Fuad
Fuad is a Syrian man who was forced to flee to Jordan because of questions surrounding his mandatory military service as a young man:
"My house … is still standing but the military have taken it to their possession, because I am considered a ‘wanted man’. So I cannot go back to Syria. Of course, I am wanted for absolutely no reason. I have never held a weapon in my life and I am fifty years old, but I was in the military when I was young. Even when I served in the military, I was just a bus driver! I am wanted because they asked (me) for a report that proves that I served in the military, and I had lost it. So they wanted to convict me because they couldn't find any proof that I had served in the military."
This report from Forced Migration Review, by Ahmad Araman and Shaza Loutfi, outlines the situation around military conscription and the feasability of return to Syria for many refugees, such as Fuad. As the authors write: 'Evasion of military conscription interacts with other factors that affect decisions both to flee and to return.' Syria cannot be considered a safe country for its citizens to return to until all "crimes" related to military service and desertion are dismissed, and guarantees can be given to returnees about their exemption from future demands for conscription.
