'I was never worried' Syrian refugee reflects on 2,700-mile escape to Germany a decade on

The trip would be tough, Somar Kreker knew, but he was not overly fearful. It was the summer of 2015, and in a small flat in Amman, Jordan, this young Syrian's only thought was how to turn a long and arduous journey into something more bearable.

- Lorenzo Tondo

The engineering student had fled Syria three and a half years earlier after refusing to enlist in the brutal regime's army. He was ready to begin a new chapter of his life, starting with a bold aim: to reunite with his younger sisters, still trapped in Damascus, and lead them to Germany, where their brother was living.

"I was never worried or stressed about the trip," says Somar, who was 27 at the time. "I never had any thought about danger or failure. My only thoughts were how I could make the trip a happy adventure for me and my sisters. For some reason, I was sure that I would arrive safely in Germany."

In 2015, nearly 1 million asylum seekers attempted to reach Europe. It would later be described as the peak of the migration crisis, testing the core values of the EU – itself born from the ashes of a war that displaced millions. At a press conference at a refugee camp in Dresden on 31 August, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said "we can do this" as the country opened its borders to those in need.

Today, Somar and his sisters' journey would be immeasurably more difficult. In the decade since, migration has reshaped political landscapes across the continent and paved the way for the rise of far-right parties.

The year before their journey, in 2014, Somar's brother, Mousab, had managed to get from Libya to Sicily with his pregnant wife by boat. But, for him, repeating that journey with his sisters was not an option: it was too dangerous. On 18 April 2015, a fishing boat, designed to carry 30 passengers but crammed with more than 1,000 asylum seekers, collided with a Portuguese freighter that had approached to offer help. More than 800 people lost their lives in the deadliest shipwreck of the European migration crisis.