00:00This refugee-run restaurant in the Danish city of Orhus tastes like a home many thought
00:05was lost to them forever. But now Syrians here are faced with a choice, whether to stay
00:10or go.
00:11I haven't decided yet. After the Assad regime fell, we started to feel normal again, like
00:18I'm Syrian again. I feel emotionally and morally relieved. But it's a bit saddening that we've
00:24been here in Denmark for 10 years now, working hard, and we still don't have proper papers.
00:29The Danish government provides Syrians and other refugees up to US$38,000 if they're
00:38willing to return, tens of thousands more than in nearby Germany.
00:43While many here like the policy in principle, only around 120 Syrians have taken up the offer
00:48this year.
00:49Because the situation in Syria is not stable or something, every day it's changed. When
00:57we called our family in Syria, also they said, we don't think it's good for you to come home.
01:06Yeah.
01:07Refugee support volunteer Yusuf fled Syria's civil war after an attack by regime soldiers
01:12left him disabled. He's one of roughly 45,000 Syrians in Denmark, and says most here feel
01:19the stakes are too high to leave.
01:21I have kids now here. They born here. They didn't know anything about Syria. When I talk
01:26to them about that, what do you think if we go back to Syria? My daughter, she didn't answer
01:32me by word. She just took a look off my leg and walked away. If someone don't feel safe, this
01:41bonus will mean nothing for him.
01:43Denmark is renowned for its restrictive migration and integration policies. In the past, its
01:51centre-left government declared a zero-refugees goal.
01:55This was done under a Social Democrat-led government, which remains in power until today. But many
02:01of the points that were then put forward seem very much like what would be out of the playbook
02:09of a more conservative or right-wing political agenda. You could consider it as sort of a
02:14front-runner when it comes to migration and asylum policy that we see across Europe nowadays.
02:22The country sparked controversy by revoking some Syrians' residence permits as far back
02:26as 2019, though legal and political challenges meant no one was ever deported. Denmark says
02:32it now wants to engage more with those in power in Syria.
02:36I think the jury is still out. What happened in Syria opened a window of opportunity. That's
02:42why we have abolished some of the sanctions. It is with the ambition that we could create
02:49such a stable situation in Syria that many of the Syrians who reached Europe back in 2015
02:56could return. But we haven't, you know, taken any concrete decisions yet.
03:01While some fear Denmark's return bonus may morph into an expulsion order, criminals would likely
03:06be first in line for future deportations. And Yousef says he feels secure for now. He's applied to go and
03:13visit his birth country and has been collecting donations of prosthetic limbs.
03:17It's to send it to Syria, to people who can use it. Yeah, because there is a need for stuff like that. A big need, yeah.
03:27His hope is to help others who will always bear the scars of a past without peace.
03:33It's, That's right.
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