“They don’t want us”: Syrians in Austria face uncertainty as policies tighten

Over the last few months, a number of Syrian refugees in Austria have received letters that their refugee status is being withdrawn. Like many of its European neighbours, Austria has frozen asylum applications since December following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and suspended family reunifications in order to reassess the situation after the dictator’s departure. But in a step further, Vienna’s interior ministry has also announced “an orderly programme of repatriation and deportation to Syria,” and its causing anxiety amongst the community.