There are many analyses of migration policy, but very few texts about a possible world without borders. We imagine what freedom of movement between Germany and Syria might look like. Yalla, follow us into this utopia.
Ruqaia is a doctor who came to Germany from Latakia in 2016. She now lives in Schwerin in Germany. The clinic where she works is understaffed and she is overwhelmed by the enormous workload. Her husband is also a doctor, but he still lives in Syria. In order for them to live together in Germany, he fought to get an appointment at the embassy. But then new rules came into effect, establishing freedom of movement between Syria and Germany. Ruqaia’s husband is able to book a flight to Germany without a visa. Once he arrives, he plans to apply directly to work with his wife to help ease the burden on both her and the clinic.
Ruqaia is relieved. She plans to become a mother in the next few years and dreams of a family life that spans her two homelands: Syria and Germany. It gives her a lot of strength to know that her mother could come to Germany for a while after the baby is born to support her.
Traveling Without Fear
Since the new regulations took effect, traveling between Germany and Syria means simply finding and booking a flight, driving to the airport and crossing the border without fear of being turned away, without time limits or worries about German visa requirements like frozen bank accounts.
Moving for work is no problem. Circular labour migration takes placein both directions, made easier by the removal of bureaucratic barriers. Syria desperately needs skilled workers to jumpstart postwar reconstruction. Germany, in turn, cannot manage without Syrian workers.
To turn this situation into a win-win, bilateral programs are being established. Skilled workers trained in Germany offer training programs in Syria to pass on their expertise. In addition, workers employed in Syria can visit Germany and gain professional experience while remaining employed in their homeland.
The Federal Employment Agency no longer handles applications for work permits and qualifications, but instead coordinates labour migration between Germany and Syria. Job seekers from Syria and Germany can register at a portal for employers funded by the Agency.
Both the authorities and the people breathe a sigh of relief, because bureaucracy, unlike before, is no longer a burden. Without the various residence permits, with all their requirements regarding work, freedom of travel and residency conditions, the administration can focus on what really matters.
Umm Majid, a grandmother from Raqqa
Umm Majid has leukemia. She received treatment in Syria, but with time it became clear that she needed a bone marrow transplant. Her family in Germany found a potential donor, but initial attempts to bring her to Germany for treatment were unsuccessful.
Thanks to a new partnership between Mujtahed Hospital in Damascus and Charité in Berlin in the field of cancer treatment, Umm Majid was finally able to travel to Germany without a visa. The transplant was successful and Umm Majid is recovering in Berlin. The family does not have to worry about financial difficulties due to the treatment. The program is funded by the Syrian-German Medical Association, Charité, and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Not only patients but also medical staff can now travel freely between Syria and Germany. Medical professionals are coming to Germany as part of hospital partnerships. Cancer patients in Syria have easier access to appropriate treatment, and Germany benefits from the young Syrian medical staff.
Due to their years of experience during the war, many Syrian medical professionals have developed a high level of skill and valuable knowledge in emergency medicine and disaster medicine. As part of the program, they share this expertise with their German colleagues.
Umm Majid and her family are now part of a patient network that advocates for the expansion of such healthcare partnerships. They want to make free access to healthcare available to people in Syria and Germany, as well as to people from other countries.
Fabian, author and partner of Syrian artist Laila
Germany and Syria have become increasingly connected, especially since the “long summer of migration” in 2015. Syrians have become part of German society. They have started families, and they work or study in Germany. In many families, German and Arabic are the first and second languages. Syrian culture shapes German streets through restaurants, art exhibitions, or the names on doorbell plates.
Fabian grew up in East Frisia and enjoys writing about his homeland. He knows that in his writing he romanticises the North Sea, the fields and the wetlands, a portrayal that people from his region enjoy reading. Laila presents a different aesthetic in her works: mosaics, olive groves, warmer colors. Ever since they started a relationship, he has wanted to learn more about Syria and blend his visual world with Laila’s. A program offered by the Syrian-German Umbrella Organisation of Cultural Institutions came at just the right time. Together with other cultural professionals, Fabian spent several months at the art academy in Latakia.
