Damascus, Syria - December 23, 2024 Former residents of a war-ravaged neighborhood in Syria's capital Damascus are returning to the once barred blocks trying to find what's left of their homes from rubbles. Once home to 50,000 residents, Qaboun in eastern Damascus has seen most of its buildings destroyed and flattened to the ground during the civil war. The Syrian military seized this neighborhood in 2018 and it remained barred since that time until the day of the toppling of the government. Now, some former residents are returning to assess the damage to their homes - or what remains of them. The devastation is overwhelming; the streets are nearly lifeless, and most structures have been reduced to rubble after years of intense fighting between the Syrian military and opposition forces. The few standing buildings are uninhabitable, scarred by bomb damage and riddled with bullet holes. Khadija Kwaider, who once lived in Qaboun, has made her first time back over more than a decade. She is trying to send videos to her relatives to help her recognize the routes that lead to her family's house. "We do not have any financial capability to repair the damages. Bringing life back here needs efforts that we do not have. I doubt that any people can return here to rehabilitate the area. For us, my husband works on the basis of daily wage that enables us to make ends meet only, so no chance to repair the house," said Khadija. Khadija has been meeting with other residents of Qaboun to work together to locate where each other's homes used to be. A 45-year-old Iyad Hendi has a good memory of how the neighborhood was before the war, but he has little hope for getting back to live in his family's house given the scale of damage. "There was a factory here, I could specify the route, reaching there, there was an institute and our house was to the right of the institute, but now it is a pile of rubbles only. The landmarks of the narrow alleys are completely erased," he said. Iyad and his wife have chosen not to bring their children back to witness the scars of conflict, but they remain hopeful for a brighter future for them. SHOTLIST: Damascus, Syria - Dec 23, 2024 1. Various of rubble, damaged buildings; residents walking through rubble; 2. Various of Qaboun resident Khadija Kwaider, filming rubble with cellphone; 3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Khadija Kwaider, local resident (partially overlaid with shot 4): "We do not have any financial capability to repair the damages. Bringing life back here needs efforts that we do not have. I doubt that any people can return here to rehabilitate the area. For us, My husband works on the basis of daily wage that enables us to make ends meet only, so no chance to repair the house."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 4. Various of damaged buildings, rubble; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 5. Various of Khadija, other returned residents talking to each other; 6. Iyad Hendi, Qaboun resident, talking to her wife; UPSOUND (Arabic) Iyad Hendi, local resident: "Near that house, there was an institute and near it, there was your family's house, near that one there."; 7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Iyad Hendi, former resident of Qaboun: "There was a factory here, I could specify the route, reaching there, there was an institute and our house was to the right of the institute, but now it is a pile of rubbles only. The landmarks of the narrow alleys are completely erased."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 8. Ruins of institute, factory; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 9. Various of Iyad, his wife walking amid rubble, damaged buildings. [Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland]