Bosnian asylum seekers in Germany: "It's beautiful here, but due to the war in Syria, we are finding it harder to get asylum"

Among 150 families in an asylum camp near Cologne, Germany, there is also a Bosnian Roma family who have been trying to get asylum for several months. However, as things stand now, they will need a lot of luck, due to the increasing number of refugees coming to Germany from Syria, expelled by the wars there.

Aldin Husić, whose family came to the camp from Visoko in February this year, told a reporter for the news agency Patria that they are happy in the asylum camp, and that his family is living a life worthy of a human being for the first time. He now hopes that the German authorities will grant asylum to his family, because, as he says, they have nowhere to return to in Visoko.

However, at the same time, under pressure from local communities, amendments to the law have been in effect in this country since August 1st, which allow for faster deportation of asylum seekers, after thousands of families from the Western Balkans flooded the country.

Pressure on the German authorities began from influential local authorities of the Association of Municipalities and Federal States of Germany (DStGB), which also bear the largest financial burden, allocating millions of euros for reception centers and social assistance for asylum seekers, which the previous law allowed.

- We live in a container in the camp, which has a large room and is very well-equipped. All utilities are paid for. We also receive clothes, food, and money that can last us for the month – says Husić, who suffered a heart attack during his stay in the asylum camp, but the German authorities paid for his entire treatment. The same authorities also cover dental repairs and other types of treatment. Husić listens attentively to the news about the new asylum law that the German authorities are introducing.

- There are more than 150 families in the camp, and Syrian refugees are also constantly arriving – we can only hope that my family and I will be able to stay here – says Husić for Patria, adding that the procedure can sometimes take up to several years.