Church "dismayed"

1000 € for Syrians: FPÖ leader against “travel home bonus”

The Austrian Ministry of the Interior is offering to pay 100 euros to every Syrian who wants to return home. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl sharply criticizes this and speaks of a "travel home bonus".

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA, MAX SLOVENCIK/APA/picturedesk.com)

The Ministry of the Interior is trying to help Syrians who want to return home. The Federal Support Agency (BBU) recently started offering up to €1000 for a "new start". The reactions to this have been negative - albeit for different reasons. While Vienna's Archbishop Christoph Schönborn is "dismayed" by the federal government's treatment of refugees, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl is against a "travel home bonus" for Syrians. 

"It is a slap in the face by the ÖVP to our own population, which is suffering from extreme inflation, to now hand Syrians who have received protection in our country for years at the expense of the taxpayer 1000 euros if they voluntarily return to their home country," criticized Kickl.

Instead of a 'return home bonus', what is needed immediately is a 'priority action on remigration' with the withdrawal of protection status and consistent deportations.

FPÖ-Chef Herbert Kickl

And the blue frontman added: "Instead of a 'return home bonus', what is needed immediately is a 'focus on remigration' with the withdrawal of protection status and consistent deportations."

The Austrian Ministry of the Interior is offering to pay 100 euros to every Syrian willing to return. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl sharply criticized this and spoke of a "travel home bonus".

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA, MAX SLOVENCIK/APA/picturedesk.com)

Schönborn "dismayed"
 The Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schönborn, has criticized the federal government's treatment of Syrian refugees. He was "dismayed" by their reaction to the uprising, the cardinal wrote on Friday on X.

Asylum status: Schönborn in favor of individual examination
"Instead of words of sympathy and hope for the long-suffering people, one of the first messages was 'deportation program'!", he criticized and identified despair among thousands of Syrians in Austria. "Yes, asylum status must be checked, but individually, please! And without creating panic!" said Schönborn.

NGOs also criticize the federal government
NGOs also called on the government to show prudence. The "latest populist demands" by Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Interior Minister Karner for a review of asylum grants, a blanket suspension of asylum procedures and preparations for returns to Syria are "misleading, insensitive and legally untenable" in view of the current confusing situation in Syria, according to a statement from Caritas and Diakonie, among others.

Are flights being organized?
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) recently announced that he wanted to offer support (e.g. obtaining the necessary documents) to people willing to return. The head of the department even spoke of organizing flights. In a further step, those people who have become criminals or who do not want to integrate or work in the labor market are to be removed from the country. The prerequisite for all of this is that the security situation in Syria makes it possible.

Increased requests
The Federal Support Agency has indeed received an increased number of inquiries about how a return could be organized. However, the focus is rarely on specifics, but rather on how such a return could best be achieved in principle. This essentially means that the vast majority of Syrians willing to return home are now observing the still unclear situation in their country of origin.