Syrian asylum seekers ‘terrified’ after Interior Ministry suspends their applications

Asylum seekers who have been waiting more than a year for the outcome of their applications have told BBC News they are “depressed” and “terrified” by the Home Office’s decision to suspend applications.

Hussam Kassas fled Syria in 2016 after he and his family were “personally attacked” by Bashar al-Assad’s regime due to his work documenting human rights abuses and participating in protests.

The father-of-two said he had hoped his family would be granted refugee status, but the UK’s pause on applications had left him insecure and at risk of losing his home and job.

The Interior Ministry has said the measure was taken “while we assess the current situation” following the rapid fall of the regime.

Between 2011 and 2021, more than 30,000 Syrians were granted asylum in the UK, but on Monday The Interior Ministry said it was no longer possible to assess pending cases. given the change in circumstances there.

It means the government has not determined whether Syria, under the new rebel-led authorities, is a safe country to which people could be sent. He has stressed that no people will be sent to Syria while the process is ongoing.

Kassas is among 6,500 people who the Home Office says will be affected by the pause and who the Refugee Council warned could be “stuck for months” with their status in limbo.

The 36-year-old, who lives in Greater Manchester and is a researcher for the UK-based British Syrian Consortium advocacy group, said his student visa expires next month, leaving him unable to work or rent.

“All those people who came from Syria need support, they need empowerment, to overcome what happened to them over the last 14 years, to not be unsafe again, to not feel unsafe again.”

Kassas fled Syria for Jordan in 2016 before moving to Türkiye with his wife and son. He was granted a UK student visa in August 2023 and applied for asylum a few weeks later.

Speaking of his experiences during the civil war in Syria, he said: “I have been wounded in my family home, my family home has been destroyed by barrel bombs and mortar shells.

“At one event they beat my father until he lost consciousness to hand me over to them.”

Kassas said he was “sure” that he and his family would be “threatened” if they returned to Syria, and expressed concern that supporters and forces of ousted President Assad are still present in the country.

“I don’t like being a refugee, I have a homeland, I have the right to return there. But given the circumstances, I don’t think I can go. I won’t risk my children’s safety, I won’t risk my wife’s,” he told BBCNews.

Damascus, Syria’s capital, and much of the country are now controlled by a rebel coalition, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS), which is banned as a terrorist organization by the UK government and others.

Earlier this week, Cabinet minister Pat McFadden said the UK could remove HTS from the list of banned terrorist groups. – but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer later said it was “too early” to consider a policy change.

BBC News also spoke to Hamid, not his real name, who fled the Assad regime in 2013 after supporting humanitarian work in the country.

After moving to Lebanon and Türkiye, he arrived in the UK as a student and applied for asylum in late 2023.

The father-of-two, who lives in the West Midlands, said the pause in asylum claims had left him “anxious” and his wife in tears.

“Currently, with their decision, they are affecting thousands of people who are already struggling. (Syrian asylum seekers) cannot return yet because it is not safe yet, they cannot settle here at the same time, they will not be anywhere for a while. unknown period of time.”

Hamid urged the government to continue making asylum decisions until they can make a better assessment of Syria’s safety for asylum seekers.

“I want to ask you to use logic. After 13 years of a very complicated war, we cannot say in one day that we need to reevaluate.

“I felt very happy about the fall of the Assad regime. At the same time, the next day we received this news and, to be honest, I felt really depressed and frustrated.”

Concerns were also echoed by Abdulaziz Almashi, a Syrian refugee who settled in the UK and campaigned for asylum seekers.

“It’s not reasonable, it’s not realistic, it’s unacceptable to be honest,” he said.

“We are really concerned at the speed with which the British government and European governments are getting rid of Syrians… This is inhumane and we don’t think anyone should go home now.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Office has temporarily suspended decisions on Syrian asylum applications while we assess the current situation.

“We keep all national guidance relating to asylum claims under constant review so that we can respond to emerging issues.”