Jens Spahn, a senior member of Germany’s opposition Christian Democrats ( cdu ), suggested handing €1,000 ($1,050) to any Syrian who wished to go home. Austria’s government even instructed officials to prepare deportation plans.

Najem al-Moussa was delighted when news of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's overthrow first beamed from the television in his tiny Athens apartment.

European countries have announced a freeze on asylum procedures for Syrians, despite Syria's highly uncertain future following the fall of Bashar Al-Assad's regime. The rise of far-right parties and the memory of the 2015 migration crisis have hardened the discourse.