With the fall of the Assad regime, Syrian migrants already living in Europe are expected to return to their home country, but their willingness and ability to do so remains highly uncertain.

Following the overthrow of Syrian President Assad by Islamist rebels, the new head of government, Mohammed al-Bashir, called on Syrian refugees to return to their homeland. Since then, several host countries have been negotiating the return of Syrian refugees. Germany and several other European countries have suspended decisions on Syrian refugees for the time being.

„My appeal is addressed to all Syrians living abroad: Syria is now a free country that has regained its pride and dignity. Come back!”

the acting prime minister said in an interview for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. In the wake of decades of rule by the Assad family coming to an end, al-Bashir, who is initially expected to remain in office until March, believes that the first agenda point is restoring security and stability in all Syrian cities. Another top priority is to help the country get back on its feet. Those returning to Syria could play a key role in this with their experience.

„We need to rebuild the country and get it back on its feet, and we need everyone’s help to do that,”

al-Bashir said. „The wrongful actions of certain Islamist groups have led many people, especially in the West, to associate Muslims with terrorism and Islam with extremism (…) But this is a misunderstanding,” he stressed, adding that he wants „to guarantee the rights of all people in Syria”.

They do not want to return home

According to international law, once the threat ceases, those who have fled have an obligation to return to their home countries. However, Syrian refugees in Western Europe are unlikely to want to hurry home, migration researcher Jochen Oltmer told the German press.

„A major wave of Syrian people returning from Germany to their homeland is unlikely,”

the Osnabruck professor told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. The expert cited the experience of the war in Yugoslavia, whereby even after the 1995 Dayton Agreement, there were hardly any voluntary returns. The historian, who is also a scientific adviser to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, recalled that of the 350,000 people who sought protection, only 17,000 had returned to their original place of residence. The expert added that in German schools alone there are around 250,000 pupils of Syrian background. This is equivalent to more than a quarter of the 970,000 Syrians living in Germany, serving as another argument for the vast majority to remain in the European country.