Ryan Alsembl, a 29-year-old refugee from Syria, made history on Friday when he was sworn in mayor of Ostelsheim, a town in the southwest Germanyeight years after he left his country to escape the war.
In April 2023, voters in this community of 2,500 elected him head of the new city council, with Alsembl garnering an absolute majority and rate 55.41%.
The Young Mayors Network said it does not know of another refugee who went to Germany in 2015 and is now the mayor of a city in the country. There were no other candidates of Syrian origin for the office of mayor in the state this, in southwestern Germany, according to the Union of Municipalities of Baden-Württemberg.
When Alsebel arrived in Germany, he was only 21 years old. He had left Syria to avoid mandatory military service in his country, which was mired in civil war.
He went from Lesbos to mainland Greece and crossed North Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia by public transport and on foot. It took 12 days to arrive in Germany. He quickly learned German and did an internship as an administrative clerk in the town hall of Altengstedt, a village near Ostelsheim. He ran as an independent candidate in the municipal elections. He is also a member of the Greens, because “climate protection is very important”.
His election victory is particularly impressive in a village that is considered conservative. He attributes his election to his ability to listen to residents’ concerns and his campaign focused on childcare and the digital world.
Source: News Beast
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