Syrian Kurds Celebrate Nowruz Openly After Historic Return From Exile
For the first time in years, Syrian Kurds are returning to their homes in the Afrin district and celebrating the ancient spring festival of Nowruz openly and without fear. This marks a significant shift following a landmark peace agreement and new government decrees recognizing Kurdish cultural rights.
Homecoming After Eight Years of Exile
Abdul Rahman Omar fled his village in northern Syria's Afrin district eight years ago as Turkish forces and allied Syrian opposition fighters launched an offensive against Kurdish fighters. Now, he is among hundreds of Kurds who have recently returned to Afrin, joining neighbors in celebrating Nowruz for the first time since their exile ended.
"When a person is away from his home for eight years, of course he misses and longs for it," Omar said. His homecoming was bittersweet, as many old friends and neighbors have not returned, creating a feeling of emptiness. "But at the same time, you've returned to your own house, you've seen the atmosphere of your own village and your memories come back."
Historic Nowruz Celebrations
Nowruz, meaning "new year" in Farsi, is a 3,000-year-old festival rooted in Zoroastrianism that celebrates the spring equinox. Characterized by colorful street festivals and torch-bearing processions into mountains, it is observed by millions across faiths including Zoroastrians, Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Baha'is.
Omar joined a line dance with young men and women to pounding beats before processing into the hills above al-Basouta village, hoisting torches and Kurdish flags. Participants spelled out "raperin" (meaning "uprising" in Kurdish) with flames—a powerful symbol of their renewed cultural freedom.
"This is the first time I go to the mountain and light the flame and I'm not afraid," Omar said. "Of course it's a feeling of joy that I, as a Kurd, am celebrating my holiday and speaking in my own tongue without being afraid." Under the previous Assad regime, public Nowruz celebrations were banned, forcing Kurds to light torches clandestinely while sometimes being pursued by security forces.
Peace Agreement and Government Recognition
The return follows a significant peace agreement to integrate Kurdish-led forces into Syria's national army and bring key northeastern institutions back under central government control. This deal was brokered after government forces seized territory from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) earlier this year.
Turkey considers the SDF a terrorist organization due to its ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which staged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey. The current peace process represents a delicate diplomatic balancing act.
During ceasefire negotiations in January, interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa issued a decree strengthening Kurdish rights, seen as an attempt to appeal to the country's wary Kurdish minority. The decree made Kurdish an official language alongside Arabic, adopted Nowruz as a national holiday, and restored citizenship to tens of thousands of Kurds in Hassakeh province who had been stripped of it during a 1962 census.
Challenges and Displacement
Kurds who remained in Afrin during the conflict complained of discrimination and human rights violations. Many who left were initially unable to return because Arab Syrians displaced by the civil war had taken residence in their homes.
Omar spent his exile in Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, which became a flash point in fighting between government forces and the SDF in January. The SDF had established a de facto autonomous region in northeast Syria during the civil war that began in 2011.
The government has now agreed to facilitate the return of displaced Kurds to Afrin, including a convoy of 400 families who left SDF-controlled Hassakeh province earlier this month.
Hope for the Future
Angelia Hajima, a young Kurdish woman who joined the hillside procession, credited Masoud Barzani—head of Iraq's dominant Kurdistan Democratic Party—with brokering the SDF-Damascus deal that enabled displaced Kurds to return. "I hope that everyone can go back to their homeland now," she said.
This year's Nowruz celebrations in Afrin represent more than just a cultural festival—they symbolize a tentative step toward reconciliation and recognition for Syria's Kurdish minority after decades of marginalization under the Assad dynasty, which ended with Bashar Assad's ouster in December 2024.
