CNN
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A Syrian who arrived in Germany as a refugee in 2015 has won the election for mayor of the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwestern Germany.
Ryyan Alshebl, who left his hometown of As Suwayda in Syria eight years ago, ran as an independent in the municipality of Ostelsheim. He obtained 55.41% of the votes on Sunday, ahead of two German candidates, Marco Strauss and Mathias Fey.
Locals cheered the 29-year-old as he hailed his victory, a victory he described as “sensational”, local German broadcaster SWR reported on Monday.
“Today Ostelsheim sent an example of open-mindedness and cosmopolitanism to all of Germany,” he said, according to German public broadcaster ZDF. “It’s not something that can be taken for granted in a rural, conservative area.”
Alshebl’s first call after his victory was to his mother in Syria, who was delighted with the news, SWR reported.
The Baden-Württemberg Association of Municipalities said Alshebl was the first man of Syrian origin to run for and win a mayoral position. He will take office in June.
The residents of Ostelsheim welcomed their new mayor. “The fairy tale came true and the ideal man became our mayor,” Annette Keck, who lives in the village, told SWR.
Strauss, one of his opponents, congratulated Alshebl. “I wish you good luck and at the same time ask for support for Mr. Alshebl, for our common Ostelsheim,” he said on Facebook.
State Integration Minister Manne Lucha said Alshebl’s victory showed that diversity is a natural part of Baden-Württemberg. “I would be very happy if the election of Ryyan Alshebl encourages more people with a migration background to run for political office,” he said.
Not everyone has been so warm to the 29-year-old. ZDF reported that the Syrian received hateful comments during the election campaign.
The young politician went from house to house to promote his electoral program and “the experiences were mostly positive”, but there was also a minority of far-right voters in Ostelsheim who did not want to accept him due to of his Syrian roots, Alshebl told ZDF.
Born to a school teacher and an agricultural engineer in Syria, Alshebl described his life as carefree until the age of 20, according to his campaign website.
At the time, protests against the Syrian government that began in 2011 quickly escalated into chaotic war. The fighting, then the rise of ISIS, forced 10.6 million people to leave their homes at the end of 2015, or around half of Syria’s pre-war population.
Alshebl faced the dilemma between being drafted for military service in the Syrian army or leaving the country, according to his website.
While many Syrians have been internally displaced or fled to regional countries, others, like Alshebl, have made the dangerous journey to Europe. He was 21 at the time and said he crossed from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos on a rubber dinghy.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel implemented a brief open-door policy in 2015 that saw the country welcome around 1.2 million asylum seekers in the following years, including Alshebl.
The move sparked a backlash in Germany and the sudden rise of the anti-immigration far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party following the summer of 2015.
Once in Germany, Alshebl lived near Ostelsheim and said at the time that he believed “there is only one thing you can do: get back on your feet quickly and quickly start investing in your own future.”
For the past seven years, he has worked in the administration of the town hall of Althengstett, in a neighboring town. He drew on his experience, he said in his campaign, and made digital access to public administration services one of his priorities. Flexible childcare and climate protection are also on his agenda.
Alshebl, who is a member of the Green Party and now has German citizenship, promised during his campaign that once elected mayor he would move to Ostelsheim.
Cnn
