if you find a good job in Dubai you might give up the whole idea of moving to Europe as the standard of living is really high and the country is tax-free and amazing. but still you should be able to get a Schengen visit visa easily (especially if you work for a good company).

Do not go to Dubai if you are a woman.

One thing is to boycott it in principle, which either a man or a woman might want to do, and another is to rule it out as an alternative to Syria.

for someone who lived in Dubai for 5+ years, I find those stories really strange. the city is really different than what you get from Media.

the government give a lot of privileges to western residents that's why the local population is nearly 18% of the total population.

Dubai has a lot of problems with its social system, but these sex/rape stories are definitely not the major ones, and its totally uncommon to read such stories.

How? As I understand it the actual UAE citizens are getting 'fat' off of the oil money, so all of the menial labour work goes to poor foreigners that are bussed in from SE Asia. It's going to be difficult to change a culture of people that are used to poor Asians doing all of the 'crap jobs' for them while they just bask in money (so to speak).

Especially the mainstream media (MSM)...

My knowledge is both limited, 12+ years outdated, and restricted to the UK, but here is my tuppence-worth anyway:

1. It is both a legal and a bureaucratic process. 2. Apply for asylum at the first possible opportunity. At the border crossing-point or airport, if possible. 3. Don't lie. 4. Be prepared with documentary evidence to back up any statements that you are going to make. 5. If possible, have documentary evidence that you are facing persecution, or that your life is in danger. (Sounds silly in the current situation, I know, but anyway...) 6. Make sure that a friendly party (or your lawyer) has a copy of these documents.

It might be easier, if the danger looks like it is going to be temporary, to reach out and try to get somebody to "host" you, and go on a visitor's visa.

If you do have relatives in Germany, that might be a route to explore. I heard something in the news, that this may be an option.

For working though, that's going to be a tough one. Reading the Wikipedia article (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbeitserlaubnis) right, it states that: "Asylbewerber dürfen für die ersten 12 Monate überhaupt nicht arbeiten (§ 61 Abs. 2 AsylVfG), anschließend gilt ein nachrangiger Arbeitsmarktzugang nach der BeschVerfV (siehe oben)." Which translates to: people seeking asylum must not take up any employment for the first 12 month.

As well as "Asylberechtigte, Konventionsflüchtlinge (§ 25 Abs. 1 und 2 AufenthG) sowie Ausländer mit einer Niederlassungserlaubnis (§ 9 Abs. 1 AufenthG) haben nach dem Aufenthaltsgesetz ein Recht auf Erwerbstätigkeit.", which transaltes to: people granted asylum (and some others) holding a residence permit, are allowed to work.

That's both ends of the spectrum, so there may be some middle ground after 12 month. I'm not lawyer though!

Finally, I think, maybe the folks from PRO Asyl may be the right ones to ask. See: http://www.proasyl.de/en/contact/

PS: regarding hosting, from my exprience it's a somewhat lengthy progress, depending on the regonal administration. Your host will have to provide financial standing for your stay (requirements differ for the duration of your stay), with that he or she has to send that document certifying the financial standing as well as a signed invitation to you (the original), with which you have to go to the german emabassy in your country and apply for a temporary visa.

Are you Syrian? It may be easier to get to a country that does not require you having a visa then you decide on what to do later. As a dev, you can work remotely and earn money.

Check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_Syrian_ci....

Best of luck man.

If you can get an Australia work visa and make it onto Australian soil, you might be able to circumvent the "no visa" rule. In this case, be wary of the possibility of detention, possibly indefinite, inside Australia. Australian officials will also do their best to keep a new arrival ignorant of their rights, allowing them to be deported, so find out exactly what your rights are and what the procedure and legally correct wording is to claim asylum and activate the UN process.

If considering Australia, perhaps get some advice from an expert, such as Sr Pat Sealey [1]? (Presumably she can be contacted though her order's South Australian address [2].)

[1] http://www.catholicreligiousaustralia.org/index.php/news-a-v...

[2] http://www.sosj.org.au/contact/2col-index.cfm?loadref=6

---

Edit: I'll add that it is not clear to me whether the automatic deportation only applies to refugees who arrive by boat, or to any refugee that arrives without a visa.

Further edit: My comment about indefinite detention in Australia applies if you arrive on a work visa then claim asylum, not if you are actually working and have not claimed asylum.

