World
January 5, 2025 18:28
berlin - Germany is considering sending back Syrian refugees who do not have a job and do not speak German, according to German Ministers Nancy Faeser and Annalena Baerbock.
"Some of them need to return to their country under certain conditions," said Minister Nancy Faeser of the Interior.
Her colleague, the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, visited the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday to meet with the new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa and advocate for human rights.
This rebel leader, along with his Islamist HTS movement, ousted the dictator Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia. Al-Sharaa announced that a transitional government will govern the country in the coming years.
Immediately after the fall of the dictatorial Assad regime, the torture prisons were opened, and Germany decided to pause the applications of Syrian refugees.
Faeser referred to the German immigration service, the BAMF: "According to our law, the BAMF will re-evaluate the protection of refugees because the situation in Syria has stabilized."
This forced return should apply if "status holders do not have a residence permit due to work or education, and do not return to Syria voluntarily," said the social democrat in an interview with Funke Media.
The SPD minister added that "those who are well integrated, have a job, and speak German should be allowed to stay in Germany."
There are one million Syrians living in Germany. Most of them arrived from 2015 onwards when former Chancellor Angela Merkel announced they would not be sent back at the border.
In the Netherlands, there are about 150,000 refugees from Syria, mainly arriving through safe countries such as Germany and Belgium, where there are now border controls.
There are now more than six thousand Syrian doctors working in Germany, who, according to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, are not easy to replace.
Right-wing opposition parties such as the CDU and AfD are calling for a stricter migration policy and want to send Syrians away in large numbers.
"A large part of the Syrians must go back home," said conservative Jens Spahn (CDU) to the broadcaster Welt.