"I was never worried or stressed about the trip, says Somar, just 27 years old at the time. I never had any thought about danger or failure. My only thoughts were how I could make the trip a happy adventure for me and my sisters. For some reason, he adds, I was sure that I would arrive safely in Germany.''"
"The trip would be tough, Somar Kreker knew, but he was not overly fearful. It was the summer of 2015, and in a small flat in Amman, Jordan, this young Syrian's only thought was how to turn a long and arduous journey into something more bearable. The engineering student had fled Syria three and a half years earlier after refusing to enlist in the brutal regime's army."
Somar Kreker was a Syrian engineering student who fled Syria after refusing military conscription and lived in Amman. In summer 2015 he planned to travel to Germany to reunite with his younger sisters still in Damascus. He felt unafraid and focused on making the journey a positive adventure, confident he would arrive safely. Nearly one million asylum seekers attempted to reach Europe in 2015, marking the peak of the migration crisis. German chancellor Angela Merkel said Wir schaffen das as Germany opened its borders. Over the following decade migration reshaped political landscapes across Europe and aided the rise of far-right parties.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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