Many Syrian doctors who immigrated to Germany face a difficult choice: rebuild their homeland or remain in their new home country. Germany's heated migration debate and Chancellor Friedrich Merz's recent remarks on Syria have Syrian doctors wondering if they are still welcome in Germany.

Berlin

Approximately 7,000 Syrian doctors are currently working in Germany, providing essential support to the country's healthcare system. Many of these physicians, such as Amar Jabur and Bassel al-Said, express concerns about the ongoing political debate regarding the return of Syrian refugees and the impact it has on their sense of belonging in Germany.

While some German politicians have suggested that Syrians could now return home, both doctors highlight the ongoing difficulties in Syria and the crucial role Syrians play in German healthcare. They emphasize the need for a nuanced and constructive debate on migration, allowing them and others to feel fully integrated and valued in German society.

How Syrian doctors feel about Germany's migration debate

Germany without doctors from Syria? By now, hard to imagine. About 7,000 physicians from Syria now work in Germany. They help keep the healthcare system running. I treat over 1,000 surgical patients here every year. If half of these doctors return to Syria, Germany's healthcare system will suffer significantly, without question. Many of those doctors are torn. They're badly needed both in their new home and their old one. We all want to rebuild our country. We must all participate and cooperate with each other. And now, as German politicians debate whether refugees from Syria should go back, the doctors are asking themselves a painful question. Are we still welcome here? We meet two doctors who live in different cities in Germany, Cuxhaven at the North Sea coast and the capital Berlin. One of them is Amar Jabur. We visited him in Cuxhaven. In 2013, he fled Syria. He had joined the protests against former President Bashar al-Assad. We just stood there with signs saying that all we wanted was a little democracy and freedom. It didn't even take ten minutes before we were followed. And they just arrested me. Because of his story and qualifications, Amar was able to get a visa for Germany quickly, together with his family he's built a new life here and become a respected eye doctor. My connection to my work is excellent. The same goes for my patients. But when I take two weeks off, I really miss work. I like being around people, but lately I've been feeling very unwelcome in this country. What bothers him is the recurring debate about migration, generalizing and lacking nuance, in his view. At the moment it feels like every week or every two or three weeks you hear comments targeting migrants. Even as a migrant who has a German passport, you feel like a second-class German. Recently, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz added to this unease. He declared that since the war was over, Syrians could now return home, drawing criticism even from within his own conservative party. The civil war in Syria is over. Syria needs all its strength and above all Syrians to rebuild. And that's why there will certainly be many who now leave the country voluntarily. So far the government is also thinking about returning Syrians who have committed crimes or are seen as having difficulties integrating. Amar is already a German citizen, so he wouldn't be affected by any deportation decisions. But would he return voluntarily? In October Amar visited Damascus for a medical conference and saw the situation in Syria firsthand. Large areas without water, electricity or hospitals. This is the street where we used to live. There are cities that have been completely destroyed. They are no longer habitable. And that's what makes a voluntary return to Syria impossible at this stage. Bassel al-Said works as an oral surgeon in Berlin. He moved to Germany back in 2003 and after the outbreak of the civil war he never returned. He's also bothered by statements by the German chancellor. Mr. Merz is trying to get a few more votes. But he's making another mistake because this atmosphere of hatred, this right-wing extremism is rising again. He goes from mistake to mistake. Bassel al-Said is also the vice-chair of the Association of German Syrian Aid Organizations. He distinguishes between two groups of Syrians now affected by the current debate over returning home. The group that's affected, the new refugees here are a little afraid because they have nothing to go back to. They left all their possessions behind in order to find a way for themselves and their families here in Germany. I or the other people who have established something here might like to go back to Syria. But we have other fears. Doctors like Ammar and Bassel fill vital gaps in Germany's health care system. Syrians make up the largest group of foreign doctors here. What would happen if they really decided to return to Syria? This could have very serious negative consequences locally and in small towns and rural areas. But we mustn't just focus on doctors. Many Syrians work in nursing or health care professions or in areas that are part of critical infrastructure. Ammar is not ready to return permanently just yet, though he's working on ways to help his country. We're organizing a second conference and a humanitarian mission in southern Syria to operate on more than a hundred patients free of charge, funded by donations here in Germany. What both doctors hope for in Germany is a constructive, fair debate on migration so that they and people like them can once again feel they truly belong.

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