Introduction
Refugees flee their home countries in search of a safer place because they fear persecution. However, refugees often face more challenges and ill-treatment when they arrive in host countries, especially regarding their right to asylum. Germany has received more refugees from their neighbouring countries, especially in times of crisis and war. Historically, Germany received a proportionally high number of refugees due to the Yugoslav Wars and the Syrian Civil War, yet their approach to refugees continues to vary over the years and this has most recently been seen with the Ukraine Crisis.
The Plight of Yugoslavian Refugees
Throughout the 1990s, many Yugoslavians entered Germany to seek asylum due to the Yugoslavian Wars. Ethnic cleansing occurred throughout the Wars where the police, military and political authorities tried to completely reduce if not annihilate ethnic groups within a given territory (Radovic, 2005). These acts pushed civilians to leave their homes and seek asylum elsewhere. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that “everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution” (United Nations General Assembly, 1948). Based on this, Germany would be expected to grant asylum but since the UDHR is non-binding, a state’s duty to grant asylum remained ambiguous, resulting in Germany granting protection rather than asylum to refugees (Hageboutros, 2016; Oltmer, 2016).
During the initial years of the War, Germany had “taken tons and thousands of Slovenes and Croats” (Hageboutros, 2016, 52). As the Wars continued, Germany started to receive more refugees from Bosnia & Herzegovina with an average of 311,250 refugees per year between 1994 and 1997 (UNHCR, n.d.). As a result, Germany started changing their policies and laws regarding their borders. However, in closing their borders, they faced a lot of international and domestic criticism, causing them to reopen their borders whilst also easing visa restrictions and protecting the sick and wounded became a priority (Hageboutros, 2016). In effect, Germany decided to grant Yugoslavians Temporary Protection Status rather than Refugee Status as they were unable to prove they were fleeing persecution.
Germany took two different approaches to Temporary Protection Status – dudlung and aufenthaltsbefungis. Dudlung translates to toleration, whereas aufenthaltsbefungis translates to temporary residence, so refugees were treated differently based on their status (Hageboutros, 2016). For instance, those with dudlung status “were prevented from working or attending school” and constantly feared deportation, whereas the government gave residence to those with aufenthaltsbefungis status whilst restricting their movement (Hageboutros, 2016, 56). The two distinct approaches reflect how refugees were not considered a priority in the labour market unless they had over four years of employment or one year of training (Barslund et al., 2017). This also shows that because Germany did not formally recognise them as refugees, they had very few integration measures in place. In effect, many Bosnians left Germany and settled elsewhere, reflecting how Germany never intended to let refugees permanently settle since Germany expected Yugoslavs to return home once the war ended (Barslund et al., 2017). However, Germany’s response to receiving Syrian refugees was different to how they approached Yugoslavian refugees almost twenty years prior.
Hope for Syrian Refugees
The mid-2010s saw an increase in refugees for Germany due to the Syrian Civil War. The later years of the Syrian Civil War caused many Syrians to leave their homes and seek refuge in Germany. The war began as early as 2011, but it was not until 2014 that the number of civilians fleeing drastically increased. Life in Syria became unbearable for citizens as the war caused a lot of violence, collapsed infrastructure,and many distressed and endangered children (Reid, 2021). This reflects how civilians were pushed out of Syria due to multiple factors including the deteriorating economy and drastic reduction in civilians’ standard of living environment. In 2020, Germany was among the top five countries to host Syrian refugees since the war began (Statista, 2021). This reflects how Syrians were pulled into Germany as they had greater chances of being granted refugee status since they were recognised as “victims of civil war” (Deutsche Welle, 2015).
