The integration in the EU, the responsibility of the refugee or the host country

Shaza Al Rihawi, Founding member of the Network for Refugee Voices (NRV), member of the Advisory Board of New Women Connectors and Research Assistant at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi)

EU integration policies towards migrants and refugees allow for some interpretive leeway among member states, but the challenges posed are constant, especially for women. As a female Syrian refugee living in Germany, I can personally attest to this. In my own case, I was accepted as a refugee in Germany only after a difficult 2.5-year journey from Syria to Sweden to Germany, and professional ‘integration’ has been difficult despite having a postgraduate degree from a major American university and a UNHCR position in Syria for 8 years (assisting female refugees and those affected by sexual and gender-based violence).