Enab Baladi – Hassan Ibrahim

Physically exhausted, in tattered clothes, disheveled hair, and slumped shoulders, the young Syrian “Mohammed” sits on a bench at the Dortmund train station in northern Germany, alongside a plastic bag containing bread and water. He reached “safety in Germany” after a “deadly journey” that lasted 28 days, on a smuggling route starting from Turkey, passing through the forests of Europe.

Fear of death, cold, abduction, and theft haunted the young man throughout his journey, which began by crossing the border wire between Turkey’s Edirne and Bulgaria until his arrival at the Dortmund station, where an acquaintance welcomed him and took him to a refugee reception center.

The smuggler’s promise to the 19-year-old youth that the “road is easy and safe, and that reaching Germany would take three days by truck” was not truthful. Moments of death and terror were his constant companions, and the length of the journey weighed heavily on his family, who had been displaced to the countryside of Aleppo.

The story of the young man who arrived in Germany in mid-October is just one among many Syrian stories of individuals who have risked their lives and continue to do so to reach Germany, escaping from northwestern Syria, where the flames of military escalation never cease, and from Turkey, where it has become difficult to obtain identification documents, facing oppression and hate speech.

The death road: Fears and pain

The journey began from Edirne, a Turkish border city with Bulgaria. The smuggler crossed the border wires, allowing “Mohammed” and 13 others (including three children aged 12, 13, and 17 years) to continue their route through the forests of Bulgaria for three difficult days, as the young man described.

“We heard sounds of beasts I had never heard of in my life; the specter of death chased us at every moment, and questions circled among us: Are we going to die here? How do people die in the forests? From the cold? Or from the beasts? Or from hunger and thirst?” the young man told Enab Baladi.

After three days, they were picked up by a vehicle that transported them to Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, then another vehicle took them to Romania. The common feature of both vehicles was their capacity for four people, yet they crammed 13 individuals tightly together.

The young man, who asked not to disclose his real name, recounted that in Romania, they were forced to cross a river using a rubber boat (a dinghy) for 20 minutes before walking close to the borders of Hungary, joined by eight other individuals, bringing the total to 22 people.

During an attempt to enter Hungary via a truck, Romanian police arrested them and took them to a refugee center, but the young man escaped from the camp and tried to enter Hungary again with nine others.

Coordinating with the smuggler and through an international number possessed by the young man, a vehicle arrived, taking them into Hungary, then Austria, followed by another vehicle to Germany, costing “Mohammed” approximately €12,500 (around 465,000 Turkish lira), most of which were debts accumulated on his family.

After his arrival in Germany and receiving assistance from some individuals who helped him book transportation tickets to Dortmund, the young man still feels pain in his legs from being cramped inside the vehicles that transported the group.

He stayed for two days with a relative and was able to contact his family and reassure them, as his international calls often failed during the smuggling journey. He then headed to a refugee reception center to start “a new life from scratch.”

“No documents, No safety”

“Mohammed’s” desire to emigrate to Germany and seek asylum there arose after four years spent in Turkey, during which he failed to obtain identification documents permitting him to remain legally within its borders. He was unable to obtain a temporary protection card (Kimlik) and attempted three times to apply for a work permit, but his applications were rejected without explanation.

The young man lived in a state of constant anxiety, being careful not to go out or wander outside the neighborhoods near his residence in Istanbul, fearing arrest by police officers or being asked for identification documents, or potentially encountering a racist incident, as assaults against Syrians based on racial motives had occurred multiple times.

“Mohammed” added that the deteriorating economic situation, coupled with his meager salary of 28,000 Turkish lira (approximately $815) for 12 hours of work at a laundry, alongside rising living costs and his inability to send money to support his family, were all reasons that prompted him to consider emigration despite the risks.

He mentioned that in the case of illness, he could not visit the hospital due to lacking identification documents and resorted to purchasing medications from pharmacies to alleviate and reduce his pain.

The young man pointed out that he chose Germany because it is a haven for refugees seeking a safe and stable life, in addition to its supportive environment for Syrians, offering everything from housing to language courses to vocational training, ensuring their rights.

The number of Syrian refugees in Germany is estimated at around 972,000 by the end of 2023, according to the Federal Statistical Office in Germany, while Germany’s population is around 82 million, with approximately 13.9 million foreigners living there, as of December 2023.

Germany is among the countries that welcomed Syrian refugees, granting them the right to work and access to educational and professional opportunities, providing integration courses, legal consultations, and various forms of assistance.

Syrians seek better lives, despite the dangers on land and sea routes. A report by Enab Baladi and Syria Indicator documented the inhumane conditions of arbitrary detention in migrant detention centers in Libya, detailing the physical and psychological torture experienced by detainees through various means, without being referred to justice, in addition to being extorted before and during detention, culminating in the demand from their families for ransom in exchange for their release.

Northern Syria beyond consideration

“Mohammed” rejected the idea of returning to northern Syria because the region is, in his view, exhausted. He noted that his family lives in a house in northern Aleppo since early 2020, after being displaced from eastern Idlib’s countryside following the regime’s forces’ control over the area. Since then, they have lost their source of income, namely the agricultural products from their farmland.

He mentioned that his three brothers work for daily wages not exceeding 120 Turkish lira in agriculture or construction, which is unstable and barely meets the family’s needs for food, clothing, heating, and medical care, adding that stable job opportunities are scarce.

Residents of northern Syria experience poor economic and living conditions, with 30% of them relying on irregular daily work as their primary or secondary source of income, according to a study conducted by the Support Coordination Unit.

According to the study, 20% of Syrians in those regions pay rents exceeding one-third of the average wages, 61% of families have debts, and 75% of families cannot set aside any amounts during the month.

The northwest of Syria is home to 5.1 million people, of whom 4.2 million need assistance, and 3.6 million suffer from food insecurity, with 3.5 million displaced internally and two million living in camps, according to the United Nations. Meanwhile, local statistics estimate the population to be between 5.5 to 6 million.

In addition to the deteriorating economic conditions, areas in northern Syria, especially those close to the front lines separating the regime-controlled areas and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), experience near-daily shelling at an inconsistent rate.

The Syria Civil Defence (The White Helmets) teams have responded to over 728 attacks by regime forces, Russia, and their allies on northwestern Syria from the beginning of this year until October 13 of the past year.

These attacks resulted in the deaths of 67 civilians, including 18 children and eight women, and injuries to 277 civilians, including 114 children and 34 women.