Migrants with “subsidiary protection” status in Germany are now one step away from officially losing the right to reunite with their families—after years of waiting and holding on to what many describe as “false hope.”

After the fall of al-Assad’s regime, Germany—Europe’s leading economic power—emerged as a key supporter of rebuilding a new Syria by taking gradual steps to boost its economy and improve living conditions for its people.

Scenes of Syrians returning from displacement camps near the Turkish border to their hometowns—once abandoned due to war—continue to unfold, as many see it as a symbol of “complete victory” following the fall of the country’s tyrant.

Germany’s new chancellor Friedrich Merz plans to tighten immigration by suspending family reunification for Syrians with subsidiary protection, amid far-right pressure and support for Syria’s reconstruction.

As displaced Syrians make their way back to devastated towns, a deadly pattern is emerging—children and women are killed almost daily by landmines and unexploded ordnance left behind by war.