By Ahmed Rasheed and Wisam Mohammed
"I saw a different city where street cleaners were working like bees and shops were mostly open," said Abu Mutaz, who fled the Sunni Arab Amiriya district of western Baghdad after almost daily bombings made it "worse than hell".
Their happiness at being back has tempered, at least for now, the uncertain future many of them face in a city where jobs are hard to find and the threat of violence remains.
Aid organisations estimate some two million people fled the country, mainly to Syria and Jordan.
Instead of dumped corpses, they found shops being repaired and thriving, and even workmen collecting the garbage.
"We returned to our house and my husband got back to his job. We are feeling better now," she said.
Many refugees found conditions tough in Syria.
Aid groups say many refugees had little choice but to return because their money had run out.
It also said that the flow of refugees back to Iraq from Syria had slowed after a sharp upsurge late last year, and that more are currently leaving than coming home.
The IOM also about 50 percent of those who had returned were unemployed and many reported receiving no financial help.
Shi'ite Naseer al-Saidi, 52, who works for the Ministry of Industry, let his home to a friend when he fled the mainly Sunni Doura district for the southern Shi'ite city of Nassiriya. When he returned, his friend wouldn't budge.
BULLETS IN ENVELOPE
"They gave us donations, each one gave us part of their furniture to re-furnish the house," he said. "It was very impressive even though they are Sunnis and we are Shi'ite."
"It's really nice to start a new life again," he said.
A few refugees regret coming back at all.
"The situation is tragic -- no water, no cooking gas and no electricity. If we have enough money we will travel again to Syria. Just imagine, we can't even take a bath," he said.
