Germany’s one million Syrians at centre of fierce political debate over future

Across Germany Syrians have been celebrating within the streets the downfall of former president Bashar al-Assad. But now many might be feeling much less euphoric, as some politicians query their future in Germany.

There are round one million folks with a Syrian passport in Germany. Most of them got here from 2015-16, after Angela Merkel’s authorities decided to not shut Germany’s borders to refugees fleeing Syria’s civil conflict.

The temper on the time was that Germany would handle. The local weather now’s fairly totally different.

Within hours of the information of Assad’s fall, a fierce political debate erupted in Germany over whether or not Syrian refugees ought to return to Syria.

Snap elections are being held in Germany on 23 February. With migration topping surveys of voters’ issues, some politicians clearly really feel speaking powerful on Syrian refugees will win them votes.

Conservative hardliners and far-right politicians are arguing that if Syrians had fled to Germany to flee Assad, then they will instantly now return again to Syria.

Some right-wingers need to cease granting asylum to folks from Syria instantly.

“If the reason for asylum disappears, then there is no longer any legal basis to stay in the country,” stated Markus Söder, conservative chief of Bavaria.

Jens Spahn, deputy chief of the conservative CDU parliamentary group, has steered chartering planes and giving Syrians €1,000 (£825) to go away the nation.

“Whoever in Germany celebrates a ‘free Syria’ obviously has no reason any more to have fled,” the chief of the far-right AfD occasion, Alice Weidel, posted on X. “He should go back to Syria immediately.”

Sahra Wagenknecht, who this 12 months arrange a brand new anti-migrant far-left populist occasion, echoed the AfD’s rhetoric.

“I expect the Syrians, who are celebrating here the takeover of power of Islamists, to return back to their home country as soon as possible,” she stated in an interview with German journal Stern.

Left-wing and Green politicians in the meantime have expressed outrage, calling such feedback irresponsible, populist and inappropriate, significantly given how unclear the state of affairs in Syria is.

“Whoever tries to misuse the the current situation in Syria for their own party political purposes has lost touch with reality in the Middle East,” stated Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s Green overseas minister.

“No-one can predict today – and in the next few days – what will happen in Syria and what that means for security policy.”

Some left-wingers have been blunter. “All those who start now talking about deportations to Syria are, and excuse me for the language, quite simply depraved scumbags,” Jan van Aken, chief of the novel left Linke occasion, informed journalists.

On Monday Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees placed on maintain all pending functions from Syrian asylum seekers.

This impacts 47,270 Syrians in Germany, who’re ready for a solution to their utility for asylum.

In a written assertion to the BBC, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees stated it was briefly suspending choices on candidates from Syria as a result of the state of affairs in Syria was so unclear. “Based on the current situation and the unforeseeable developments, no final decision can currently be made on the outcome of an asylum procedure.”

If the state of affairs turns into extra secure, officers say, functions might be assessed once more, probably utilizing totally different standards.

Studies present that the Syrians who arrived a decade in the past are younger, on common 25 years previous, and have a tendency to have increased ranges of training and good charges of employment.

The Syrian males who arrived in 2015 have increased charges of employment than native-born German males.

Many Syrians work in healthcare, together with 5,000 Syrian docs. If the state of affairs in Syria is unstable, it’s unlikely they might need to go away.

Many have additionally acquired German citizenship, that means they’ve learnt German and are financially supporting themselves: 143,000 Syrians acquired German citizenship between 2021 and 2023, forming the biggest nationality to get a German passport.

But about 700,000 Syrians are nonetheless classed as varied sorts of asylum seekers. Some are registered as refugees, others have been granted political asylum, whereas many have what known as subsidiary safety, which suggests their nation of origin is unsafe.

The freeze on pending utility choices doesn’t imply Germany will essentially cease taking in refugees from Syria as soon as the state of affairs turns into clearer.

And it mustn’t in the meanwhile influence those that have already got been granted asylum or refugee standing. 



But some politicians argue that when the nation of origin is now not harmful, then refugees can return house. This may successfully imply in lots of instances withdrawing the present proper to stay.

A decade in the past Germany opened its arms to Syrians. Now, the ferocious and polarised political debate will solely add to the uncertainty many are already feeling.