Syrian refugees in Germany unwilling to leave even for money

The authorities of Dresden, Germany, offered Syrian refugees financial support for voluntary return to their homeland. However, despite all the measures provided, no one took advantage of the initiative.

▶ Programme terms:

•  Coverage of airfare and transfer to the airport
•  Payment of €200 for travel expenses
•  Subsidy of €1,000 per person (up to €4,000 per family)

The offer came into force at the end of December, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, when the situation in Syria began to change. It was expected that some of the Syrians living in Dresden would be interested in the opportunity to return to their homeland with the support of local authorities.

However, by the end of January, only four out of 7,433 officially registered Syrians had applied for the programme, but ultimately no one made use of the offered assistance.

Experts believe that the main reasons for this outcome were uncertainty in Syria, the lack of security guarantees, and doubts about the possibility of rebuilding their lives after returning.