However... Sweden also spend lots of money on a virtual embassy in second life. Read more about it here: http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Reading/Second-Life/

Maybe you can do a think of virtually applying for visa in sweden and write a pressrelease and push it on mynewsdesk.com. Startup community is also big in Sweden and we need skilled developers (Im swedish).

Carl Bildt,Foreign Minister of Sweden since 2006 (https://twitter.com/carlbildt) is very active on twitter and in my guess most likely to respond to a virtual request for visa by twitter and second life. This is a long shot but something you can try by your computer.

When you get visa in any EU country it is easy to move to germany and travel over boarders within EU.

First of all, make sure that you take a direct flight to Germany. If you enter any other European Country before, you have to get asylum there.

Second and maybe more important. If you try to get an asylum in Germany, you are not allowed to work for the first year. It's crazy and doesn't make any sense.

If you still want to get here. And it's a great city. Here is the Email address of the refugee help in Berlin: buero@fluechtlingsrat-berlin.de

Also, you have the problem that you likely won't even be able to enter the European Union, except if you smuggle yourself via the Turkish-Greek border - but then again, the Germans simply fly you to Greece because this is the place where you entered the European Union technically.

If you smuggle yourself via the Turkish-Greek border then you are stuck in the wonderful country of Greece forever basically. High unemployment, laws that are really unfriendly to asylum seekers (less than 2% acceptance rate) and the nazist party (facepalm..) has risen from obscurity to 5% in the latest elections, to 15% in the polls... So less than ideal environment for a programmer :)

Too many people have gone that route and now are stuck here because of that Dublin 2 convention that will return asylum seekers to the country that they entered the EU in the first place... So do whatever you can to avoid Greece as an entry country to EU. Try Sweden, you would love it except for the weather :)

A really helpful english-speaking source for any expat information on Germany is the http://toytowngermany.com/forum forum, especially the lengthy thread on visas and work permits: http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=4675...

Here's the thread for the Blue Card scheme: http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=2673...

Hope that helps a tiny bit and good luck!

Edit: Another link to official information on the Blue card: http://www.bluecard-eu.de/eu-blue-card-germany/

You can do that right in Germany, but may take more cash and time, you will always be able to switch a country once your startup gets going and you are more relaxed cash-wise.

And yes, being a refugee sucks. Forget it.

Good luck and stay safe.

Germany is actually one of the easiest countries to get an immigrant work visa for. I would recommend skipping seeking asylum. There's a large enough job market in Berlin for developers that the work visa route will almost certainly be the fastest and least painful for you.

If you have a university degree, you should be able to get a Blue Card. In fact, Germany will give you a 6 month visa to visit the country and look for a job. Since you're already working remotely, finding money to support yourself during that time should not be difficult.

The salary requirement that others list here is incorrect for software developers. The typical Blue Card minimum required salary is €46,400/year, however, software development is an in-demand job ("Mangelberuf"), which lowers the minimum to €39,192/year, which is above the standard salary that you'd find for development positions at Berlin startups.

If you go the Blue Card route, you'll be eligible for permanent residence in 3 years.

If you don't have a university degree, you're still in pretty good shape. Then, in practice, what you need is a job offer (with a contract). Your residence permit, prior to getting permanent residence, will be connected to your specific job at a specific company (though in practice this just means you have to go to the foreigner's office to apply for a new visa when you change jobs). This was the old system that I went through (before the Blue Card was introduced, which my girlfriend used). Basically if you have a job offer and a reasonable salary, you're next to guaranteed to be able to get a work permit. I've never heard of a software developer having their request denied.

However, that system is not nearly as streamlined, so you actually usually need to already be in Berlin to apply for it. I would recommend finding any excuse you can to come to Berlin on a visitors' visa (language course, conference, whatever) and stay as long as you can. I think you'd be able to find a job and kick off the work permit stuff in a 2 month timeframe.

Going that route you're able to apply for permanent residence after 5 years, though it's a slightly nicer version of permanent residence than the one you get via the Blue Card route since it's transferable to all EU countries except the UK and Ireland.

Official things in Germany will naturally be mostly in German, but the startup scene functions primarily in English. It's totally normal for job interviews and work meetings / emails / etc. to be in English.

If you have questions on this stuff feel free to drop me a line. My email address is in my profile.

+1. You were probably just using the wrong term, that may also be why your Google search did not turn up anything. Asylum is only for political refugees. These are not allowed to work, need to live in provided (usually very bad) residences, their children are not allowed to go to school, etc.

