STORY: In vehicles stuffed with their belongings, around 700 Syrian refugees return from Lebanon to their homeland. The Lebanese government launched a renewed repatriation program on Wednesday. “We want to go back to our country, it’s about time,” says this man. According to the Lebanese authorities, the return is voluntary, but human rights organizations have expressed concern about possible coercion. According to the UN, more than 800,000 Syrians are registered as refugees in Lebanon. At times there were around 1.2 million people seeking protection. They fled the violence that followed the 2011 protests against President Bashar al-Assad. While the front lines have calmed down after 11 years of war, the United Nations warns that large-scale return operations are not safe amid renewed violence and the risk of arrests. Beirut had already initiated the repatriation process of people not officially wanted by the police in their home country in 2018. About 400,000 Syrians took part in the program before it was put on hold due to the corona pandemic. Now it has been activated again. According to official sources, the returns coordinated by the security agency are voluntary. However, organizations such as Amnesty International report violations of the rights of returnees. And Amnesty fears that refugees may base their decisions on incorrect or incomplete information about the dangers in their places of origin. Despite the uncertainty of what lies ahead, many appear to be welcoming the move. “I’ve been here for nine years,” he says. “We are relieved to go back to our country.”