Abdulkader Sehaar's mother throws herself on top of the body of her dead son, as they approach the border crossing between Türkiye and Syria.
The 39-year-old Syrian refugee and his family had been living in Türkiye for years after escaping Syria's civil war.
But his life was cut-short by another tragedy last week, when a catastrophic magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck the region.
Abdul's mother wants her son to be buried in his hometown of Idlib, the last rebel-held enclave in Syria's north-west.
His mother holds on to Abduls's vinyl black body-bag as it is lifted out and carried by men across the checkpoint to a waiting Syrian van.
She can't immediately cross-over with her son's body because of lengthy-processing delays caused by thousands flooding the border.
So this will be their last moments together.
As Abdul's body is taken away, his mother throws her hands in the air and then collapses on the road, overwhelmed by grief.
"Oh my God, oh my God," she screams.
'Everything is gone'
The bodies of more than 1,000 Syrians have been repatriated across the Bab al-Hawa border-crossing following the devastating quake.
Oussama Mohamad Tounzri holds onto his distraught wife, watching as six people from his family are also carried across the checkpoint.
"My son, my daughter-in-law and their four children all died. The entire family died under the rubble," he said.
"We have been waiting for 10 days to get our beloved ones' dead bodies out of the rubble.
"The bulldozer only got them out today."
Watching on are dozens of other Syrian families, who also hope to cross back into the country's north-west.
Many have gathered at the border-crossing in recent days after Türkiye's authorities gave the refugees the option to journey into their homeland for six months and then come back.
Some leaving say they want to return to their safe homes in Türkiye, once they are rebuilt and the cities are habitable again.
But it will take many years.
Others do not plan to return.
The refugees originally came to Türkiye in search of a better life but say there is nothing left for them after the quake.
Their homes have been destroyed, alongside workplaces, schools and shops.
More than 45,000 people have been killed and its not known how many more remain missing.
Families leave one disaster zone for another
Shehade Khalil was living in the now destroyed city of Antakya and hugs his children as he waits in line for hours.
He says he has no work and no home for his family to come back to. They stand, clumped together in lines, carrying their worldly possession in garbage bags and backpacks.
"Our house has collapsed, everything is gone," he said.
"We've been living on the streets for the last 10 days. We all came here as we don't know where to go to."
Plunging temperatures and wind chills have only added to the family's problems, making the search for accommodation an absolute necessity.
"My family there is freezing cold, it's a huge problem," he said.
Syria's north-west is controlled by several different rebel-forces, who have been at war with the Syrian government, run by President Bashar al-Assad, for more than a decade.
Movement for refugees between Türkiye and the rebel-held regions can sometimes be a challenge.
But in a rare political move following the quake, Türkiye's officials allowed refugees freedom of travel across the border into north-west Syria without losing the chance of returning.
Families in the long line are aware they are leaving one disaster zone for another.
"We will try to find a tent in Syria."
Entire towns, which had already been destroyed with heavy artillery during the war, are now completely wiped out by the natural disaster.
International aid has also been restricted into the region because of the political obstacles.
Since the quake, anger and frustration has built among Syrians and aid groups who say they feel they have been deserted by the international community.
"We have so far failed the people in north-west Syria," United Nations emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, tweeted after visiting the border crossing on Sunday.
"They rightly feel abandoned."
Story by: Middle East correspondent Allyson Horn and Haidarr Jones at the Türkiye-Syria border
Original story link https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-19/int-desperate-families-hand-over-their-loved-ones-at-the-syrian-/101992002
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