Via ProAsyl* – A Syrian family father was denied family reunification in Germany. After years of waiting, his wife and children crossed the Aegean by boat. A deadly attempt: The boat sank. The family died because there was no legal possibility for them to reunite with their husband and father.

Salah J. fled to Germany in spring 2015 after being called up for military service by the Syrian Armed forces. He applied for asylum but – like many other Syrians – was only granted subsidiary protection, a status that does not allow family reunification. Salah J. left his wife and two toddlers in Turkey in the hope for a quick family reunification.

After two years of waiting, the family couldn’t afford living in Turkey anymore. The only possibility they saw was to cross the Aegean to Greece. During the perilous journey, the boat drowned. Salah J. family died. The German online-magazine MIGAZIN published a hauting report about it.

The tightening of the German asylum law, left no legal space for a family reunification. These laws forced Salah J. wife and children on the deadly journey through the Aegean. This case shows that suspension of family reunification for refugees under subsidiary protection need to be stopped immediately.

*This is a summary of the article, which is only available in German here