Forever Stuck? The Fate of Syrians in the Middle East

With the fall of Aleppo in late 2016, the military balance in the Syrian war has clearly shifted towards the side of President Bashar al-Assad’s government. However, the devastating war in Syria is by no means over, it has only entered a new phase. Media coverage about the conflict abounds, but we receive little news about those who are suffering the most: Syrians themselves. What does the current constellation mean for the millions of Syrians who have had to flee their homes and had to resettle, particularly within their own country or in neighbouring countries in the Middle East? Are they forever stuck, not able to return or move elsewhere? This GIGA Berlin Talk will discuss the situation in the main refugee hosting countries and present first-hand accounts from Syrians currently residing in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. It will also address potential European responses to the current Syrian situation.

Speakers: Dr. André Bank, Senior Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies. He directs a research project on the effects of the Syrian war in Jordan which is funded by the German Foundation for Peace Research.

Dr. Wendy Pearlman, Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University in Evanston, USA and author of the newly published book We Crossed a Bridge and it Trembled: Voices from Syria (Harper Collins).

Comment: Andreas Krüger, Ambassador for the Negotiations on Syria and Head of Division: Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Anti-ISIS Strategy at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.

Moderator: Dr. Christian von Soest, Lead Research Fellow and Head of GIGA’s Peace and Security Research Programme.

Please confirm your attendance by 17 July 2017 by sending an e-mail to berlin-registration@giga-hamburg.de.

Unfortunately, the venue is not wheelchair accessible.