Thousands of refugees - those who crossed the border of Syria as well as many internally - are returning to Damascus, after the fall of the Assad regime.
The euphoria in the country after the weekend's stormy developments is palpable. The convoys of cars returning to Damascus are also huge. However, since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, some European countries have suspended the processing of Syrian asylum applications.
Europe "freezes" asylum applications for Syrians
Austria's caretaker government has halted all asylum applications from Syrians and says it is making plans to repatriate or deport people back to their home countries, arguing that the situation in the country has changed radically.
Germany (home to one million Syrians), the UK and France have said they will halt asylum decisions for the time being. Denmark and Norway and Sweden have announced, in turn, that they are suspending the examination of asylum applications for Syrian refugees.
KYSEA meeting on Friday
The Greek Ministry of Immigration and Asylum is evaluating the data being generated and will propose final decisions regarding the asylum procedures on Friday at a meeting of the KYSEA, while the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Nikos Panagiotopoulos will immediately seek contact with the new European Commission Commissioner for immigration, with the aim of exchanging views on the new situation that is emerging after the developments in Syria.
Since 2011, according to the UN, more than 14 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety.
In a statement, Austria's interior ministry said that "the political situation in Syria has changed radically and, above all, rapidly in recent days." About 95.000 Syrians live in Austria, many of whom arrived during the migration crisis of 2015 and 2016. The backlash against them has fueled support for the far right and conservatives in Austria.
Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has suspended all pending applications from Syrian asylum seekers. Officials say the political situation is so uncertain in Syria that it is not possible to make a proper decision about whether the country is safe or not. Currently 47.270 Syrians in Germany are waiting for a response to their asylum applications. Those who have already received asylum are not affected.
Germany has the largest Syrian diaspora population outside the Middle East, with around one million Syrians living in Germany. About 700.000 are considered refugees. British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed that the UK had "suspended asylum decisions on cases from Syria while the Home Office reviews and monitors the current situation". Cooper said the situation in the country was "moving extremely quickly after the fall of the Assad regime" and added that some people were already returning to Syria.
Between 2011 and 2021 more than 30.000 Syrians were granted asylum in the UK. Most of them were resettled under humanitarian programs and came directly from other countries they had taken refuge in, such as Turkey and Lebanon. In 2019, it was estimated that around 47.000 Syrians lived in the UK, but this number is thought to have since fallen to around 30.000.
France is working on a policy similar to the one proposed by Germany, with a decision expected in the next few hours, according to Reuters news agency.
Meanwhile, thousands of Syrians exiled in Lebanon and Jordan are returning home. But at the Lebanese border, the flow was in both directions.
A BBC correspondent there said a growing number of Syrians were trying to enter Lebanon, prompting Lebanese military reinforcements. He says some fear an increase in chaos or crime in their homeland, although he also says he has been assured that this will not happen.
Lebanon hosts more than a million Syrian refugees, but has tightened rules on their entry into the country.
Turkey is helping refugees to return
Turkey is strengthening its capabilities at border crossings with Syria, so that Syrian refugees can return to their homeland more easily, the interior minister announced.
"Until now we had a capacity of 3.000 crossings daily and we increased it to 15-20.000," said Ali Gerlikaya.
Many Syrian refugees living in Turkey rushed to the south of the country to return to Syria as soon as it became known that Bashar Al-Assad had been overthrown. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday the reopening of the Yalantagi border crossing in Hatay province, which had been closed since 2013.
Gerlikaya said "300-400" crossings were recorded by Turkish border posts on Sunday, and by midnight on Monday that number had already doubled.
The minister said he would meet with officials of non-governmental Syrian organizations on Wednesday, without naming them.
"Since 2016, more than 738.000 Syrians have returned home voluntarily," he said, noting that 2.935.000 still remain in Turkey.
According to the Turkish authorities, 1,24 million refugees come from the province of Aleppo, whose capital was the first to fall into the hands of the rebels, on December 1.
Erdogan had Syria-related phone calls with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. In his communication with Ursula von der Leyen, he assured that "the safe and voluntary return of Syrians to their country is being organized."
Returning is not a simple matter
The sudden collapse of the Assad dictatorship opens a window of hope for displaced Syrians, but the current dire situation means returning home will not be an easy decision. Many have integrated into their new homelands or may fear a resurgence of fighting between the various rebel groups, posing a particular threat to minorities. Some have no home to return to.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the situation in Syria remains "one of the largest displacement crises in the world." The agency estimates that in 2023 there will be around 6,4 million Syrian refugees worldwide, of which 5,1 million will live in neighboring countries – Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
The ten countries most chosen by Syrians to immigrate to in 2023 were as follows according to the UN:
– Turkey, where 3,2 million were hosted immigrants
– Lebanon with 748.900 immigrants
– Germany with 705.800 immigrants
– Jordan with 669.100 immigrants
– Iraq with 272.000 immigrants
– Egypt with 153.800 immigrants
– Sweden with 94.900 immigrants
– Austria with 87 immigrants
– The Netherlands with 58.400 immigrants
– Greece with 45.900 immigrants
What does 'pausing' asylum claims mean?
Foreign leaders of the bloc's 27 members will meet later this month to discuss a joint response.
Bram Frouws, director of the Geneva-based Mixed Migration Center think tank, told Al Jazeera that the freeze on asylum applications "essentially means that Syrians who are still in the asylum process and awaiting a decision will be pending for much longer". .
“Knowing that in many [European] countries there are long delays in providing asylum, this increases uncertainty for many. It also means that those arriving from now on, while it is still possible to apply for asylum, will have to wait a long time for a decision," he added.
Currently, there is no change in status for those who have already received asylum in European countries.
Source: protothema.gr
