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Syrian refugees elected mayor of the German city, years after fled the war



Cnn

A Syrian who arrived in Germany as a refugee in 2015 won an election as mayor in the southwest state of Baden-Würtemberg Germany.

Ryyan Alshebl, who left his hometown of As Suwayda in Syria eight years ago, presented himself as independent in the municipality of Ostelsheim. He won 55.41% of the vote on Sunday, beating two German candidates, Marco Strauss and Mathias Fey.

Residents applauded the 29 -year -old player when he welcomed his victory, a victory he described as “sensational”, the local German broadcaster SWR reported on Monday.

“Today, Ostelsheim has sent an example of width of mind and cosmopolitanism for the whole of Germany,” he said, according to the German public broadcaster ZDF. “This is not something that can be held for granted in a conservative rural area.”

Alshebl’s first call after his victory was to his mother in Syria, which was delighted with the news, SWR reported.

The association of municipalities in Baden-Wurtemberg said that Alshebl is the first man with Syrian roots to run and win the office of a mayor. He will start his role in June.

The residents of Ostelsheim welcomed their incoming mayor. “The fairy tale has come true and the good man has become our mayor,” said Annette Keck, who lives in the village, in Swr.

Strauss, one of his opponents, congratulated Alshebl. “I wish you good luck and at the same time request the support of Mr. Alshebl, for our shared ostelsheim,” he said on Facebook.

The Minister of State Integration, Manna Lucha, said that Alshebl’s victory showed that diversity is a natural element of Baden-Würtemberg. “I would be very happy that the election of Ryyan Alshebl encourage more people in a migration history to present themselves to political functions,” he said.

Not everyone was so warm for the 29 -year -old woman. The ZDF reported that the Syrian had received hateful comments on the campaign track.

The young politician went from home to house, promoting his electoral program and “the experiences were mainly positive”, but there was also a minority of far -right fringe voters in Ostelsheim who did not want to accept it because of his Syrian roots, Alshebl told ZDF.

Born from a teacher and agricultural engineer in Syria, Alshebl described his life as carefree until the age of 20, according to his campaign website.

At the time, protests against the Syrian government that started in 2011 quickly turned into a chaotic war. The fighting and later the Islamic State forced 10.6 million people at home at the end of 2015 – about half of the population of pre -war Syria.

Alshebl faced the dilemma of being written for military service with the Syrian army or to leave the country, according to its website.

While many Syrians have been moved internally or run away to countries in the region, others like Alshebl have made the dangerous trip to Europe. He was 21 years old at the time and said that he had crossed Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos in a rubber canoe.

The former German Chancellor Angela Merkel had implemented a brief policy of open door in 2015 which saw the country host around 1.2 million asylum seekers in the following years, including Alshebl.

This decision sparked a reaction in Germany and the sudden growth of the anti-immigration alternative to the far right for Germany (AFD) following the summer of 2015.

Once in Germany, Alshebl lived near Ostelsheim and said that at the time, he felt “there is only one thing you can do: get back on foot quickly and start investing quickly in your own future.”

Over the past seven years, he has worked in the administration of the town hall of Althengstett, in a neighboring city. He drew from his experience, he declared in his campaign and has entered the public administration services one of the priorities. Furniture and flexible climatic protections are also on its program.

Alshebl, who is a member of the Green Party and now has German citizenship, has signed up during his campaign who, once elected mayor, he would move to Ostelsheim.

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Ava Thompson

Ava Thompson – Local News Reporter Focuses on U.S. cities, community issues, and breaking local events

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