What's the point of taking in an asylum-seeker only to treat them like crap?

Yay! We've saved them from torture or death in their home country, but instead we'll just make sure to keep them uneducated and in below the poverty line?

/cynic

I wanted to send my sister (Syrian) to continue her education in medicine, the German embassy in Syria completely rejected the application.

I tried in Dubai, they asked me to open a bank account for her in Germany, all banks refused to do so. I had eventually to find workarounds (through some powerful friends) and I was able finally to open that account in Wiesbaden.

Now my sister has an official residency visa and she went to open an account in Berlin, but again all banks rejected her request because she is Syrian.

Racism can be really ugly.

However, things are pretty different when you're applying as a student vs. applying as a software developer. There's going to be a lot more scrutiny of the financial situation of a potential student from a country in crisis than for a skilled worker with a job offer. German politics have shifted in recent years because of a labor shortage to where, at least officially, there's a lot of support for qualified workers to move here.

Now, that doesn't mean that there's no racism, but while I don't have any Syrian friends here, I do have a handful of friends from Iran and I've not heard of them having problems at all with things like setting up bank accounts or managing official stuff.

Don't assume racism when the problem is government.

We tried to make a change by starting this :

http://www.change.org/petitions/united-states-government-lif...

in the case of Germany I think Government are not the bad people here, they have actually tried to make it easier for Syrian. but most the people who work at embassies / banks etc .. make it impossible for Syrians abroad to reach Germany.

I have friends who managed to get their visas after filing lawsuits against those embassies, but those who only have german friends/relatives who understand and know the German law.

That's a big legal minefield to deal with just to sign up some small accounts from individuals.

https://www.gls.de/privatkunden/

There are a couple of other banks with a similar public agenda, but I don't recall their names.

if any one is in berlin and can guide me to a bank that won't mind opening an account for a Syrian citizen, I would really appreciate it.

Sadly, this was not the only case we encounter, you can read about a similar story happened to my family here :

http://nidalalhariri.com/post/55999109847/airbnb-racism-how-...

especially that the account was verified and active for weeks, with a valid credit card and all supporting documents (passport etc ..)

I got rejected many times from paypal, 2co, rackspace etc .. but they used to explain the reasons like "we can't deal with syrian citizens" or "you are from a sanctioned country" etc ..

maybe I shouldn't call it racism, But I'm not a native english speaker, and I don't know what should it be called when you are treated differently for being accidentally born in a different region.

The best idea I can come up with offhand is consider a closer but wealthier and more stable country as an intermediate destination, such as Turkey or Dubai, but I realize that's not very helpful.

A Syrian would certainly need a visa to enter Germany in general. I believe that you're incorrect as to whether or not, given a valid visa to enter the country, a Syrian citizen would be able to apply for a further visa from within the country.

For reference, this is the actual law that I was referring to which provides for highly qualified foreigners to get a visa to look for work in Germany for six months:

http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufenthg_2004/__18c.html

I believe the only point in question is if a Syrian would be able to apply for that from within Germany with a valid visitors' visa, or if they'd need to apply for that from outside of Germany.

Here are a couple of resources on the matter:

http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/working/guide-to-workin...

Particularly the three paragraphs starting with "You must apply for your visa in your home country before travelling to Germany."

https://www.daad.de/deutschland/nach-deutschland/bewerbung/e...

Starting around "Important! If you enter the country without a visa or with a Schengen visa..." (This site's aimed towards students, but I believe the info on entering the country is still applicable here.)

In the OP's specific case (especially considering the fact that the German embassy in Syria is currently closed), I would definitely recommend contacting an immigration lawyer in Germany before entering the country. It's possible that there are other options or exceptions that I'm not aware of.

EDIT: Just noticed that those two links have slightly different lists of exempted countries. The daad.de link might just be out of date, because the following official site also lists only seven countries: http://www.berlin.de/labo/auslaender/dienstleistungen/bes_st...

- €39,192/year [...] is above the standard salary that you'd find for development positions at Berlin startups

Are you sure about that? Somehow these two statement don't sound like they can go together, I think. Wouldn't that be a ridiculously low salary for a European capital, even for startups?

On the other hand living costs in berlin are much lower compared to other cities in europe (even compared to other cities in germany).

