Why Denmark wants to send Syrian refugees home | SBS Dateline

The Awad sisters fled the Syrian civil war 10 years ago as children but their life in Denmark remains uncertain.

Under political pressure, the country wants to send back some refugees but the deportation programs could be a death sentence for thousands of Syrians.

Since this episode of Dateline first aired in 2023 the Assad regime has fallen.

In late 2024, a coalition led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swiftly captured several major cities, including Damascus, and toppled Assad's regime.

The country is now organising its leadership and promising to hold elections in the future.

00:07 "The new Syria" tourism campaigns
02:24 Denmark cancels two sisters' visas and orders them to return to Syria
06:50 A seismic shift in Danish immigration policy explained
10:08 Where do refugee who lose their appeals go?
11:56 Denmark's hardline immigration policies
12:46 Hadiya's indefinite detention
14:32 Getting to the Turkish-Syrian border
16:48 What happens to those who return to Syria
17:59 Ibrahim who went back to Syria
22:21 Who many people have been forcibly disappeared by the regime?
24:22 A report used by the Danish government to designate part of Syria as safe to return to
27:11 A verdict in the Awad sisters' case

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Dateline is an Australian award-winning international documentary series with a current affairs backbone.
Every week we transport you to a different part of the world to share half-hour stories about family, social injustice, identity, tragedy, redemption and survival. We scour the globe to bring you special characters and a world of daring stories.

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