‘We waited 12 years’: escapees from Syria’s camps face an uncertain future

A young Albanian woman’s escape from al-Hawl offers rare hope – but as the camp empties many are left stranded, prompting urgent calls for repatriation

For weeks he hovered near Turkey’s border with Syria hoping for good news. In early February, Xhetan Ndregjoni got word of what he was waiting for – his niece Eva was on her way after escaping the squalid desert camp in Syria where she had been held without charge since she was a child.

“I don’t have the words to describe that moment,” Ndregjoni said of their reunion.