Why are Syrians sending love letters to Angela Merkel?

The message came in a tweet from Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees on Tuesday. Syrian citizens, the office said, would no longer be subject to the Dublin Regulation. The real meaning behind the rather dry edict? Germany won't send Syrian asylum seekers back to the EU country where they first landed - for instance, Greece or Italy. The move will potentially allow thousands to claim refugee status in Germany, and it seems to have been big news among Syrians.

Overnight it prompted an outpouring of love on Facebook for Germans and, in particular, Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel's reception among Syrians contrasts with the one she received at a migrant centre near Dresden, where she was booed by far-right protesters. Germany expects to take in 800,000 asylum seekers this year. Although only a fraction of those were from Syria, that number is greater than the total number of applicants taken in by all 28 EU states last year: 626,000.

(BBC)