Syrian refugees in Europe celebrate Assad's fall - heated migration debate

Syrian refugees in Europe celebrate Assad's fall - heated migration debate

"I've been thinking about it in recent years: Will I die in my home country?" Asked Abdulaziz Almashi, while he was asking the question of millions of displaced Syrians. "Will I ever return and see my mother and father again?"

hopes and dreams of the Syrian

For years, these questions seemed to be unreachable hopes. But hours after the Brutal rule , Almashi ventured out despite stormy weather to celebrate London in his new home, surrounded by hundreds of enthusiastic fellow citizens. "It's just a dream," he said in an interview with CNN after organizing a rally in historic Trafalgar Square. "It's emotional and it seeps: Assad is really gone."

a life in exile

Almashi has lived in Great Britain since 2009 and cannot return to Syria due to his political activism and open resistance to the fallen dictator. He achieved refugee status, now has British citizenship and founded the Syria Solidarity Campaign (SSC) in London. "Both of my grandmothers died while I was in London," he said. "I was not there to say goodbye. I wonder if I will ever be able to visit your grave and put down flowers."

hopes for return

Now everything seems possible. "I want to return to my home country as soon as possible ... I really want to be part of the future of Syria." But Almashi's enthusiasm was quickly clouded. In view of the uncertainties regarding the future government of Syria, Great Britain - together with Germany, Austria, Ireland and many other European countries - announced that they would suspend decisions about Syrian asylum applications . Austria also explained that it would examine the deportation of people to Syria.

uncertainty and fear in the diaspora

This sudden reaction was necessary, according to the governments, to evaluate the rapidly changing situation in the country. But it unsettled a large part of the large Syrian diaspora in Europe, especially those with open asylum applications or without citizenship. More than a million Syrians live across the continent, many came to Europe during the migration crisis in 2015, the consequence of the civil war in the country. This happens at a time when the governments across Europe exacerbate their attitude towards migration in order to counteract the growing encouragement for populist and right -wing extremists that associated the increase in migration with the lack of living space, health care and public services.

criticism of human rights organizations

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, criticized the leaders for the suspension of asylum processing. However, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees explained that this was acceptable as long as Syrian could continue to apply for asylum and pointed out that the situation on site was "uncertain and extremely fluid".

The future remains uncertain

in Germany, which has taken up more than a million Syrian refugees after 2015, will be particularly tense in the coming weeks. There is paused ; The country's opposition leader, who is expected to take power in February, has brought the return of Syrian refugees into conversation in the past. The neighboring country Austria went one step further. "I have instructed the Ministry to prepare an orderly return and deportation program for Syria," said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner this week.

emotional challenges for Syrians in Europe

"The talks are incomprehensible," said Tarq Alaows, a Syrian German who came into the country as a refugee in 2015. "Emotional are longing to return and actively participate in the reconstruction of their country. But the situation remains extremely uncertain."

terrible effects on integration and support

"There are great hopes for a democratic Syria, but we need the support of the international community - including German politics," he added. "Instead, we face debates about deportations that deeply unsettle and sometimes even retraumatize." It is ironic that almost a decade after the migration crisis, which caused a populist counter -reaction, coincides with the fall of the Syrian dictatorship with a revival of these tendencies. In the past few months, Centralized politicians across Europe have tightened their migration policy, frightened by the election of charismatic right and anti-migrant leaders.

contribution by Syrians to European Society

Syrians have contributed to several European economies; Syrian citizens make up the largest group of foreign doctors in Germany, with around 10,000 working in the country's hospitals, according to the Syrian Society for Doctors and Pharmacists in Germany. "If large numbers were left the country, the supply would not collapse, but there would be noticeable gaps," Gerald Gass, the chairman of the German Hospital Association, told Reuters.

The current situation with migration in Europe

But inflation, lack of living space and tense services have fueled the frustration on migrant and refugee populations in many European countries, and the unrest has become noticeable at the ballot boxes in Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and several other countries. "The situation with migration in Europe is quite worrying at the moment," said Kay Marsh, coordinator for non -profit work at the British charity. Her group works with refugees in the coastal city of Dover, the arrival location for many of the small boats that bring asylum seekers over the canal to Great Britain. "There will be people who see (the fall of Assads) as a way to get rid of people," she predicted.

unclear government relationships in Syria

The talks begin at a time when the government relationships in Syria are unclear. Many western countries classify the triumphal group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a terrorist organization, and the years of war in the country have ensured that there is a lack of infrastructure and basic necessities. "It is far too early to understand what the situation on site is in Syria," said Yasmine Nahlawi, a legal advisor based in London whose work has focused on the application of international legal framework on the conflict in Syria. "There are still many security policy questions that have to be evaluated," she added, named the decisions of the European governments "insulting" to the Syrians.

celebrate the changes and the pursuit of security

At the moment, most Syrians in Europe are determined to celebrate the fall of a regime that seemed unshakable a month ago. "It is something that I would not even have thought possible," said Esther Baleh, a 22-year-old fashion designer from London, who fled her family from Syria in 2014. While Assad Damascus left, Baleh and her friends started to congratulate each other. "I had the feeling that my identity was rebuilt."

cautious optimism for the future

for Almashi and many Syrians in Europe, however, there is also caution in the face of Bareh's enthusiasm. "At the moment there is no safe place" in Syria, in which one could return, she said. But "potentially as soon as I know it is safe," she added, "would it be my dream to return and rebuild my country."