Paper details

Paper authors	Benjamin Schraven
In panel on	Syrian Remittances: Navigating Forced Displacement, Sanctions and Humanitarian Needs
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

Based on survey work and secondary data analysis, this paper's focus is on remittances flows between Germany and Syria. Due to the conflict in Syria and the so called Eureopean "refugee crisis" of 2014/2015, the Syrian diaspora in Germany has increased considerably from 30,000 people in 2010 to around 820,000 ten years later. That makes Syrians the third-largest group of non-EU-foreigners living in Germany. Also due to the rather positive socio-economic situation of the Syrian diaspora, Germany is one of the most important source countries for remittance flows to Syria; these were estimated at 308 million EUR for 2019 by the German Federal Bankt. However, due to sanctions and de-risking, there are severe limits to using formal financial channels when sending money to Syria. According to the online survey conducted with a sample of Syrians living in Germany, hawalas are mostly used to send money from Germany to Syria. Major problems in sending money to Syria are according to the Syrian online survey participants exchange rate fluctuations and the distance or a lacking access to banks or other financial service providers. The remitted money is mainly used for meeting basic needs by the Syrian receivers such as rents, food or healthcare. With regard to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on remittance flows between Germany and Syria, participants’ impressions are mixed.

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