‘I was never worried’: 10 years on since Syrian siblings’ 2,700-mile escape to Germany | Refugees

The trip would be difficult, Somar Krerek knew, but it wasn’t too scary. In 2015, the only idea of ​​this young Syria in a small apartment in Amman in Jordan was how to transform a long and challenging journey into something more endured. The engineering student fled Syria three and a half years before he refused to join the army of the brutal regime. Now, starting with a new task, he was ready to start a new part of his life: he was still trapped in Damascus, to meet with his young sisters and take them to Germany, where his brothers live.

Somar, who was only 27 years old at the time, says, “I was never worried about the trip or I wasn’t stressful,” he says. “I never thought about danger or failure. My only thoughts was how happy I could make the journey into me and my sisters.

“For some reason,” he adds, ım I was sure that I would come to Germany safely. ” ‘

In 2015, approximately 1 million asylum seekers tried to reach Europe – for one year authorities, and the aid workers would later define them as the summit of the migration crisis, which would test the basic values ​​of the EU born from the ashes of a war from millions. At a press conference in the refugee camp in Dresden on August 31, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor at that time, said.Wir Schaffen Das ” (“We can do this”) When opening the boundaries of the country to those who need it.

Today, the journey of Somar and his sisters would be too difficult to measure. Ten years have passed since then. Ten years when migration reshapes political landscapes on the continent and led to the rise of far -right parties.

A year ago, in 2014, Somar’s brother Mousab managed to go from Libya to Sicily by boat with his pregnant wife. But for him, repeating this journey with his sisters was not an option: it was very dangerous. A few months ago, on April 18, 2015, a fisherman’s boat designed to carry more than 30 passengers with more than 1000 asylum seekers collided with a Portuguese cargo ship approaching to provide help. The ship sank in dark waters on the coast of Sicily. Most of the bodies would be stuck in the trunk, about 400 meters deep in the sea bed. More than 800 people would lose their lives, which had become the most deadly shipwreck in the history of the European migration crisis.

There was only one alternative. Perhaps less deadly, but longer and more tiring: After traveling to Greece in a rubber boat from Türkiye, at least four countries, the Balkan route who cut the forests covered with snow in the mountains and colder months.

Somar said, “My plan was to meet my sisters in Istanbul with 21 -year -old salsatism and 14 -year -old Lubna. They were on a flight from Damascus.

After the Kros bus ride, they reached Kaş, a coastal town on the Mediterranean coast of Türkiye, where the smugglers would ferry them against the Greek Kastellorizo ​​Island-one of them for about 1,000 €.

Somar says, “We’ve found that my sisters would go before me,” Somar says. “This was the most dramatic moment of my journey. From Türkiye to Greece – it made me crazy, thinking that they had to pass alone on a boat.”

A few days ago, on September 13, at least 34 people, including 15 infants and children, were alabora in high winds from the island of overcrowded boats. According to the UN, UN Refugee Agency and International Organization for Migration (IOM), approximately 731 people died in the Aegean Sea in 2015, which tried to reach Greece in Kubauçuk Dinghies.

Fortunately, the sea was calm that day, and his sisters came to Kastellorizo ​​safely – came by Somar a few days later. Kastellorizo ​​had now experienced the influx of immigrants, whose inhabitants were significantly more.

Alessio Mamo, a guardian who met Somar in Türkiye and decided to document his journey, says, “He was a great candidate with his crystal water. “After the flow of tourists and the contrast between thousands of immigrants. After Dinghy transition, we played football to shake the fear.

The group took the ferry again to Athens. From there, a few days later, Somar, sisters and Alessio joined thousands of immigrants and headed towards the Northern Macedonian border from the open -air camp ruled by the UNMMYK.

Somar, “the borders were open at that time, unlike today. It was not difficult to reach the Balkans,” he says.

On October 15, they stepped on a train on Serbia, a country where the mood was increasingly tense. Until their arrival, more than 13,000 immigrants passed from Serbia to Croatia within a few days and alarm between European governments. In Zagreb, the authorities were afraid that asylum seekers were facing the last defense line against the alleged “invasion olarak – a narrative that was rapidly seized by remote parties throughout Europe.

