WORLD NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2019 / 8:19 AM / UPDATED 5 HOURS AGO

Russia tells Syrian asylum seekers: You need to go home

Maria Vasilyeva
3 MIN READ

MOSCOW (Reuters) - In pre-war Syria, Safaa Al-Kurdi sold wedding dresses. Fed up with the conflict, the mother-of-three fled Damascus four years ago and sought asylum in Moscow. Now, Russia is saying she must go home.

Safaa is one of thousands of Syrian refugees that Russia, an ally of President Bashar al-Assad, is urging to return. Large parts of Syria are safe, Russian officials say, and there is no reason for asylum seekers like Safaa, 55, to remain.

The Russian stance is creating problems for Syrians here who are seeing their asylum requests rejected. Banned from working, they face the threat of arrest and deportation.

“Since my children are there and Syria is my country, I would naturally like to return,” Safaa, whose two eldest sons were drafted into the Syrian army, said through tears.

“But it’s not possible for anyone to return in this situation. People know that there is poverty, that people are dying of cold or from hunger, or from bombing.”

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