Members of the Syrian community in Malta told Foreign Minister Ian Borg on Tuesday about their concerns over calls being made across Europe for Syrian migrants to be repatriated now that there has been regime change in their country.
The Syrian Solidarity Association in Malta said that during a meeting with the minister, it discussed European asylum policies and their impact on Syrians in Malta.
Malta earlier this month joined several other European countries in suspending the processing of asylum applications for Syrians after the downfall of president Bashar al-Assad. Out of the 600 asylum requests last year, 119 were from Syrian nationals - the highest of all the countries.
There have been several calls on social media for Syrian migrants to be repatriated.
But the members of the Syrian delegation in their meeting with Borg expressed concerns about the prospect of returning Syrians to Syria in the current circumstances.
They underlined the strong family, economic, and social ties that many Syrians in Malta have, the contribution of the Syrian community to Maltese society and how many Syrian children were born in Malta and are part of the Maltese social fabric.
The delegation also raised problems about a lack of official documents for many Syrians in Malta and called for easier access to such documents for Syrians in Malta through diplomatic cooperation.
The meeting also discussed the current situation in Syria, notably the widespread damage to the infrastructure of the country, the association said.
The delegation expressed its gratitude to the Maltese people for their continued support and urged the Maltese government to maintain its 'open policies' towards the Syrian community.
Turkey says over 25,000 Syrians returned home since Assad's fall
More than 25,000 Syrians have returned home from Turkey since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by Islamist-led HTS rebels, Turkey's interior minister said Tuesday.
Turkey is home to nearly three million refugees who fled the civil war that broke out in 2011, and whose presence has been an issue for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.
"The number of people returning to Syria in the last 15 days has exceeded 25,000," Ali Yerlikaya told the official Anadolu news agency.
Ankara is in close touch with Syria's new leaders and now focussing on the voluntary return of Syrian refugees, hoping the shift in power in Damascus will allow many of them to return home.
Yerlikaya said a migration office would be established in the Turkish embassy and consulate in Damascus and Aleppo so that the records of returning Syrians could be kept.
Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus, nearly a week after Assad was toppled by forces backed by Ankara, and 12 years after the diplomatic outpost was shuttered early in Syria's civil war.
Yerlikaya said one person from each family will be given the right to enter and exit three times from January 1 to July 2025 under regulations to be drafted upon Erdogan's instructions.
Syrians returning to their country will be able to take their belongings and cars with them, he added. (AFP)