Germany: Syrians between hope and fear

Thousands of Syrians have taken part in celebrations across Europe after the Assad government was overturned at the weekend by an Islamist alliance. In the German capital Berlin, where more than a million Syrians make up the largest diaspora in Europe, an estimated 5,000 people, including whole families gathered. In the cold drizzle, they waved flags and banners reading “Free Syria” and “Freedom”.

What does the fall of Assad mean for Syrians in Germany?

Most Syrians in Germany have come in the last 13 years, since the civil war started in 2011. There is now a large Syrian community in the Berlin suburb of Neukoelln, where resident Ahmed spoke to the AFP news agency. “We’re happy. The dictatorship is over. Assad has gone,” the 39-year-old said.

Another man, 27-year-old mechanic Ahmad al-Hallabi, fled Syria through Turkey and Greece in 2015. “Ten years ago, I was in Syria and saw things no-one should have to see.”

The Syrians in Germany and those who escaped the conflict to seek protection in Europe, as well as in neighboring countries, are hoping that the future will be peaceful.

“It is a day full of hope, the hope for a country with democracy without the Assad regime,” said Tareq Alaows, a spokersperson for the refugee organization Pro Asyl. But speaking to the German press agency dpa, he added that there is also “great fear of the unknown.”

‘Syria remains deep in my heart’

A young Syrian woman, Maysoon Al-Zeer, says returning to Syria has been her dream for the past 13 years. “My life in Germany has been a mix of difficulties and successes,” the 27-year-old told InfoMigrants. “Initially, I faced many challenges, such as the language, adapting to a new culture, and trying to overcome the feeling of alienation and homesickness.

“Germany taught me patience and diligence and opened doors to opportunities I never imagined. But despite everything, Syria always remains deep in my heart, and I always dream of returning,” she said.

Others also look forward to going home, but only after the political and economic situation has stabilized.

“The dream of returning to Syria has become real, but the decision to go back completely after spending a decade in Germany might be somewhat difficult,” said Ammar, from Syria’s fifth-largest city, Latakia. “It depends on several things, including the economic conditions in Syria and the development of the political situation.”

Gamal, a 60-year-old Syrian man, told InfoMigrants that he would consider going back if he could be sure that the country was safe and there were basic services and, most importantly, job opportunities.

Politicians debate possible returns

For now, however, there are no such guarantees, and few dare to predict the future for Syria or for those who have fled.

Many are expressing optimism. Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the end of Assad’s rule as “good news,” later adding in a TV address, “we stand by all Syrians who are full of hope for a free, fair and safe Syria… A life of dignity and self-determination must be made possible for all Syrians.”

Other politicians have already begun debating the future of Syrians who have been living in exile. The far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party seized on the fact that many at the weekend were celebrating the country’s freedom, saying they obviously no longer had grounds to flee and should return to Syria immediately. Party leader Alice Weidel also warned of a new “impending migration from Syria towards Europe,” and said Germany had to send a clear signal that the borders were closed.

Warning of ‘populism’

The far right AfD is not the only party to push for a freeze on admissions of Syrians and to raise the idea of forcing those in Germany to return. The vice-chair of the conservative CSU party’s parliamentary group, Andrea Lindholz, told the Rheinische Post newspaper that Germany had “exceeded [its] humanitarian obligations in recent years,” and added that if peace is achieved in Syria, many Syrians will no longer “need protection and therefore [have] no reason to have a residence permit in Germany.”

Daniel Thym, a German migration and asylum law expert, also supports an immediate suspension of asylum procedures for Syrians. “The situation is far too volatile and it would not be right to grant newly arriving asylum seekers a protection status that would secure them legal residence,” Thym told the right-leaning newspaper Die Welt.

Taking a more cautious approach, Michael Roth, who chairs the foreign affairs committee of the German Bundestag and is a member of the Social Democatic Party, dismissed the calls for a stop on admissions and the immediate return of Syrians as populism. He said he feared that it would not only be the populist parties who would be pushing for deportations in the campaigning for federal elections to be held in February next year.

The German interior ministry has said “it is not possible to predict whether this situation will result in refugee movements in or out of the region,” the Funke Mediengruppe newspapers have reported. This also applies to the possibility of Syrian refugees being returned, they add.

With AFP, KNA, dpa