However, I cannot confirm the minimum wages required by a job under blue card. AFAIR, the blue card covers a broad spectrum of jobs and the wage listed above probably take diverse industries into account.

Taxes in europe are very situation specific (married/single, mortgage, car/bus/work-from-home, public-health insurance, pension, unemployment). I guess this is also country specific inside the EU. For example, in Finland, we do not have progressive tax (or so I am made to believe).

What salary did you expect?

Thanks.

When applying in Germany, if everything goes well, you can get a Blue Card with two trips to the foreigners' office -- one to apply and another to pick it up a few weeks later.

Presumably you'd be able to get the visa to seek work pending a Blue Card with a single visit to the foreigners' office.

Salaries are much lower than the US in Berlin, where the range is roughly €35k-75k. With your experience I'd expect you to be in the €40-55k range here.

in Beirut, it is extremely difficult if not impossible, the media reported cases where they hit people with a whip on borders: http://bit.ly/17ohTMP

for Dubai you chances are either:

1. a visit visa (need a good job and a letter from your employer)

2. Student visa (need around 8000 Euros in a German bank account - no bank will give you that, especially from outside germany)

Thanks,

Good luck to you. I (white Australian) visited Syria a few years ago. Every piece of news I hear now from Syria just saddens me.

What you could do right now is to travel to Turkey and apply for a German tourist visa there. Once you are in Germany and out of harm's way you can think about your next steps.

This page says that the German embassy in Ankara or the Istanbul consulate will process your visa application while the Damascus office remains closed: http://www.ankara.diplo.de/Vertretung/ankara/de/06__Visa/Vis...

Here are the tourist visa guidelines in arabic: http://www.beirut.diplo.de/contentblob/3951508/Daten/3401582...

I wish you the best of luck!

http://tribune.com.pk/story/599235/sweden-grants-blanket-asy...

The main principle of humanitarian help is very valuable. We shall not abandon our core values, just because some people go ahead and cheat on us. Yes, some do. I know that and I don't like that either.

But.

In general every person on the planet should be able to live peacefully and in dignity and if leaders in other countries do not build a system that is capable of providing this for all inhabitants, we should give them asylum and protect them from harassment.

Regarding those who are leaving their country and seeking asylum only for economical reasons, trying to escape poverty and a bleak future prospect, we shall not forget that a lot of our wealth is build on exploiting other countries. Our wealth is built on a system, that lets money and goods flow while disallowing the same freedom for people.

No, there is no excuse for rape and there never can be.

But before we judge these people we should always reconsider: Why are they here? What is their situation in the country where they come from? What kind of chance do they have in their country? What kind of chance do they have here? Do we give them a chance to behave and act well?

I refuse to follow the growing mob that does not reflect on the global situation, that does not differentiate and treats every foreigner the same, that suspects that every refugee is a criminal, dirty and trying to rape our children.

The good thing is, according to my research the income requirement is floating. In other terms, you just need an income which is "usual for your region".

Of course, you would need a visa too.

What I am trying to suggest is you search an potential employer first and ask him to deal with the visa/eu card details. That way you wouldn't get the german citizenship in first glance; not sure if you really aim at that or if you would like to return after the war.

Anyway you can reach citizenship after living 8 years in germany (please note there are some restrictions, like no criminal acts, accepting liberal and democratic orders and so on).

I believe with your skills you might have a good chance to find a position in the Berlin or even Munich scene. Just prepare a CV and try to contact as many startups as you can. Look out for guides like this: http://www.berlinstartup.de/startup-guide.php http://berlinstartupjobs.com/

Good luck and take care mate.

Links: http://www.arbeitsagentur.de/nn_566780/Dienststellen/besonde...

http://www.arbeitsagentur.de/nn_616850/Navigation/Dienststel...

(german, despite they aim for migrants. Send them to potential employers).

Here you can make a quick check if you are eligible of getting a EU Blue Card for Germany: http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/making-it/quick-check/

This information might be useful for you as well: "By the way: are you still job-hunting and would like to look for a post that corresponds to your qualifications in Germany? In that case, you are entitled to a six-month visa. The condition is that you have a university degree and are able to support yourself while you stay in Germany. Please note that the visa entitling you to hunt for jobs does not entitle you to work. Once you find a suitable post, you can immediately apply for the appropriate residence permit while, of course, remaining in Germany. You can apply for the visa to the German mission abroad in your area. They will tell you exactly which conditions you have to fulfill to be able to apply."

