Syrian refugees await stabilization before contemplating return
Chancellor Scholz believes that refugees from Syria can voluntarily return to their homeland when the situation stabilizes.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has assessed that it would be premature for Syrian refugees to return to their homeland now. In Syria, despite the fall of the dictatorship, there is still a "very, very dangerous situation," he stated on Tuesday evening on ARD's "Tagesthemen."
He added that Germany, along with other countries, must strive to make Syria a democratically governed nation where people of different religions can coexist peacefully. "Maybe if everything goes well, many people will voluntarily say that they now want to take part in the reconstruction of the country," said Scholz.
Syrians in Germany
However, migration researcher from the University of Osnabrück, Prof. Jochen Oltmer, considers this unlikely, as many Syrians see their future in Germany. For now, Germany, like some other EU countries, has only suspended the acceptance of new asylum applications from Syrian citizens.
According to data from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, nearly one million Syrians live in Germany. They immigrated since the start of the civil war in Syria, which began in 2011 with an uprising against Bashar al-Assad's regime. The peak of the refugee wave occurred in 2015. By the end of 2023, a total of over 160,000 Syrians received German citizenship, and more than 56,000 children of Syrian refugees were born in Germany by 2024.
No return wave?
The expert from Osnabrück anticipates that a substantial wave of returns is unlikely. However, he believes that some individuals may consider returning if conditions in Syria improve significantly. Prof. Oltmer emphasized in an interview with the "Augsburger Allgemeine" that this number should not be overestimated.
The expert highlighted that refugees often build strong connections with their host communities, emphasizing that many Syrians arrived in Germany as children, teenagers, or young adults. They have attended schools, pursued education, and envision a future for their children within Germany.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, Syrian citizens constituted the largest group of people who received German citizenship last year: 75,500 people, nearly 40 percent of the approximately 200,000 naturalizations.
Prof. Oltmer emphasized that many Syrian refugees now view Germany as their new home. He advocated for recognizing them as vital to society and leveraging their potential.