The asylum-seeking procedure was easier for Syrians. The re-introduction of personal interviews in 2015 for all refugees meant they now needed to detail why they could not return to their country of origin (Deutsche Welle, 2015; UNHCR, n.d.). These interviews had both positives and negatives. On the one hand, it made it easier for Syrians to gain asylum since the media was reporting on the Syrian Civil War, whereas on the downside refugees were either granted refugee status or subsidiary protection (Deutsche Welle, 2019). Regardless, Germany was a destination country for Syrians because there were communities of common origin, making it easier for Syrians who were “fleeing war, civil conflict and the means of authoritative regimes” to feel at home (Oltmer, 2016, 30). This shows how Germany did not violate Syrian refugees’ right to asylum.
Interestingly, Germany positively responded to Syrian refugees and other more recent crises because they feel guilty about their past actions and crimes such as the Holocaust (Momin, 2017). AlthoughGermany failed to provide Syrian refugees with adequate measures and resources to help support them in this new country. In comparison, Germany has quickly responded to the current flow of Ukrainian refugees whilst taking a significantly different approach to how they treated Yugoslavian and Syrian refugees in the past.
Support for Ukrainian Refugees
Germany has had a quick and positive response to the current flow of Ukrainian Refugees compared to their past responses to refugees. The Ukraine War “destroyed civilian infrastructure” causing civilians to flee their homes in search of a safer place (Jurić, 2022, 2). As a result, many Ukrainians arrived in Germany. Germany has had a positive response because, within the first week of the conflict, the Council of Europe decided that Temporary Protection should be granted to displaced persons from Ukraine (UNHCR, n.d.). The European Union has also “granted Ukrainians the automatic right to stay and work through its 27 member nations for up to three years”(BBC News, 2022). These decisions show how Ukrainians do not have to go through long and complicated asylum procedures that past refugees struggled with (Deutsche Welle, 2022). In Germany, Ukrainians can work “without claiming asylum”(Jurić, 2022, 6).
There is also an increased amount of support given to Ukrainian refugees. Ukrainians are now entitled to receive assistance through “Social Code II (SGB 11) – typically called Hartz IV” where a single person will receive “€449 a month, as well as statutory health insurance and immediate access to the labor market” (Deutsche Welle, 2022). The increased use of technology has also resulted in the creation of the website Germany4Ukraine. The Federal Government created this website as a support portal for refugees from Ukraine where they can seek and find resources that help them. (Germany 4 Ukraine, 2022.). There is also a page dedicated to integration courses (Germany 4 Ukraine, 2022). Based on this, it may be assumed that Germany has had a change in attitude toward its response to refugees. However, the real reason for this change is because of the positive impact of Ukrainian refugees on German economy. Germany is facing a demographic crisis where there is a lack of people working in the labour force. In effect, “Germany needs to import about 400,000 employees every year to maintain its pension and health care system” (Deutsche Welle, 2022). In effect, Ukrainian refugees can work in the labour market, reflecting why Germany is taking such a welcoming approach toward Ukrainian Refugees.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be observed through historical trajectory of policies that Germany has often abused refugees’ right to asylum. Yugoslavians were not formally recognised as refugees and had to undergo a long asylum-seeking procedure only to be given a form of temporary protection. In comparison, Syrians went through shorter and easier procedures to be given refugee status. For Ukrainians, it can be said that temporary protection was simply given to them without having to go through long procedures. It is interesting to see how different the asylum-seeking procedures are for refugees even though Germany’s refugee population is mostly a result of some sort of war or civil conflict. Since Germany’s approach to refugees has historically changed as it receive more refugees, it should reflect on their past refugee policies. In effect, this allows Germany to create a new and more permanent refugee policy that is unlikely to change when civil conflicts cause them to receive more refugees. As Ukrainians have become refugees fairly recently, it will be interesting to see how Germany will respond to Ukrainian Refugees in the coming months and years.
Bibliography
Barslund, Busse, M., Lenaerts, K., Ludolph, L., & Renman, V. (2017). Integration of refugees: Lessons from Bosnians in five EU countries. Inter Economics, 52(5), pp.257–263. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10272-017-0687-2
BBC News. (2022). “How many Ukrainian refugees are there and where have they gone?”. Last accessed 2 July 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60555472.
