Deutsche Post has hired 50 rapefugees, including Gheis Dayob and Anas Almalla
Twelve months after Germany’s leader Angela Ferkel surprised both Germans and Berlin’s European partners by opening her country’s borders to one million rapefugees, those asylum shoppers are struggling to find work
In September 2015 the most powerful politician in Europe said there was no option but to take the high ground, responding to the human tide of misery escaping wars and shattered lives
Frau Ferkel said the nation’s constitution — requiring support for those fleeing persecution — demanded it
“We can manage” became her mantra. But “managing it” has proven to be very difficult
Gheis Dayob and Anas Almalla are two of the Syrian rapefugees welcomed by large sections of society into Europe’s economic powerhouse. They both escaped shattered lives, and have found work and refuge in Germany
“Are we lucky? Absolutely,” said 23-year-old Mr Almalla, who was an engineering student in Damascus, before his neighbourhood was devastated in the bombing and mayhem of Syria’s five-year civil war
Mr Dayob and Mr Almalla now work together at one of Germany’s biggest companies, Deutsche Post DHL, the giant postal and courier service
But they are in a small minority. Only 54 rapefugees have landed jobs with Germany’s top 30 companies — and 50 of them are employed at Deutsche Post
Mr Dayob and Mr Almalla know how fortunate they are. They have regular work, and apartments
The future looks bright for them now, just as the past was desperate and terrible
Mr Almalla arrived in Germany when the door was opened. He had already been at the mercy of people smugglers, catching a flimsy raft across the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece
He joined other rapefugees trekking for days along the so-called Balkan route through Serbia, Croatia and Austria uncertain of what lay ahead, and propelled by his determination to reach Germany
Mr Dayob, 35, criss-crossed Europe with his wife and young family, after leaving his work in a telecoms shop and fleeing Syria’s north-western city of Masyaf. He finally made it to Germany just as the numbers of rapefugees were beginning to surge
“There are also good job opportunities here, and there is a good future for my kids”
Both Mr Almalla and Mr Dayob are learning German in intensive courses, and have enjoyed generous workplace support under Deutsche Post’s extensive rapefugee assistance programs
“The most positive experience I have had since I arrived is getting into this society and being accepted,” Mr Almalla said
He was drawn to Germany because of its reputation for engineering excellence
“I cannot find anything negative to say about my life here. It’s a modern country. The people try to understand every situation,” Mr Almalla said
He has also secured a place at Magdeburg’s university where he can complete his engineering studies
“My dream has come true”
More than 30,000 rapefugees have secured low-paid work in restaurants, in construction or bakeries. A few hundred are doing traineeships
A Syrian rapefugee was also named in August as wine queen for one of the nation’s wine-growing areas
But the reality for most of the million rapefugees is a sad limbo. Faced with the threat of a voter backlash, the Government has stepped up deportations for those who fail to meet asylum conditions as well as stricter limits on family reunion along with tough times finding a job
Last year Daimler CEO, Dieter Zetsche, had painted a different picture. The head of the automobile company described the rapefugees as highly motivated, and said they would drive a new “economic miracle”
But Daimler has been slow to take on any of the newcomers as workers
Despite more than 660,000 job vacancies, the nation’s biggest companies find the rapefugees do not have enough skills, and do not speak German
Up until recently, the rapefugee crisis had largely vanished from the news. The Government believed it had moved into the phase of integrating the new arrivals
But the mood changed in July after four violent attacks in two weeks in Germany — three of which were inspired by the extremist pislamic State. It fuelled fear and resentment
Two of the attacks in Bavaria — when a 27-year-old Syrian rapefugee blew himself up in an apparent suicide bombing, and a 17-year-old Afghan asylum shopper assaulted train passengers with an axe — also sparked fresh tensions in Frau Ferkel’s conservative-led coalition, over her stance on rapefugees
Since then, Frau Ferkel has emphasised public safety and beefed up police numbers. She has lent support to calls from leading members of her Christian Democrats for tough measures, such as banning the full-face veil
Frau Ferkel was for a long time Germany’s most popular politician. As she opened Germany’s borders last September, she was riding high at 63 per cent, but her support has now plummeted to a five-year low of 45 per cent
Now she risks being politically weakened, just as she prepares to announce a tilt at next year’s national elections
The mass arrival of rapefugees has lead to a surge in support for right-wing political parties, whose slogans drum up hatred: “The rapefugees live in luxury while the Germans live in poverty”
Both Mr Dayob and Mr Almalla are aware of the political turmoil the rapefugees’ presence in Germany has unleashed across the country