Syrian refugees and German politicians condemned on Wednesday a visit to Damascus by members of an anti-immigrant party, saying their depictions of life in the city as “normal” were especially offensive when a rebel-held enclave nearby was being bombarded.
Seven members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) are currently on a “fact-finding” trip to Syria, which the party wants classified as a safe-country of origin. This would make it easier to deport failed asylum seekers from Germany.
Syrians in Germany have been particularly angered by posts on the Facebook page of Christian Blex, a regional AfD lawmaker, who wrote that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wanted the 600,000 Syrians who have sought refuge in Germany to return.