A Syrian refugee, who has been in trouble with German police multiple times, was sent back to Syria at the end of March. His return to Damascus has been fervently discussed by the Syrian community who see it as a repatriation despite a block on sending anyone back to Syria. The German authorities have denied it was a forced return.
Three years after the EU-Turkey declaration, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is calling on European countries to take their share of responsibility for handling refugees. Paying off Turkey and Greece, who have been excessively hit by the crisis, cannot be the solution, the NRC said.
March 15, 2019 marked the beginning of the ninth year of the war in Syria. UNICEF is commemorating the date by recalling that 8 million children have been affected by the war, five million of whom need humanitarian assistance within Syria's borders, and 2.5 of whom are refugees in neighboring countries.
A bakery in eastern Germany is helping the integration of a Syrian refugee. Through an apprenticeship program, Mohamad Hamza Alemam is forging a future as a baker. And growing new roots in his host country.
A study by the University of Glasgow has looked at the experiences and aspirations of Syrians in three different host countries, the UK, Lebanon and Greece. They hope that their findings will help inform policy makers to make decisions to aid integration.
Whether it's an EU Blue Card, a visa or claiming asylum — the paths to Europe for people who flee their countries are as manifold as they are complicated. Here's an overview of different ways a person can leave his country as well as possible outcomes of the asylum procedure in Germany.
Germany's Interior Ministry has proposed new measures to monitor and deport failed asylum-seekers. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has said he is also looking at ways to repatriate known criminals to Syria.
A report by the Transnational Institute in collaboration with Dutch anti-arms trade organization Stop Wapenhandel said Europe "is making deadly agreements with dictators to stop refugees" and "has turned its back on an unconditional commitment to human rights, democracy, freedom and human dignity." The report said that in recent years, Europe has expanded "in a problematic way its own border externalization policies" which bring "advantages to the security industry but provoke highly damaging human and development costs."
The small country of Lebanon has been home to Palestinian refugees since 1948. In recent years, it's also become a haven for people fleeing war in Syria and resources are now becoming scarce. DW's Diana Hodali reports.