This is a moment of real opportunity, but also real danger for Syrians, IRC's Donnelly says

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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.

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