Through the networks he has built, he regularly invites Syrian artists and authors to Germany. Thanks to their freedom of movement, they organise readings and exhibitions together in both countries without having to worry about bureaucratic delays or cancellations due to rejected visa applications.
Annenmaykantereit in Damascus
For Syrians living in Syria, Germany is increasingly becoming a point of reference due to family ties, financial connections, development projects and exchange programs. If you walk through Damascus or Raqqa, you can greet people in German and receive a reply in German. Bloggers travel through Syria, report on the situation, visit their friends, discover new aspects of the country and share information with a German audience on TikTok or YouTube.
This newly gained freedom of movement is directly linked to interculturality. A Syrian-German multi-identity is much easier to live with; finding oneself and developing an identity does not mean a choice between diverging paths. People can move fluidly between (sub)cultures. Lina Shamamian sings for the people of Berlin and Annenmaykantereit albums are gaining popularity in Damascus.
Wael, a student in Freiburg
Having grown up in Germany without ever having been to Syria, Wael is equally fluent in German and Arabic. In ninth grade, he wants to spend a year as an exchange student in Syria. Dedicated teachers at his school are in the process of establishing an exchange program with a school in Masyaf, where German classes have been offered for quite some time. Thanks to the freedom of movement now in place, ten students are expected to make the trip each year.
Wael’s best friend, Anne, is coming along too. Her enthusiasm for the Arabic language was sparked at Wael’s family’s dinner table. Now she wants to learn Arabic properly. The suitcases are packed. The school is handling the travel arrangements and administrative steps. There isn’t much to do, since Wael and Anne do not need to apply for any documents or carry anything other than their IDs.
The two take some classes together in German: Anne attends Arabic classes sponsored by the Syrian Ministry of Education and Wael takes other school subjects in Arabic. During their exchange year, their friends visit them from Germany. Together, they take a tour of Syria. Their sense of connection to the country and its people grows. Over time, mutual prejudices give way to a deeper understanding of each other’s contexts.
The political debate in Germany is easing
Given the freedom of movement between Germany and Syria, even right-wing or conservative politicians can no longer score political points by talking about deportations and curtailing rights. Migration is no longer a problem to be controlled. It has had its day as a political leitmotif.
Migration to and from Syria is no longer a political football match, but rather a natural part of German-Syrian life. Populism and racism in Germany are losing momentum, and surveys on the topic conducted by the media or the state are losing their relevance.
Lisa, a political scientist in Berlin
Many citizens in Syria are committed to the country’s reconstruction. During her studies at HU Berlin, Lisa specialised in social movements and state transformation. After the fall of the Assad regime, she wanted to pass on her knowledge. The following year, she organised a summer school for young Syrians in Berlin, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development as well as the Syrian Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
In the years that followed, the program filled up quickly; applicants did not have to go through visa procedures and could enter the country immediately upon acceptance. Lisa then decided to expand the project and open a branch in Syria in cooperation with the University of Aleppo.
The program became a key pillar of Syria’s political reconstruction process. It received awards, and eventually the HU established an institute specialising in the interdisciplinary study of reconstruction processes. Both Germany’s historical experience and current international examples play a role.
Remembering Together, Standing Together Against Authoritarianism
Since Syria freed itself from its long-standing brutal dictatorship in 2024, civil society initiatives in Syria and Germany have been collaborating on many levels. Wages in the German care sector are now also being negotiated with input from the Syrian side. The focus is on fair pay and the flexibility for employees to choose to move between Germany and Syria as and when they wish.
In the realm of remembrance culture, pioneering projects quickly emerged, such as an exhibition on the Syrian Sednaya Prison held at the former Stasi prison in Hohnschönhausen. There, the role of prisons in authoritarian states was a central theme, as well as the connection between former Nazi elites, and later, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the authoritarian structures in Syria. Today, a network of associations, organisations, government institutions, and universities is developing concepts for coming to terms with the crimes committed by these regimes.
Freedom of movement alone isn't enough to build democratic structures and a culture of remembrance. But it does make room for genuine, equal exchange between people, and for working together toward a shared social utopia.
