Syrians return home for Eid al-Adha

(22 Aug 2017) LEADIN:
Syrians living in Turkey are returning home for Eid al-Adha.
The Turkish authorities have opened the border crossing at Oncupinar especially for the occasion.
STORYLINE:
A long line of Syrians waits patiently at the border.
They are crossing back into their homeland for the religious holiday of Eid al-Adha as Turkey temporarily opens its borders.
Laden with luggage, they make their way across the security corridor to processing centres.
Mohammad Hajj Hassan is taking his family with him. He took shelter in Turkey after leaving al-Bab in Aleppo province around a year and a half ago.
But he misses home.
"It was a simple neighbourhood I was born in, but it was an amazing one," he says.
"I want to to show this neighbourhood to my children, to show them, share with them what kind of life we had and how we lived in that neighbourhood."
Syrians are allowed to cross over and can return to Turkey with their registration and temporary protection card for refugees.
Hundreds wait in long queues for their papers to be processed.
Ahmed al-Sah, a young Syrian hailing from Aleppo, is going to visit his hometown with his aunt and older brother.
"I don't want to live like a refugee, I want to go to my nation, Syria. I want to return to the place that I spent my childhood in," he says
Some are considering a permanent return to Syria.
Mohammed al-Ubeid, originally from Hasakah province in the north east of the country, is going to visit family and see if there are any security problems.
He will return to Turkey if his home isn't yet safe.
The border crossing has been closed due to security concerns raised by the ongoing Syrian civil war and only opens under special circumstances and emergencies.
Turkey's private-run Dogan News Agency (DHA) reported that over 18,000 Syrians have crossed the border on this occasion.
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