A Syrian refugee living in Germany complained on social media about not being able to go on holiday to Syria because he had “something important” to do.
Syrian asylum seeker Aras Bacho, who has previously written for several publications including HuffPost, said he knew at least six Syrians who had travelled from Germany to Syria on holiday.
“Two weeks ago, six Syrians I know went on holiday to Syria to visit their family members and have some peace, especially from Germany. You miss your homeland and it is now everyday life that Syrians do this!” he wrote.
Bacho then complained that he was not able to go on holiday as well saying: “Unfortunately, I was unable to go on holiday to Syria because something very important got in the way, and I hope to catch up very soon during the holidays. Germany is stressful and you need some kind of break.”
So-called refugees travelling back to their country of origin for a holiday is not a new trend. As early as 2016, reports from Germany revealed that asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, and Lebanon were using German taxpayer cash to fund holidays in their home countries.
Germany is not the only country to see asylum seekers take a holiday in the country they allegedly fled.
In Switzerland, migrants were also found to be using taxpayers’ money to pay for holidays in their homelands including Eritreans whose country is deemed so dangerous, the Swiss government refuses to deport migrants there.
The controversial comments are nothing new for Mr Bacho, either. In 2016, nearly a year after the Cologne New Year’s Eve sex attacks, Bacho blamed such attacks on women saying that they should not be alone at night.
“Most of the time the women are to blame. To be alone at night. On the other hand, the refugees should behave,” he said.
Earlier that same year, Bacho caused controversy when he demanded that Europe start posting signs and product labels in Arabic to help new migrants.
“I, as a refugee, think that inscriptions on street signs in Europe should be translated into Arabic. Equally, food packaging should be in Arabic. It should also be possible to take tests in Arabic,” he said.