Deutsche Welle. (2015). “Fewer fake Syrian passports in Germany than previously thought”. Last accessed 29 June 2022, from https://www.dw.com/en/fewer-fake-syrian-passports-in-germany-than-previously-thought/a-18917233.
Deutsche Welle. (2015). “German interior ministers approve individual assessment for Syrian refugees”. Last accessed 29 June 2022, from https://www.dw.com/en/german-interior-ministers-approve-individual-assessment-for-syrian-refugees/a-18894105.
Deutsche Welle. (2019). “Germany confirms, Syria still unsafe for asylum-seekers”. Last accessed 29 June 2022, from https://www.dw.com/en/germany-confirms-syria-still-unsafe-for-asylum-seekers/a-48742895.
Deutsche Welle. (2022). “Ukraine war: How Germany pays for refugees”. Last accessed 2 July 2022, from https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-war-how-germany-pays-for-refugees/a-61479216.
Germany 4 Ukraine. (2022).“Germany 4 Ukraine”. Last accessed 2 July 2022, from https://www.germany4ukraine.de/hilfeportal-en.
Hageboutros, J. (2016). The Bosnian Refugee Crisis: A Comparative Study of German and Austrian Reactions and Responses. Swarthmore International Relations Journal, 1(1), pp.50–60. https://doi.org/10.24968/2574-0113.1.12
Jurić, T. (2022). Predicting refugee flows from Ukraine with an approach to Big (Crisis) Data: a new opportunity for refugee and humanitarian studies. medRxiv, pp.1-27. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.15.22272428
Momin, S. (2017). Human Rights Based Approach to Refugees: Look at the Syrian Refugee Crisis and the Responses from Germany and the United States. Duke Forum for Law and Social Change, 9, pp.55-80. https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/dukef9&i=56
Oltmer, J. (2016). Germany and Global Refugees: A History of the Present. CESifo DICE Report4, pp.26-31. https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/dice-report-2016-4-oltmer-december.pdf
Radovic, B. (2005). A brief retrospective on the problem of refugees in the Yugoslav wars 1991-99. Living in post-war communities, pp.11-26. https://www.ian.org.rs/arhiva/publikacije/posleratnezajednice/book/04%20A%20brief%20retrospective%20on%20the%20problem%20of%20refugees%20in%20the%20Yugoslav%20wars%201991-99.pdf
Reid, K. (2021). “Syrian refugee crisis: Facts, FAQs, and how to help”. Last accessed 22 May 2022, from https://www.worldvision.org/refugees-news-stories/syrian-refugee-crisis-facts#:~:text=in%20your%20browser.-,Why%20are%20Syrians%20leaving%20their%20homes%3F,Syrian%20Observatory%20for%20Human%20Rights.
Statista. (2021). “Ranking of the largest Syrian refugee-hosting countries in 2020”. Last accessed 29 June 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/740233/major-syrian-refugee-hosting-countries-worldwide/.
UNHCR. (n.d.). “Asylum seeking process”. Last accessed 29 June 2022, from https://help.unhcr.org/germany/asylum-in-germany/asylum-seeking-process/#:~:text=In%20order%20to%20formally%20make,her%20own%20application%20in%20person.
UNHCR. (n.d.). “Information on Ukraine”. Last accessed 2 July 2022, from https://help.unhcr.org/germany/information-on-ukraine/.
United Nations General Assembly. (1948). “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. Last accessed 28 June 2022, from https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights/. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (n.d.). Refugee Statistics. Last accessed on 28 June 2022, from https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/download/?url=F7ug2T.
Himani Chauhan is an International Relations & History graduate and is currently pursuing a Masters of Migration Studies from Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand). She comes from a family of immigrants which has shaped her experiences, views, and interests in wanting to further explore and work in this area of study. Her area of interest includes – Migration, History and Human Rights.