The basic condition for “unification marriage” is that one of the partners be naturalized or officially reside in a European country (Pixels)

Damascus -

The worsening economic crisis and deteriorating living conditions in areas under the control of the Syrian regime are pushing some young Syrian women to think about “unification marriage” or “travel marriage,” which has become a final way out for them and an urgent solution to overcome the growing phenomenon of spinsterhood in those areas in light of poverty. The growing and increasing migration of young people.

Sarah (24 years old), an employee at an advertising services company in Damascus, says that she is now thinking about “marriage on a trip” - as the Syrians call it - as an inevitable escape from the scourges of living in Syria.

She added in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, "I see the condition of married women in Syria every day, and I do not want to face the oppression and hardship they face in order to secure the simplest necessities of life."

“Unification marriage” imposed itself on Syrians after the increase in the major migration wave of millions towards Europe during the year 2015, forcing thousands of young men and women to search for their partners through electronic chat windows via various communication applications.

Over time, the phenomenon in these applications developed until “Marriage Reunification” had its own private and public groups that receive and publish various marriage requests and offers, and work to match future partners “online.”

What is a reunification marriage?

The basic condition for “unification marriage” is that one of the partners must be naturalized or officially reside in one of the European countries that offer this option, and that he must be able, in accordance with his civil rights and a set of conditions and standards - which vary depending on the country he is a refugee or resident in - to He submits a “family reunification” file to the immigration department in that country, and after routine procedures, a resident who meets the conditions often obtains the right to bring in his family members.

In this type of marriage, the partner residing abroad usually resorts to social networking sites or traditional channels available to him to communicate with one of the girls inside Syria, and after the stage of acquaintance and acceptance, the partner residing abroad marries his partner inside Syria.

This is done either by returning personally to Syria and confirming the contract in government departments, or by appointing someone to act on his behalf in these procedures. After submitting an application for family reunification to the immigration department in the country of emigration and obtaining approval, his partner moves to him in his country of residence or asylum to begin their life together as a couple.

Why is it spreading in Syria?

Syrian psychological and social consultant Dr. Majid Istanbouli attributes the reasons for the spread of the phenomenon of marriage through “unification” or “distance marriage” in Syria to several factors, most notably the large migration of young Syrians outside the country.

This is in addition to poverty, lack of job opportunities, and a large number of Syrian girls remaining in the country without marriage, “due to the migration of young people and their inability to return for fear of military service, which they do not know how long it will last,” according to Istanbouli.

The Syrian psychological and social consultant added in his interview with Al Jazeera Net, "Thus, there is no choice left for Syrian girls but to accept unified marriage instead of surrendering to the fate of spinsterhood."

This is what Sarah goes by saying, “The conditions of life here have become tragic, and it is risky to make a fateful decision to establish a family in a country whose present is miserable and whose future is unknown.”

She added to Al Jazeera Net, "I would rather marry someone I don't know well than marry someone I love in circumstances like the ones we live in here."

In addition to her desire to settle down and establish a family with a loving partner in a place that “respects our humanity and our most basic rights as human beings,” Sarah finds family unification marriage an opportunity for regular immigration to a country that enables her to work for meaningful financial compensation through which she can support her retired parents in Syria.

In addition to Sarah, Syrian girls in regime-controlled areas resort to marriage through family unification with the intention of traveling to work or pursuing university studies.

The rate of spinsterhood among girls in Syria reached 70% in 2022, according to data from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor in the regime’s government.

The rate of spinsterhood among girls in Syria reached 70% in 2022 (Shutterstock)

Has marriage moved from reality to websites?

Recently, dozens of pages and groups specializing in offers and requests for marriage for family unification have spread on social media sites, and most of the posts in these groups share the publishers’ inclusion of moral and age specifications, as well as the level of education and other specifications of the partner or partner required for marriage.

Regarding this, Amal (she only mentioned her first name) - a social specialist in family and children’s affairs in Damascus - says, “The phenomenon of long-distance marriage in its various forms leads to the commodification of marriage, and the transformation of the family formation project from a basic building block for building a good society into a commodity that can be purchased from the On store.” "Line".

She added in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, "But this phenomenon is justified in light of the continuing decline in the standard of living of Syrian families, the high level of spinsterhood among women, and the continued migration of young people in search of a better life outside Syria."

About 90% of Syrians have been living below the poverty line since 2021, while 12.1 million Syrians - equivalent to half the population - suffer from food insecurity, according to UN reports.

Psychological and social effects

Majid Istanbouli says, “The psychological and social consequences of long-distance marriage are many and varied, especially since this marriage does not always have legal value in the countries to which girls migrate after being reunited. In the event of incompatibility, the girl can often become without rights.” .

The psychological consultant adds, "At the same time, many young men provide incorrect information about their conditions for marriage to girls inside Syria, and girls in Syria also have no other option to build a family and get rid of the bad economic situation in Syria except by accepting this opportunity to marry and travel."

Istanbouli believes that the psychological effects often occur after marriage, because long-distance communication does not give a clear picture of the morals of the young man or girl, and hence compatibility cannot be as clear as it would be in reality, which increases the possibility of family disputes.

Regarding the situation of women in this marriage, Istanbouli continues, “The girl under this marriage often becomes in a country very different from her own and in a very weak condition. She does not know anything about the laws or the language, and is often forced to endure a lot because of fear.”

In conclusion, Istanbouli stresses that “the failure rate of this marriage is high, and its psychological effects appear after it is completed. The girl is in a new country and may not accept the husband, and he may not accept her. Therefore, we find that divorce rates among Syrians are very high in Germany, especially since Marriage and divorce laws are more lenient.”

The psychological effects of reunification marriage appear after engagement due to the difficulty of recognizing the morals of the partner from a distance (Pixels)

In turn, Lara Khoury (41 years old), a worker at an elderly care center in the German city of Nuremberg, says about her experience in a reunification marriage that she had 3 years ago, “Despite my separation from my ex-husband, I do not regret this experience, as I am here today in... Germany is stable in my work and my professional and emotional life because of it.”

As for the experience itself, Khoury added in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, “My ex-husband and I tried as much as we could to adapt to each other, but he was completely different from the person he tried to portray during our long-distance relationship, which extended for a year and a half.”

Although some partners failed to maintain their marriage after moving in together, other couples succeeded in presenting a positive image of this phenomenon, and the success or failure of this marriage remains dependent on the privacy of each individual experience.

The number of Syrian refugees around the world reached 6.6 million refugees by the end of 2022, according to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner.

Source: Al Jazeera