pity and sadness, or even confusion and disgust, on the faces of those who asked me the dreadful question of where I was from.
I wonder what Syria would have been like, had it not gone through such immense suffering and oppression, through decades and decades of dictatorship and fear. I guess we will finally know now what a Syria for Syrians looks like.
I for one, will be returning. You should, too.