- Title: Their labour in demand and lives in Germany, Syrians are in no rush to leave
- Date: 13th December 2024
- Summary: ISSA SEATED, SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN-BORN GYNAECOLOGIST, SANDY ISSA, SAYING: “Of course it’s too early to talk about returning to Syria 24 hours after Assad’s fall because the sheer idea of returning to Syria was never on the table for many Syrians, even for a visit. Obviously we have this feeling of homesickness, of missing the homeland, the family. So the first reaction is that all Syrians, not just the doctors frankly, that they want to go to Syria, see their country again.” ISSA SEATED, SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN-BORN GYNAECOLOGIST, SANDY ISSA, SAYING: “If we want to talk about statistics, a preliminary poll among Syrian doctors in a German Facebook group, which is of course not official, which we ran on Sunday (Dec. 8), the day of the regime fall, 1,200 doctors participated in it, the response was that yes, the idea of returning is strongly considered. 943 (votes), which is 74%. The trend in the second poll we did 13 hours ago showed that the idea of returning to Syria depends more on the country’s circumstances. That figure was around 65% so we can see that within 4 to 5 days, the issue is very connected to the country’s circumstances and the upcoming situation of the country because the idea of returning is not that easy. Yet it crossed all our minds that there is a high chance that we now have a homeland we can return to.” VARIOUS OF ISSA SEATED, SMILING AT CAMERA
- Embargoed: 27th December 2024 11:42
- Keywords: Germany Syria doctoris economy home country homeland labour shortage return
- Location: BERLIN & HANAU, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN & HANAU, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA002692413122024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: It took only a few hours after the fall of Bashar al-Assad for some German politicians to begin suggesting it was time for Germany's million Syrians – many of them refugees from the 2015 war – to consider returning home.
But many of those same Syrians have built lives in Germany and have no intention of returning.
Employers, trade unions and business associations are now speaking up to stress how much the Syrians are needed in a German economy facing deep labour shortages.
One of those is Sandy Issa, a 36-year-old gynaecologist at a Berlin clinic who arrived in Germany in 2014.
“It’s too early to talk about returning to Syria,” Issa told Reuters, adding “the sheer idea of returning to Syria was never on the table for many Syrians, even for a visit. Obviously we have this feeling of homesickness, of missing the homeland, the family. So the first reaction is that all Syrians, not just the doctors frankly, that they want to go to Syria, see their country again.”
Former chancellor Angela Merkel's 2015 decision to welcome over one million asylum seekers predominantly from Syria was immediately controversial in Germany and has been blamed by some for contributing to the rise of the far-right AfD party.
Since then, Germany has also accepted more than 1.2 million refugees from Ukraine, while its economy is expected to contract in 2024 for the second consecutive year, being the worst performer among G7 countries.
Migration now ranks as Germans' second most pressing concern ahead of federal elections in February 2025, behind the economy.
With an eye to stunting the appeal of the far-right, some mainstream German politicians have even proposed paying for Syrians' flights back home. In the meantime, asylum applications from Syrians are on hold.
Germany's likely next chancellor, conservative Friedrich Merz, has said the fall of Assad could be an opportunity for Syrians to return.
While around 500,000 remain unemployed - among them mothers with children - Syrians have helped ease labour pressures which, according to the DIHK Chamber of Commerce and Industry, have left half of companies struggling to fill vacancies.
Syrian-born senior physician Faisal Shehadeh works in Hanau, outside Frankfurt.
The 41-year-old came to Germany in 2006 to undergo vocational training to become a medical specialist in orthopaedics and trauma surgery.
Asked whether he was considering returning to his native country one day, Shehadeh said “my family is here, neighbours, friends, work colleagues, my children who go to school here. That makes the decision not that easy.”
One thing is clear to him though: December 8, the day President Assad was toppled, “was the most beautiful day in my life.”
(Production: Lisi Niesner, Max Schwarz, Riham Alkousaa, Frank Simon, Michele Sani) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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