Syrian refugee Aras Bacho, who has written for the HuffPost and lives in Germany, tweeted that he knew at least six Syrians who traveled from Germany to Syria for vacation this summer season.
He tweeted in German, “Two weeks ago, six Syrians I know went on holiday in Syria to visit their family members and get some rest, especially from Germany. You miss your homeland and it is now commonplace for Syrians to do that!”
https://twitter.com/ArasBacho/status/1146503410973368320
“Unfortunately, I was unable to go on holiday to Syria because something very important got in the way, and I hope to catch up very soon during the holidays. Germany is stressful and you need some kind of break,” he added.
Aras Bacho is in his early 20s and came to Germany in 2010. Although the Syrian Civil War did not officially start until March 15, 2011, Bacho still calls himself a refugee.
In the past, Bacho tweeted that it was the women’s fault that they got sexually assaulted on New Year’s Eve in Germany in 2015 when thousands of women were attacked by asylum seekers, illegal immigrants, and other migrants of “Arab or North African appearance.”
In 2018, Bacho was also found guilty of five cases of sexual harassment against female classmates aged 17 to 19.
As early as 2016, German newspapers have been reporting on migrants with recognized refugee status having holidays in countries that they “fled,” such as Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Syria.
Because Hartz IV, the welfare system that certain migrants granted refugee status receive, permits 21 days per year of “local absence,” those who have recognized refugee status and have no income or assets simply leave Germany for vacation and continue to receive money from German taxpayers.
The German government did not collect data on information regarding refugees returning to their home country on vacation, but it does admit that “there are such cases.”
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