Germany loses persistence with its MILLION Syrians: Politicians on left and proper say migrants ‘celebrating the takeover by Islamists… don’t have any foundation to remain right here’ – and recommend paying them to depart

The fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government this weekend sparked celebrations in cities worldwide where displaced Syrians have sought refuge from the brutality of a nearly 14-year civil war.

But in Germany, the jubilation was swiftly replaced by anxiety and concern as lawmakers across the political spectrum began trumpeting ideas about how best to deport Syrians back home.

In 2015, then Chancellor Angela Merkel was lauded for opening Germany’s borders to hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing war-torn Syria, coining the now infamous slogan: ‘We will manage it’.

Nearly a decade later, many German politicians on the left and right are highly critical of Merkel’s altruism and are pushing for a crackdown on immigration, which has become a hot-button topic among voters with an election approaching.

Hours after Syrians took to the streets in celebration at Assad’s downfall on Sunday, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel wrote on X that anyone celebrating a ‘free Syria’ in Germany ‘evidently no longer has a reason to flee. He should return to Syria immediately.’

Then on Monday, prominent conservative lawmaker Jens Spahn suggested on Germany N-TV: ‘For everyone who wants to go back to Syria, we will charter planes for them, they will get a starting fund of 1,000 euros (£824).’

Official figures show that, at the end of October, there were nearly 975,000 Syrian nationals in Germany.

This is the highest concentration of Syrian refugees in Europe – only Turkey, which is partially in southern Europe and borders Syria, hosts more.

‘If the reason for asylum disappears, then there is no longer any legal basis to stay in the country,’ said Markus Söder, conservative leader of Bavaria.

And Sahra Wagenknecht, who this year set up a new anti-migrant far-left populist party, added: ‘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.’

Such ideas strike Syrians as indecently hasty.

Nearly a decade after he arrived in Germany from Syria and became famous for snapping a selfie with Merkel, Anas Modamani has finished his university studies and lives in Berlin.

The 27-year-old is now a fully naturalised German citizen – but the talk of Syrians being swiftly removed from Germany has hit hard.

‘I think that’s a terrible idea,’ he said of the proposal to offer Syrians €1,000 to leave.

‘The situation in Syria is still just as dangerous as before. Berlin has become my second home, I will definitely stay here,’ Modamani told an AP reporter yesterday. 

On Sunday, rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized the Syrian capital Damascus in a lightning offensive just one day after Assad fled the country to seek asylum in Russia with ally Vladimir Putin. 

Less than 24 hours later, Germany and a string of other European countries announced that they were suspending decisions on Syrians’ asylum applications as they wait for the situation in Syria to become clearer. 

Over 47,000 cases are pending in Germany, one of the main destinations for Syrians outside the Middle East.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that is the right thing to do, but it would be ‘unserious to speculate in such a volatile situation’ about the eventual return of Syrians.

Among those who will face a longer wait for their asylum application to be decided is Basil Khalil, a 26-year-old Kurdish Syrian who said he applied for asylum Monday after crossing from Turkey into Bulgaria and travelling to Germany on the back of a truck. 

Khalil said he spent the last nine years as a refugee in Turkey, but was worried that Turkish authorities may soon start deporting Syrians.

‘I applied for asylum in Germany because I’m afraid that back in Syria I may get drafted as a soldier,’ he told the AP.

‘But if the German government will deport me, then I guess I will go back,’ Khalil said. ‘We Syrians have been through so much suffering, all we want to do is survive.’

HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa – better known by his nom-de-guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani (also written Jawlani or Julani) – insists that he will work to create a tolerant, civilised nation where religious and ethnic minorities can live peacefully after deposing Assad.

The Sunni Islamist insurgents have also claimed they won’t impose any harsh restrictions or religious dress codes on women.

But major doubts persist over HTS’ commitment to upholding such equality – and whether the group will be willing to work with other factions as part of a coalition government, thereby loosening its grip on power.

Regional analysts and human rights activists point out that HTS imposed an authoritarian Islamist rule over its territory in Idlib and there are suspicions that the group’s jihadist origins remain.

Several rebel factions were able to fight effectively side-by-side to topple Assad, but now their divisions could be highlighted in the resulting power vacuum.

Analysts and observers hold out hope these factions can reach an agreement and create a stable administration, laying the foundations for re-development.

Rebel officials announced Mohammad al-Bashir – the head of HTS’ so-called ‘Salvation Government’ in the Idlib province – as interim Prime Minister of a transitional cabinet that will remain in place until March 1. 

Though many leading German politicians appeared keen to deport Syrians, others said Syrian refugees who have worked to integrate into German society must be allowed to remain. 

A deputy interior minister, Juliane Seifert, said Syrians are ‘a group that has significantly above-average educational qualifications,’ among them many doctors.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, whose conservative party has talked tough on migration, said Tuesday that many Syrian refugees are now ‘superbly integrated in our country, have a job and are urgently needed here’ and no one is thinking of getting such people to leave Germany.

‘Those who have already integrated well are still cordially welcome,’ Herrmann told Deutschlandfunk radio Tuesday. 

‘But it is clear that there are also people who have been here for 10 years and don’t have a job and haven’t integrated well, and then it’s right to help them return to their homeland’ if Syria stabilises.

The number of Syrians gaining German citizenship has risen from 6,700 in 2020 to 75,500 last year, when they were the biggest single group and accounted for 38% of all naturalisations. 

Tarek Alaows, a spokesperson for pro-refugee group Pro Asyl, said that ‘many from the Syrian community naturally want to return… Many want to participate in the reconstruction. But they must not be forced to leave the country’ for a still-unstable Syria.

Alaows, 35, who fled Damascus in 2015 and became a German citizen over three years ago, said many Syrians in Germany were concerned to hear public calls so soon for the quick return of Syrians.

‘These debates that are going on right now – nobody needs them,’ he said.

Yamn Molhem, who arrived 10 years ago, sees it the same way. The 39-year-old father of four now manages the Aldimashqi restaurant on Berlin’s Sonnenallee boulevard, known for its many Arabic stores and businesses.

‘All of my family has left Aleppo, and the situation in Syria is generally very unstable,’ he said.

Molhem said he is applying for a German passport, proudly adding that his youngest son already has one.

‘They can’t deport our family,’ said, ‘My son is German.’

In general, Molhem said, Germans should think twice before they even consider sending back Syrians who work, pay taxes and help keep the economy running.

‘Syrians don’t just sleep here,’ he said.