Enab Baladi – Hussam al-Mahmoud

Following the relentless military operations launched by the Syrian regime against the cities, towns, and neighborhoods that revolted against it, demanding political change, millions fled Syria and settled as refugees in European countries, coming from various regions, carrying different cultures and lifestyles, and adopting diverse ideological and social affiliations.

A significant portion of the refugees in Europe are from Syrian clans, although there is no specific percentage to define this group. Despite the clear concentration of clannish presence in specific areas of Syria, such as the provinces of al-Hasakah, some rural parts of Hama, and Homs, these areas do not monopolize the tribal component in Syria.

Over time, some tribesmen expressed their solidarity and cohesion in their host countries, with video recordings showing their celebrations and joys, while others reflected a state of “isolation” that contradicts the concept of integration into the host society.

Omar, a young Syrian and a graduate of the Philosophy Department at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Damascus, left Syria and lived in Turkey before seeking asylum in Germany. He explained to Enab Baladi that the Syrian refugee, upon arriving in the destination country, realizes the need to learn the language of that country. However, a segment of tribesmen lacks the ability to learn the language as a means of integration because their mother tongue is not properly constructed; they may speak one of its dialects but do not master their mother tongue, which hinders the integration process, according to the young man.

Regarding the phenomenon of tribesmen clustering together in a European country, Omar justified this situation by stating that the feeling of fear dissolves through culture and awareness. The ability to integrate requires awareness, which necessitates a well-established mother tongue that carries various meanings upon which to build learning a new language; the issue is akin to translation.

When someone comes to a new country to overcome their fear of failure, they may turn to a cousin or a fellow tribesman to form a community they can communicate with, because their awareness is not prepared for direct interaction with the host country’s people. Omar sees that increasing cohesion with the tribal component and previously guaranteed acquaintances contradicts completely with integration and building a new life in a new country.

“There is a segment of refugees living instinctively and fulfilling only basic needs, and attempting to change the awareness of this segment requires means, links, and measuring the individual’s capabilities for change and separation from the group,” the young man stated.

Exaggeration of crime.. A slight percentage

The long journey of asylum across geography for a segment of tribesmen does not sever ties between those who have left and those who remain, both inside and outside the borders; rather, it forms an extension, as the new arrival in this country often finds a cousin or a relative from their tribe welcoming them in the host country.

In many cases, the scope of problems expands to travel across borders, dividing the issue between two stages, the first in the home country and the other in the new place where individuals from opposing sides may have transferred.

In February, a brawl erupted between two families in the Kreuzberg neighborhood of Berlin, resulting in three injuries, as an extension of tribal fighting that occurred in the city of al-Tabqah, west of Raqqa, northeastern Syria, which caused the death of three individuals and injured another.

The roots of this conflict between the al-Naser and al-Maghlatan tribes date back a year due to a dispute over agricultural lands, resulting in a fatality from the al-Maghlatan tribe, according to local media outlet North Press.

The conflict that resulted in the death of eight individuals from both parties also found its way to the host country, causing three injuries.

Host communities, particularly in Germany, view the large family-based clusters with suspicion and see them as a nucleus threatening social stability. According to a piece published by the German channel DW Arabic, titled “Criminal Tribes… The Reality and Prejudices,” the term “large Arab families” is contentious and has been the subject of significant debate in Germany.

While a small number of tribesmen have caused issues in host communities, criminology researcher Daniela Honnold rejects classifications like “clan” or “large family” because they focus on a specific ethnic group, leading to discrimination. Furthermore, the use of such terms tends to generalize to all social structures regardless of any ethnic component.

In light of the prominent attention given to Arab tribes in Germany by security agencies and the media, German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann issued, in June 2023, decisions aimed at combating tribal crimes in unconventional ways, including confiscating properties.

At the same time, the Federal Ministry of the Interior of Germany indicated its intention to support the states in combating tribal crimes, considering that these tribes stir a hidden war in the shadows through involvement in organized crime activities.

In August 2023, after collective brawls erupted in the Ruhr area of Germany between Syrian and Lebanese families, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser expressed her intention to deport relatives of tribes and “criminal families”, even if they had not been convicted, according to what was reported by the Swedish Information Center at the time.

While the German media focuses on “clan crimes” in a manner that exaggerates the situation, a report from InfoMigrants, which is concerned with news and issues of migrants, indicated in July that the percentage of all crimes alleged to have been committed by tribes in Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Lower Saxony ranges between 0.17% and 0.76% of the total crimes.

Reproduction

According to a study titled “The Refugee Tribe and Transformations of Structure and Role,” issued by the Harmoon Center for Contemporary Studies, in the case of refugee tribes from Deir Ezzor and its countryside to the Turkish city of Urfa, these tribes possess the ability to reproduce themselves in an environment similar to their original environment. In Urfa, there is a tribal structure adjacent to an urban structure, which creates a blend that imparts tribal characteristics to the urban community and urban traits to the tribal community.

According to the study, the tribal structure is not only manifested in an individual’s awareness of their tribal affiliation, but extends to solidarity in times of crises and classifications of tribes that elevate some and lower others based on specific criteria for each individual or group, rather than selectively recalling certain aspects of the past while ignoring others, which is merely a method of recollection seeking to cement a desired present based on selected aspects of a past that is more akin to a constructed narrative than to reality.

Anthropologist Richard Tapper states, “Tribal members in certain parts of the Middle East are often notorious for their ignorance and indifference to religion, while in other cases, they are known for their strict, if not fanatical, loyalty to Islam. There is some truth to these stereotypes, at least as a foundational illustration for drawing contrasts among tribes in different regions; however, they are exaggerated, and exceptions abound.”

The study indicates the desire of many tribesmen to reproduce tribal expressions in the host country, a reproduction that is not separate from the context of the Syrian circumstance. This unstable situation necessitates a need for an entity that reflects social identity, from which the tribal person cannot detach themselves, as their identity possesses both collective and individual dimensions. However, for the tribal individual, the collective aspect prevails over the individual, leading to a natural return to tribal affiliation as a result of the new conditions shaped by hopelessness for a near resolution, the retreat of national discourses, and the decision to consider the host country a new homeland.