Refugees brace for backlash

Syrian passport found near the body of one of the attackers sparks concerns over refugee influx.

Carefully shielding a lit candle against the cold pouring rain, Syrian refugee Ghaled, 22, had come to the French embassy in Berlin to pay tribute to victims of the Paris attacks.

“We are with them right now, just to help them with this crisis. What’s happening to them is happening every day in Syria, 100 times per day for five years, so we know what that means,” he said. Ghaled was a student in dentistry in Damascus, but decided to leave the Syrian capital after seeing no end to the violence engulfing his homeland.

Like tens of thousands of his fellow countrymen, he first risked his life crossing the Mediterranean in an inflatable boat, before trekking for 17 days to get to Germany five months ago. But just as he began looking forward to rebuilding his life with German language classes which he hopes would help him return to dentistry school one day, Friday’s attacks that killed 129 people in Paris have raised fears of a backlash in Europe.

French police’s discovery of a Syrian passport near the body of one attacker in particular has sparked concerns that some of the assailants might have entered Europe as part of the huge influx of people fleeing Syria’s civil war. “It’s a problem,” said Ghaled, who urged against victimising his countrymen, saying the attackers “are not Syrians” and that the passport link was simply make-believe.

Another Syrian refugee, William, 24, who had also arrived in Germany five months ago, was equally anxious. “Many news speak about Syrians, police find Syrian passport. Of course I’m worried. It’s not good,” said the 24-year-old tourism student from the northern town of Hama.