  I honestly don't know much about the visa situation that everyone is talking about, but it really sounds to me like you should first leave on a tourist visa (vacation, conference, whatever), ASAP, and then figure out the actual legal situation. 

  You could just go to a different country that doesn't have a war, rent an apartment there with an internet connection, and continue to work for the Australian company. You are already remote, what does it matter where you live?

Berlin is very welcoming to qualified software devs. Best of luck!

First, see the German Foreign Office's FAQ and visa regulations:

http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Infoservice/FAQ/Uebersicht...

http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/EinreiseUndAufenthalt/Visa...

Since many are coming as refugees from Syria, it could be an idea to apply for a regular visa, either for working or studying in Germany. Note that the German mission in Damascus is closed and you have to contact any embassy or mission outside Syria. They suggest using the embassy in Beirut. Problem is that you need to translate all paper stuff to German and I can't estimate the time it takes. Usually it's 2-10 days for visits under 90 days, it can take longer (even months) for visits over 90 days or working permits.

If you come for work, you need an invitation from an employer. But I don't know how long the handling takes with the mission (they have to okay it first), especially since the Damascus mission is down.

Perhaps you qualify for the EU Blue Card (skilled immigrants):

http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Infoservice/FAQ/ArbeitenLe...

http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/

If that's an option, look into the conditions for studying in Germany.

Wish you all the best. Tough times.

If you tell them you're an experimented software engineer, it may be much faster to get a work visa than asylum. Ask for this work visa to each embassy in Damascus.

Also, Morrocoan cities are growing like crazy. There may be some business to do there and they may give visas more easily.

In case you have a powerful reason for still going there, a few quick points: English is not that common, but is far more common than in the neighboring cities - you probably won't be super comfortable, but you'll survive. If you are on a budget and/or planning to live on whatever money you already have, Berlin is much cheaper than any of the other countries mentioned. There's also a very large Turkish community, in case that means something for you.

Keep in mind all the negative comments mentioned, though. This points are valid when you are a regular citizen, but as a refugee they might not apply.

You might try a "blue card", if you can get a good salary. But I am not sure how easy that is from Syria at the moment...

Also keep in mind that islamophobia in Germany is rising across the board. And no, my fellow Germans generally make no distinction between copts, syrian christians or muslims.

  - Canada (Vancouver especially)
  - Denmark
  - Finland
  - France
  - Germany 
  - Netherlands
  - Sweden

Don't go the asylum way if you have the software skills. Blue card is much easier and a safe bet.

The processing can take up to 6-8 weeks though…

And as for language, at least in Berlin tech companies, english is the language of business…

anyhow forward me your CV and email and let's connect, tech-wise we are recruiting node.js - backend dev if this could help. here's my contact: swissnamir@gmail.com

I theory, I believe you may just come to Europe and if you state at the border that you seek an asylum they can't refuse you ( according to international laws, until your asylum is decided on ) and then take it from there.

Turkey is the closest country you don't need a visa for.

I will make an update but in any case don't double-check everything yourself, those are few things I vaguely remember from school.

try it out, we might be able to bring you in.

manwin.com/careers

select the montreal office :)

Good luck.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/159595270791268

Berlin is one of the most peaceful cities I ever lived in.

Best of luck.

The info is in Swedish but maybe you want to Google Translate it or something.

http://www.svt.se/nyheter/sverige/alla-syrier-far-permanent-...

I don't know about Germany but I know in Amsterdam booking.com is always looking for smart folks.

At least that was standard tactics from people from arabic countries. Never say where are you from!

What the UK is not obliged to do is put up with people who try to pull a fast one; and there are a lot of those around, moresthepity.

If you present yourself honestly to the UKBA officials, with a genuine need for asylum, with relevant documentation, telling the truth, and not trying to be dodgy in any way, they will (in all probability) grant you the right to remain in the UK for a limited time.

Work with them, not against them, and they will work with you. If you have a genuine case, they are there to help you.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people that they see are (very bad) liars, so a lot of asylum-seekers get rejected, on the basis that nothing that they say can be trusted. Of course, they have the right to appeal that judgement, but if you lie, you will get caught out, and the appeal will be rejected.

But you should check up on that first though :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_Syrian_c...

As someone else mentioned in Germany as asylum seeker you arent allowed to work. You can come to Sweden and seek asylum and you'd be allowed to work, and when you do sign a contract then you can get a permit to stay and cancel the asylum request. PM me and Ill give you names of good companies that are on the lookout to hire.

