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00:00Syria's interim prime minister is calling on the millions who fled the country's brutal civil war to return home.
00:06Some here in Europe fear they may be forced out as European capitals rethink their asylum policies for Syrian refugees.
00:14Our Berlin correspondent Nick Holdsworth has been meeting some of them who've made new homes for themselves in Germany.
00:21In the streets of Berlin's new Köln Syrian quarter, euphoria is mixed with uncertainty.
00:28Yamin Mohen, like many in the diaspora, is closely following the news from Syria, but also Germany's political discourse.
00:36The restaurant manager who employs 50 people is upset over calls for Syrian refugees to be sent back.
00:44These are all hard-working people and now we're already talking about deportations to Syria? What's going to happen to our businesses?
00:52It's not fair.
00:54It's not fair.
00:56Less than 24 hours after Bashar al-Assad fled Syria, Germany has put more than 47,000 asylum applications on hold.
01:05Fueled by the far-right, the debate over their right to stay is raging.
01:09The Christian Democrat Party, favourites in February's elections, is proposing a leave-in bonus of 1,000 euros.
01:17Rimma Al-Najjar, who has rebuilt her life in Germany, is not directly under threat.
01:22Like 160,000 other refugees since the start of Syria's civil war, she has obtained a German passport.
01:30But she criticizes the political exploitation of her citizenship.
01:37Honestly, I'm afraid that we're still playing politics on the backs of the Syrians when the country isn't out of the woods yet.
01:47I think it's too early to return safely to Syria.
01:51Fifty-three years of injustice is bound to create chaos and reprisals.
01:58The outgoing government of Chancellor Scholz is warning against swift changes to policies on Syrian asylum.
02:05Tarek al-Aws, himself a refugee and member of a migrant defense organization,
02:10would prefer Germany to focus first on reconstruction aid for Syria.
02:16Instead of asking Syrians how they might promote social justice in Syria, Germany preferred to quickly discuss repatriation.
02:22They don't realize the fear this creates among Syrians, especially for those with families in Germany.
02:28But the country is in the middle of an election campaign.
02:31The million Syrians who have found a second home in Germany could pay the price.
02:37Ciarán Donnelly is Senior Vice President of International Programs at the International Rescue Committee.
02:43He's standing by for us now in New York.
02:46Ciarán, thank you so much for being with us on the programme this evening.
02:50The IOC, it's describing this as a watershed moment for Syria.
02:55But you point out that there are still more than 16 million people in the country who are in need of humanitarian assistance.
03:02And that is before we even start talking about the millions who may return to their homeland in the coming weeks and months.
03:09Just talk to us about what life is like for those people in need of aid in Syria.
03:15Yeah, the scenes that we've seen from your reporters, dramatic celebrations in the streets in Damascus and elsewhere around Syria,
03:22as well as heart-rending images out of the prisons as people look for news of their family,
03:26underscore the seismic nature of the political transition that's happened.
03:30Politically, Syria is in a very, very different place this week than it was just a few days ago.
03:36But the underlying conditions for people in Syria haven't changed as a result of this political transition.
03:41It's a country that is dealing with the consequences of almost 14 years of civil conflict.
03:47It's a country of 23 million people.
03:50Sixty percent of those have been displaced, either internally or externally.
03:53About half of the population lives below the poverty line.
03:57Ninety percent, sorry, excuse me, half the population is food insecure, meaning they don't know where their next meal is coming from.
04:04But 90 percent live below the poverty line.
04:06And the GDP of the country has halved over the last 10 or so years.
04:10The health system has been destroyed and is essentially non-functional.
04:14Public services deteriorated across the country.
04:18So it's a country that has massive humanitarian and development challenges.
04:22And those are kind of impacting directly on the lives of Syrians across the country today,
04:28even as they celebrate what is for many of them this moment of real hope.
04:32And Ciarán, you point out as well that fighting, it's affecting the ability of some of your teams on the ground
04:37to access certain populations in need.
04:40What is the situation there and how can you get to those people?
04:44It's been a very dynamic few weeks for people across Syria and for our teams
04:50and other organizations responding to their needs.
04:53As the rebel offensive moved towards Damascus,
04:57we were forced to suspend some programs in Idlib and in northwest Syria
05:02and some programs like our emergency health programming and support to health facilities were able to keep going.
05:08We have about 870 staff working across Syria today,
05:11as well as a large number of Syrian civil society organizations we support.
05:16They were able to keep working for the most part.
05:18Some of them were displaced to themselves.
05:21Those teams are quickly getting back to work as fighting in those areas has subsided.
05:25But we're also seeing clashes elsewhere in some of the lines of control
05:29between different militia groups in the northeast of Syria.
05:32So it's a very dynamic and quickly changing situation where we're forced to pause.
05:36We try to keep that pause to a limit for just a few days
05:39and then get the team back to work as quickly as we can.
05:41And Kieran, what kind of responsibilities does the international community have here?
05:47I think we have to recognize that this is a moment of real opportunity for Syria,
05:53but also a moment of real danger for Syrians.
05:57Everything we're seeing, the celebrations that we're seeing from people
06:00speak to that moment of opportunity.
06:02But there are a lot of conditions needed to bring about a peaceful
06:06and stable transition over the coming days.
06:08So from the international community, I think first and foremost,
06:12we need we need crowding in of support for Syrian people, for Syrian communities.
06:17That starts with political and diplomatic support to do everything possible
06:22to bring about a stable transition of power, the rapid establishment
06:25of necessary civil administration, public services, reinforcing those
06:30services that are already there. We also need financial support.
06:34So funding to Syria from a humanitarian perspective has declined in recent years.
06:38Now is the moment for the humanitarian, the international community,
06:41both regionally and globally, to make good on their commitments
06:44to the Syrian people and come forward with pledges of support for immediate relief,
06:48but also for long term reconstruction.
06:51And lastly, we need an understanding of the situation
06:54that while many Syrians are choosing to return,
06:57many others are not yet ready to make that decision.
07:00And for those who are in exile in foreign countries, we need
07:04patience and support to continue for their situation.
07:06Ciarán, we'll have to leave it there for now,
07:08but we do really appreciate your time on the program.
07:10That's Ciarán Donnelly, Senior Vice President
07:13of International Programs at the International Rescue Committee.
07:16Well, it is time now for all the days.