Among the million asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan who arrived in Germany in 2015 was the young Syrian Ryyan Alshebl. He was 21 years old and fled his country to avoid military service and war. Eight years later, Alshebl has been elected mayor of Ostelsheim, a town of 3,210 inhabitants, in recent municipal elections in the state of Baden-Württemberg. He presented himself as an independent despite being affiliated with Els Verds, he obtained 55.41% of the votes defeating two native candidates, also independent, and will take office on June 19.
His story of an ex-refugee who gets public office – the German press says he is the first German mayor of Syrian origin – attracts attention, and he himself, at the age of 29, sees it that way. "Ostelsheim has made a sign of openness to the world. My result, after a completely normal electoral campaign against candidates from the area, shows that it is possible for someone who has arrived from outside to enter structures that seem closed; the voters did not take into account my origin, but the qualification", he argued in a meeting with foreign correspondents this week in Berlin. "In any case, it is not enough to learn and master the language and prepare by studying and making an effort; you also have to be in the right place at the right time, and that's what happened to me", admits Ryyan Alshebl, who speaks in excellent German.
In November 2015, young Ryyan undertook the clandestine journey from Syria to Germany, where one of his two brothers already lived, who arrived there in 2013 with a student visa. Her parents were left behind - she, a high school teacher; he, an agricultural engineer – and the other brother. That part of the family continues to live in their town, Swaida, in the southwest of the country.
“I went with four friends from Lebanon to Turkey and from there in a barge to the island of Lesvos; there were 49 people on board, it was cold, it was after midnight and it was very dark - recalls Alshebl. From Greece I passed through the Balkan route towards the center of Europe; sometimes by bus and sometimes on foot, we walked especially when we had to cross borders. It took us twelve days to get to Germany."
He landed in Baden-Württemberg, where he learned German and pursued dual vocational training in administration, on a state scholarship. "In Syria I had taken the selectivity and studied Finance and Banking at university, but here it was not possible for me to validate the selectivity". In 2017, he joined the Aliança 90/Els Verds party, because "climate protection is very important". In 2022, he obtained the German nationality, which is essential to access public office, although he maintains the Syrian one, which is legally impossible to renounce. “I am not an exception; any Syrian with refugee status and more than six years of residence in Germany can apply for German citizenship", he clarifies to avoid misunderstandings.
Alshebl has so far resided in Althengstett, another city in the region, but he is soon moving to the town that elected him mayor, Ostelsheim.
"On the way I learned to take responsibility, for myself, for other people and for the environment. When you leave your country because there is a war, you mature earlier, even if you don't like having to mature for that reason."
Ryyan Alshebl, who is single, belongs to the Druze religious minority, which makes up 3% of Syria's population. The Druze, who profess a monotheistic and mystical faith, with Jewish, Christian and Muslim elements, are between 800,000 and one million people, mostly settled in the Near East. "During the campaign, some asked me if I was a practitioner; I'm Druze, but I'm not a religious person, and I think that for the person asking this neutrality was positive".
The new mayor of Ostelsheim now has a new homeland, but he does not forget his native land. “I have mixed feelings about Syria; it is the country where I was born and grew up, where I spent my childhood and youth, where my friends and family are, and I miss that. But I am very glad to have the opportunity to live in Germany, others have not had it".
What is important now, he says, is that he has discovered that he has a passion for politics, so it is likely that the career that began in this small town hall will one day go further.