As others said, to be able to apply for asylum in EU country X, you have to first set foot in that country X and not in another one, so, go to Turkey or Israel and then fly to Sweden from there.

Sweden is also more flexible, its a country where they look out for the best interest of you as a human (mostly), so if you come to Sweden and continue working for Australian company - it is enough to get a work permit, all you have to do is prove that you earn more than minimum amount, I believe around 1500usd and pay taxes, to be accepted.

As a war refugee my self, I urge you strongly to leave Syria now, for the love of god no matter the price, buy those tickets and get the hell out of there and far away as possible, Sweden, Canada, Australia. (Not Germany, France, Italy, USA, Turkey they all suck.)

Your life is all you got, dont waste it on that war. Take with your closest family if you can.

As a German, I really have to agree. Don't get trapped here. It's not a very friendly country, especially compared to the scandinavian ones. Xenophobia is also an issue. If I was seeking asylum in order to start a new life somewhere, I'd much rather try for London or Stockholm. Asylum in Germany is more like being in protective custody. Do not do this.

Germany is a bad choice for asylum - I mean, it's great that Germany has a robust system for asylum, because there are people who genuinely need it and benefit from it, but if you're looking for a place to work, this is probably the wrong mechanism.

My sister-in-law (originally from Kenya) used to live in Germany for many years, and found the abuse she received there demoralizing and (ultimately) intolerable. She now lives here in the UK, and is much, much, much happier as a result, although I think the psychological scars from her time in Germany will remain with her for the rest of her life.

As a German citizen I really hate to say this, but recently there has been a hitch in the media where there were protests by neonazi groups in front of asylum homes. Sadly, there are still people who see asylum seekers as potential job-stealers, showing them nothing but hate and would like to throw them all out, regardless of their skills.

This is absolutely not the general opinion in Germany, but at least some people think so.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Has_Only_Got_One_Ball

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riot_of_Rostock-Lichtenhagen

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riot_of_Hoyerswerda

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solingen_arson_attack_of_1993

Sorry, both sources are in German. Maybe Google translate will help a little?

[1] http://www.mut-gegen-rechte-gewalt.de/news/chronik-der-gewal...

[2] http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todesopfer_rechtsextremer_Gewal...

I'd say that Germany is still pretty safe, but I admit that there are places that even I as a German feel uneasy about - mostly the rural areas in former East German states.

Also the way asylum seekers are treated here seems pretty bad. But that refers to the way the government handles the issue, not to the attitude of the general population.

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria#Religion

Yes, although I'm sure there is a good deal of overlap

> Given that about 75% of the Syrian population are muslim [1], it's exactly the sort of thing the EDL would make a fuss about.

The EDL say they are an anti-Muslim organisation, but I imagine most of their supporters are motivated by a more generalised xenophobia, so would dislike Syrians of all religions and none.

Though, as a white man, my experience about behaviour of natives might lack first hand perspective of how it looks for black people.

Southern Germans however, as you say, tend to be quite conservative. I'm glad for you that you like it here. But as I see it, the most important reason keeping the south from being as unfriendly to foreigners as the east, is its relative economic success and therefore less need for scapegoats.

Having an arab/turkish name can disqualify you for most job interviews, regardless of background or skill. There was a bestseller in the past years where someone wanted to rationalize social inequality towards especially turks with the basic idea that turks in Germany are genetically inferior in intelligence and will "dilute" our gene pool because of their high reproductive rates...

The only saving grace in that incidence was that most Germans pushed back heavily, at least at that time.

Sarrazin didn't "raise important issues". He made superficially rational arguments which have in many cases been disproven completely. However these rationalisations were then echoed by racist beliefs buried in society and the discussion became one of racism versus civil rights, ending totally unproductively.

The main "issue" was that "turks are genetically inferior in intelligence so we need not try and give them better chances in education or employment". He didn't even propose to deport two million fellow citizens, but others did that for him in response...

I think the persistent poor performance of certain large immigrant groups certainly is an important issue. It is also true that part of this underperformance may have a genetic cause.

Unless you are Arab/Muslim, you are very embedded into the Arab/Muslim community/culture, or you are well-versed in the stats on the subject, it really seems like you're speaking from a place of ignorance.

> It is also true that part of this underperformance may have a genetic cause.

