Only One Thousandth of Syrian Refugees Returned from Germany to Their Country
Eight years have passed since the outbreak of Syria’s civil war. Approximately 780,000 Syrians sought refuge in Germany. Only one thousandth of these refugees have received financial assistance from the German government since 2017 for their voluntary return to their country.
In response to a question from the German Green Party about the return process of Syrian refugees to their country, the German government stated that very few Syrian refugees have returned to their country and the process of their voluntary return is proceeding slowly.
In the German government’s response to the Greens, it was stated that in 2018, only 466 Syrian refugees requested financial assistance for their voluntary return and returned to Syria. This number was only 199 people one year earlier, in 2017.
According to the German government’s report, in the first three months of the current year, the number of Syrian refugees who requested financial assistance for voluntary return reached only 77 people.
Reasons for Syrian Refugees’ Return
The reasons and motivations for Syrian refugees’ and Palestinians residing in Syria who sought refuge in Germany and later returned to their country have not been recorded statistically. However, the German news agency, citing the German government’s response, has pointed to reasons such as “homesickness, difficulties integrating into society, and illness of family members.”
The highest number of voluntary return requests from Syrian refugees to their country in 2018 came from the German states of Lower Saxony, Bavaria, and Hesse.
Typically, the Foreign Office handles requests for voluntary refugee returns, and in rare cases, associations and charitable organizations also assist in the process of refugees’ return to their country.
Since the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011, approximately 5.7 million Syrians have left their country. Of this number, approximately 780,000 sought refuge in Germany.
United Nations refugee agencies do not consider the conditions suitable for Syrian refugees to return to their country, and the German government also confirms this view.
Source: DW
