Austria offers €1,000 to Syrians to return to their country

The Austrian government has announced that it is offering Syrian refugees a “return bonus” of 1,000 euros to return home after the fall of the Assad regime.

Conservative Chancellor Karl Nehemer reacted swiftly to Assad’s ouster on Sunday, announcing the same day that the security situation in Syria should be reassessed to allow the deportation of Syrian refugees.

Deporting people against their will is not possible until it becomes clearer in which direction Syria is moving.

Currently, the Austrian government has stressed that it will focus on voluntary deportations. It has also stopped processing Syrian asylum applications, as have more than a dozen European countries.

Like many conservative governments in Europe, Nehemiah is under pressure from the far right, with the two parties often appearing to try to compete with each other to be tougher on immigration policy.

Syrians are the largest ethnic group of asylum seekers in Austria.

“Austria will support Syrians who wish to return home with a 1,000 euro refund bonus. The country now needs its citizens to rebuild itself,” the chancellor said in an X post written in English.

How many Syrians will take up the offer remains to be seen. With state-run carrier Austrian Airlines having suspended flights to Middle Eastern countries due to the security situation, the Austrian government’s bonus may not even cover the costs of getting Syrians from Austria to their home country.

A one-way economy class ticket to Beirut, the most frequent stopover point for those heading to Damascus, costs at least 1,066.10 euros on Turkish Airlines, according to the airline’s website.

The far-right Freedom Party (FPO) came first in September’s parliamentary elections, taking about 29% of the vote, but with no potential partner for a coalition government, Nehemer is leading talks with Social Democrats and the liberal Neos party to form a government.

The post Austria offers €1,000 to Syrians to return to their country appeared first on ProtoThema English.