Syria and the election campaign: What are the refugees doing?

André Neumann is not necessarily the typical East German Christian Democrat. The mayor of Altenburg sits on the state board of the Thuringian CDU. But he often has a slightly different opinion than the majority in his party.

On Monday, for example, Neumann said: “I hope that many Syrian refugees stay in Germany. Not only are they a cultural enrichment, but we also need them as workers.”

This makes Neumann an exception in the CDU. Jens Spahn, the deputy parliamentary group leader of the Union in the Bundestag, seems more representative. Now that the Assad regime has unexpectedly fallen, he can’t get the refugees back or even repatriated them quickly enough.

Spahn suggested a bonus. “How would it be if the federal government said: Anyone who wants to go back to Syria, we will charter machines for them, and they will receive an entry fee of 1,000 euros”.

The Bavarian Prime Minister and CSU leader Markus Söder also speculated publicly: “The reason for leaving Syria was primarily Assad. That’s why there will be many people who now simply want to return to their homeland.”

While there is still fighting in Syria, the issue has long since seeped into the federal election campaign. This is hardly surprising, as migration is one of the most frequently mentioned problems in surveys. Votes can be obtained here.

It is also to be expected that the AfD will be at the forefront of the demands. “Anyone who celebrates ‘free Syria’ in Germany apparently no longer has any reason to flee”Federal Chairwoman Alice Weidel announced on Sunday via X. “He should return to Syria immediately.”

Upon request of the star Weidel commented in more detail. There is no question that “For many people from Syria there is no longer any reason to flee” she said – especially among those who said they were persecuted by the former government.

“Of course, these people must also return to their home country as soon as possible”she said. The federal government should contact the neighboring states that welcome or support the current situation.

BSW chairwoman Sahra Wagenknecht sees it similarly. “I expect the Syrians who are cheering the Islamists’ takeover of power in this country to return to their home country as soon as possible”she said star.

At the same time, Wagenknecht warned of a new wave of refugees heading to Germany. “There are many indications that Syria is developing into a new Islamic republic.” She therefore called on the federal government to work to protect girls and women as well as minorities such as Alawites, Christians, Kurds and Armenians. These people are not allowed by the new rulers “are persecuted and oppressed and thus forced to flee”.

However, the caution that sounds in Wagenknecht’s words can also be heard in Weidel. From their point of view, this is the situation in Syria “anything but stable”. Therefore, she said, contact must also be maintained with those states that see the new system in Syria as a threat. “It can be of no interest to the people in the region or to Europe if another refugee movement is triggered in the Middle East.”

But how many people in Germany are we talking about? And how many of them work?

Around a million people with Syrian citizenship live in Germany – as of December 31, 2023 there were exactly 972,460. There are also around 165,000 Syrians who have accepted German citizenship since 2015.

A good half of Syrians – around 520,000 – receive citizen’s benefit. The costs for this currently amount to almost 350 million euros per month (figures from May 2024). Of these, 155,000 were registered as unemployed; around 250,000 were underemployed, meaning they did not have regular work.

But around a quarter of a million people from Syria work in Germany. They also include almost 6,000 doctors. The German Hospital Association is therefore already warning of a shortage. If they were to leave Germany in larger numbers, this would affect staffing levels “undoubtedly noticeable”.

The federal government has decided on a dual strategy. On the one hand, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees imposed a temporary decision-making freeze on all ongoing asylum procedures for Syrian citizens on Monday. On the other hand, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), as the authority’s employer, warned against hasty demands.

“The situation in Syria is currently very confusing”said the minister. Specific return options cannot be predicted: “It would be dubious to speculate about this in such a volatile situation.” The EU Commission also stated that it was still too early for a safe return to Syria.

Mayor Neumann in Altenburg puts it this way: He wishes anyone who wants to return to their old homeland all the best, especially since Syria needs reconstruction helpers. But he hopes that many of the integrated refugees stay in Germany: “Some companies or hospitals would function much worse without Syrians.”