It's highly unlikely that such a general descriptor as "job performance" across all industries would have anything to do with genetic factors. The fact that you even bother to mention it makes me think that you're putting more stock in the idea than it is worth.

http://m.nber.org//digest/sep03/w9873.html

"It indicates that a white name yields as many more callbacks as an additional eight years of experience. Race, the authors add, also affects the reward to having a better resume. Whites with higher quality resumes received 30 percent more callbacks than whites with lower quality resumes. But the positive impact of a better resume for those with Africa-American names was much smaller."

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/2...

"Adida found that in at least two sectors, a Muslim candidate is around 2.5 times less likely to get a job interview than a Christian one, with all else being equal. These results were backed up by a large survey, which showed that among second-generation Senegalese immigrants, Muslim households earn far less than Christian equivalents."

http://writers.unconsciousbias.org/2009/09/best-man-for-the-...

"They found that resumes with Arab/Muslim names were 10% less likely to be called in for an interview and that IAT scores indicating bias against Arabs directly correlated with the likelihood of a callback.

Rooth then followed up with many of the employers who had unwittingly taken part in the first half of the study. The employers filled out three different explicit measures of bias against Arabs and Muslims and then took an IAT that paired Swedish and Arab names with work- associated words such as “lazy”, “slow”, “efficient” and “hard-working”.  Not surprisingly, “the IAT scores of the 193 recruiters participating in this study show that a very clear majority associate words signaling negative productivity… with belonging to the Arab/Muslim minority”."

If you say a "part of this underperformance has a genetic cause" that can't be falsified. How could it?

But: Can you show that genetics has a practical relevance in HR and social policy decisions? Can it have any? Should it have any?

We can see and show factors of discrimination that are definitely not genetic and definitely not a general genetic disadvantage between Germans and other "races" (I shudder at these words...), and that makes it really hard to believe we shouldn't try and ameliorate those because "Hey, it's all genetics anyway!"

So far no one has been able to show me any practical consequence from the theoretical allegations of intellectual performance being genetic.

Let me throw Estonia into the bucket, and drop the asylum. Its easy to found a company there. You don't pay corporate tax, only a flat income tax, and you have access to EU market.

Edit: more info: http://www.migri.fi/asylum_in_finland

There's also been talk of having the Startup Life program (http://startuplife.fi/) take interns from abroad and get them to work for Finnish startups. That may be a good stepping stone for you. I'll ask around about it and get back to you via Twitter.

I would love to intern at a Finnish startup. I'll keep my eyes on twitter :)

If you leave for Sweden make sure you will seek these places that have a lot of Syrians, like the mentioned Södertälje. It will be much easier there to get help in all occurring matters. God knows, it is hard enough to flee your home country, so you should pick the easiest and most frictionless option possible.

Also Sweden is the poor neighbor of Norway and Denmark ;-)

i dont know if this is true or not, but i heard you should avoid passing through Greece. Best option is to make your way to Turkey, and from there straight to Western Europe. And if possible, do not attempt to go alone, but travel with a group of people. You'll encounter a lot of people who will try to take advantage of you.

Another option, if you belong to a minority: Stick with your people, seek their centers and get their advise. (This may sound kind of racist. But Syria has a lot of minorities, each with a different approach to this situation. Don't be fooled, it is War, so everybody will rather help their people first. I don't make the rules...)

(I won't go into the politics of the UKBA, but suffice to say that the people who are "customer facing" are the ones who shouldn't be allowed anywhere near vulnerable people - and removing them is politically impossible.)

Sweden sounds like a much better bet.

You can get by with just English, although that is not too common, be prepared to study Swedish, the more you learn Swedish and learn the mentality the easier it will be for you.

However, now I am reminded that Syria has banned all males 18-42 from leaving the country. So, it isnt easy, you basically have to escape through smuggle-lines/unguarded border.

EDIT: If I may speculate, the safest option would be to get to the coast and take a ship to anywhere that isnt Syria.

Another EDIT: Try to go to the kurdish areas, they will probably let you go to Turkey or Iraq.

Also I dont believe it is very common with burkas in Syria.

Also encourage Americans to stop their drone-crazed, war-hungry, spy-happy, immigration-positive President (or at least to change his mind).

War should be used when there are serious threats. Lately, the USA and Europe have been using war to overthrow the powerful so that mass culture can take over.

This is culturally akin to forcibly installing a McDonald's on every street corner.