Alessio was stopped by Serbian police. The passport did not show the entrance record to the country. He left the group and was taken to a police station where he was questioned. He was then allowed to continue his journey and reached Croatia by bus.

On the way to Europe, immigrants lived in temporary camps, open or cardboard shelters. Those who could not cover bus or train fees walked on foot, trekking along the busy forests and the mountains. They slept wherever possible.

On September 17, Croatia closed seven of the eight border crossings with Serbia to limit the influx of refugees. A month later, Slovenia watched the case – a clear sign that Europe, which struggles to manage unprecedented immigration flows, has closed its doors.

A month later, Somar came to his sisters and Alessio, Salzburg, Austria. A few days later – 44 days and 2,755 miles (4,434km) later – they reached Germany, their journeys resulted in a long and emotional embrace with Mousab.

The family fleeing the Syrian regime finally met more than war and fear.

Somar now lives in Bochum, where he married last year and works as a project manager for a company in the food industry.

“We found help and support in Germany, Som says Somar,“ And I didn’t feel against discrimination. ”

That year, Merkel was harshly criticized by many other EU leaders for responding from the crisis he called the “historical test olmaz that could not be solved by closing refugees. The open door policy invited hundreds of thousands of refugees to Germany.

Judith Sunderland, Deputy European and Central Asian Department of the Human Rights Monitoring Organization, said: “2015 was the year of enormous contradictions that show the possibility of a generous, hospitable and fair Europe from time to time.

“Ultimately, these contradictions were resolved by embracing brutal and oppressive migration and asylum policies.

“Since then, the EU has become increasingly returned to the European Castle, Sund says Sunderland.

Following 2015, the Balkan route became much more difficult with armed feedback by prickly wire fences and border police.

Italy’s human approach in Central Mediterranean. Mare Nostrum operation, which is managed by the Italian navy and focuses on the distressing rescue of immigrant ships, replaced the Triton Operation, which aims to patrol the Mediterranean more than saving life.

European prosecutors used laws designed to cope with organized crime to follow human smugglers – but not to stop the abuse of refugees on such roads, but to prevent migration flows. When the NGOs took steps to fill the gap, when the Libyan waters started rescue operations, the Italian authorities held ships and volunteer teams arrested.

He began to close the ports of Italy to immigrant ships from Libya. In 2017, the Minister of the Central Left Democratic Party Marco Minniti, Libya Coast Guard, made an agreement to intervene in Libya, where aid agencies reported widespread torture and abuse and return to immigrants.

The migration crisis became a decisive issue in June 2024 European elections, and many of them brought closed borders and public return to power.

Last year, Italy’s remote prime minister Giorgia Meloni opened two centers designed to hold men seized in international waters while trying to cross Europe from Africa to Europe in Albania. While Greece abandoned many of them in the swelling of the Aegean Sea, the Hungarian Government secretly fired thousands of asylum seekers, the Hungarian government ordered the closure of the border with Serbia and the construction of a fence along the border.

The result was a disaster increase in the number of deaths.

Médecins Sans Frontières Monica Minardi, president of Italy, said, “Since 2014, more than 32,000 people have lost their lives in the attempt to pass the Mediterranean Sea, and immigrants and asylum seekers did not remain an alternative to their lives to seek security and protection.

“We have seen cruel and sometimes fatal violence from Spain to Croatia and Greece, the cruel and sometimes fatal violence, from Spain to Croatia and Greece, Sund says Sunderland. “In 2015 (and before), it was still a time for Merkel for all the terrible policies and practices we saw: ‘We can do this.’ Now the German government is pushing people back to the border and the family is trying to eliminate the reunification.

Ten years have passed since Somar’s journey. Today, the future of immigrants and Europe itself remains unclear as the intolerance of the continent increases. In Germany, where Somar lived, the Für Deutschland (AFD) party, an anti -right and anti -immigrant anti -immigration party, came second with more than 20% of the votes in the federal elections of February.

Meanwhile, Europe, which is strengthened by barbed wire and systematic feedback, continues to close itself.