A Syrian chef, renowned for her culinary skills in Germany, announced on Monday her return to her homeland following the swift rebel offensive that ousted long-time leader Bashar al-Assad in early December.
Malakeh Jazmati, originally from Damascus, arrived in the German capital in October 2015 and quickly became a household name among Syrians who had fled the civil war to Europe.
She made her announcement during an interview with Syrian journalist Mousa al-Omar.
In a on Instagram accompanying the interview, al-Omar congratulated Jazmati, expressing his optimism about Syria's new leadership under Ahmed al-Sharaa, the de facto leader who spearheaded the campaign that removed al-Assad.
"Queen Malakeh, the famous, is leaving Germany and returning to Syria, deciding to cook at the People's Palace... Mashallah, the legitimate leader [Ahmed al-Sharaa] is on track in all directions. Good luck with your new project," he wrote.
During the interview, Jazmati shared her excitement about returning to Syria after waiting 13 years since the start of the civil war for the regime's downfall, eager to contribute her talents to her home country.
Jazmati had sought refuge in Germany, where an estimated one million Syrians now live.
There, she famously cooked for former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and hosted a television cooking show featuring Arab stars.
As Jazmati publicly announced her plans to leave Germany, discussions about returning to Syria have intensified among Syrian refugees, stirring both excitement and caution about the prospect of a ‘new, free Syria.’
This caution was echoed by UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, who remarked on 10 December that while many Syrians are eager to return, prudence is necessary: "There are livelihood challenges still. The humanitarian situation is disastrous. The economy has collapsed."
In the wake of the rebel victory, far-right and some mainstream German politicians proposed chartering planes to Syria and offering 1,000 euros to any Syrian refugee willing to return permanently.
This idea gained traction as the media and political narrative in Germany began to focus on the large Syrian refugee population, one of the biggest in the country, following the fall of the Assad regime.
According to an October report by Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior, 974,136 people of Syrian origin reside in Germany.
Of these, 5,090 are recognised asylum seekers, while 321,444 are registered as refugees under the Geneva Conventions, which protect those persecuted for their membership in a specific group or religion.
Additionally, 329,242 Syrians have been granted "subsidiary protection," given to those at risk of "serious harm" in their home country.
The remaining Syrians hold other types of residence permits, such as those for family reunification.