His adopted country has allowed in more refugees than any other country in Europe, and while German Chancellor Angela Merkel was lauded for it internationally, she is also facing a political backlash at home. Germany for the first time became the target of Islamic terror this July, including one suicide bomber that the self-declared Islamic State claims to have inspired.
"Based on everything I鈥檝e experienced in the past years, I鈥檇 identify myself as a human. I鈥檓 really proud to be Syrian, but I also see myself on a deeper level. Our main problem is belonging to a state. If we identify ourselves beyond what group we belong to, we can go beyond conflict. 鈥�
"For me, when you live in a place for a while you feel like you belong to that place. For me, I really feel like a Berliner. I have my own flat, a job, hobbies, and friends. For now I wouldn鈥檛 say I鈥檓 a European. I鈥檇 say I鈥檓 a Berliner. But as long as Berlin is part of Europe, then maybe being European is part of me.
"I chose to come to this place a long time ago. 鈥�. Now I can speak good German. In order to speak more deeply, I need more time to become as fluent as I want to be. I don鈥檛 consider people who鈥檝e lived in Berlin for 20 years but don鈥檛 speak German part of this society. They marginalize themselves by living as if they were living in their own towns. There鈥檚 a lot of people that don鈥檛 speak the language and become more extreme in their religion as a reaction. 鈥� Germany is opening the door and in turn expecting Syrians to respect society, get a job, and participate."
