Heading back home to Iraq

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By Ian Pannell BBC News

Nabil Majid has had enough. He has had to abandon his house and his business, his life has been threatened and he was forced to leave his homeland.

Nabil Majid kisses his Iraqi flag <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7130000/newsid_7131900?redirect=7131909.stm&news=1&nbwm=1&bbram=1&bbwm=1&nbram=1&asb=1" onClick="javascript:newsi.utils.av.launch({el:this});return false;">Nabil's story</a>

For the last year he has been living the life of a refugee in a small flat in Damascus.

But now he has spent all his savings and like most Iraqis he is not allowed to work in Syria. So he has decided it is time to return to Baghdad.

He is not alone. The United Nations estimates there are 1.5 million Iraqis now living in neighbouring Syria.

Every month for the last four years, more and more families poured across the border. But in the last few weeks, that has changed.

Figures provided by the Iraqi government show that nearly 50,000 people a month are now heading back home.

Nabil carefully unpicks the tape sticking the flag of his beloved Iraq to the wall, neatly folds it, kisses it and then puts it into his case.

'They say it's safe'

While he is packing, a song comes onto the TV and just for a moment, everyone stops and listens. It is a haunting ballad about Baghdad by an Iraqi singer who is also a refugee in Damascus.

The family say their goodbyes in Damascus

Nabil's elderly father hovers in front of the TV set. His thick glasses fog up with emotion as he waits for the singer to name his old neighbourhood of Dora.

Of all Baghdad's districts, Dora has been one of the bloodiest. But Nabil has heard it is now safe to go back.

"Our families told us that things are much better - and we're all missing home," he says.

"There's no work here and we've spent all our money. Living here I'm no better off than those who stayed behind."

His wife Zeinab admits she is afraid to go back but believes that now is still the right time to go home.

"Even though we are scared, everyone has told us it is safe to return to Baghdad," she says.

We went with Nabil, Zeinab and six-year-old Dania to the local bus station, where the Iraqi government had laid on free coaches to take hundreds of people back.

UN caution

The political value of what is happening here is obvious, because for both Baghdad and Washington, this is a sign that Iraq is recovering.

Nabil and his family wait for the coach

But the lack of money and jobs in Syria, and the difficulty in getting visas renewed has left many people with no choice but to go home.

The Iraqi government insists it is now safe, but the UN refugee agency has expressed concern about what is happening.

"We are not in a position to recommend return to Iraq at the moment, and at least for central and southern Iraq we do have to be a bit cautious with that," says Sybella Wilkes, a spokesperson for the UNHCR.

But Nabil has decided it is time to leave. His family squeeze their belongings into the hold and climb on board their coach and wave goodbye.

We arrange to meet again in Baghdad the following week to see how the family are coping.

Deciding to stay

When we meet five days later, Nabil escorts me through a series of alleyways to his mother's house. It turns out that he has been unable to go home after all, because it is still too unsafe.

The family return to their home town

For now the family is staying in the Haifa Street area. This is a neighbourhood that would have been simply too dangerous to come to just a few months ago but it is one that is changing fast.

Nabil says he is surprised by the changes in Baghdad.

"The security is much better now - it seems 100% better than before," he says.

"I have decided that we will stay here now."

But there are still many reasons to be cautious.

Nabil tells us how one of his sisters was killed by gunmen on her way to work earlier this year.

He produces a photograph that shows a group of happy faces gathered around a birthday cake and candles.

Nabil's wife Zeinab points to two other women in the photo - her sisters who were also gunned down earlier this year.

We say goodbye to the family and wish them luck. Even though parts of this city are changing, it remains one of the most dangerous places in the world.

But with little money and few alternatives, more refugees like Nabil are ready to take the risk to come back home.