Germany’s Syrian Population Faces Intense Debate Over Their Future

Across Germany, Syrians have been celebrating the downfall of former president Bashar al-Assad in the streets. However, many may now feel less optimistic, as some politicians are questioning their continued presence in Germany. Approximately one million individuals holding Syrian passports reside in Germany. Most arrived between 2015 and 2016, following Angela Merkel’s government’s decision not to close Germany’s borders to refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war. The prevailing sentiment at that time was that Germany could manage the situation. The current atmosphere is considerably different. Within hours of the announcement of Assad’s fall, a heated political discussion erupted in Germany concerning whether Syrian refugees should return to Syria. Snap elections are scheduled for February 23rd in Germany. With migration identified as a leading concern among voters in surveys, some politicians evidently believe that adopting a firm stance on Syrian refugees will garner electoral support. Conservative hardliners and far-right politicians are asserting that if Syrians sought refuge in Germany to escape Assad, they can now immediately go back to Syria. Some right-wing factions advocate for an immediate cessation of asylum grants to individuals from Syria. “If the reason for asylum disappears, then there is no longer any legal basis to stay in the country,” stated Markus Söder, the conservative leader of Bavaria. Jens Spahn, deputy leader of the conservative CDU parliamentary group, has proposed chartering planes and offering Syrians €1,000 (£825) to depart the country. “Whoever in Germany celebrates a ‘free Syria’ obviously has no reason any more to have fled,” Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right AfD party, posted on X. She added, “He should go back to Syria immediately.” Sahra Wagenknecht, who this year established a new anti-migrant far-left populist party, 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 said in an interview with German magazine Stern. Meanwhile, left-wing and Green politicians have expressed outrage, labeling such comments as irresponsible, populist, and inappropriate, particularly given the unclear situation in Syria. “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,” said Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s Green foreign minister. She continued, “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-wing figures have been more outspoken. “All those who start now talking about deportations to Syria are, and excuse me for the language, quite simply depraved scumbags,” Jan van Aken, leader of the radical left Linke party, told journalists. On Monday, Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees suspended all pending applications from Syrian asylum seekers. This action impacts 47,270 Syrians in Germany who are awaiting a decision on their asylum application. In a written statement provided to the BBC, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees indicated that it was temporarily postponing decisions on applicants from Syria due to the highly uncertain situation in Syria. “Based on the current situation and the unforeseeable developments, no final decision can currently be made on the outcome of an asylum procedure.” Officials stated that if the situation becomes more stable, applications will be assessed again, potentially using different criteria. Studies indicate that Syrians who arrived a decade ago are young, with an average age of 25, and generally possess higher levels of education and good employment rates. Syrian men who arrived in 2015 have higher employment rates than native-born German men. Many Syrians work in healthcare, including 5,000 Syrian doctors. If the situation in Syria remains unstable, it is improbable that they would wish to leave. Many have also acquired German citizenship, signifying that they have learned German and are financially self-sufficient: 143,000 Syrians received German citizenship between 2021 and 2023, making them the largest nationality to obtain a German passport. However, approximately 700,000 Syrians are still classified under various types of asylum seeker statuses. Some are registered as refugees, others have been granted political asylum, while many hold subsidiary protection, which implies their country of origin is unsafe. The freeze on pending application decisions does not necessarily mean Germany will cease accepting refugees from Syria once the situation becomes clearer. Furthermore, it should not currently affect those who have already been granted asylum or refugee status. Nevertheless, some politicians argue that once the country of origin is no longer dangerous, refugees can return home. This could effectively lead to the withdrawal of the current right to remain in many cases. A decade ago, Germany welcomed Syrians. Now, the intense and polarized political debate will only intensify the uncertainty many are already experiencing.