Advertisment CBC.ca (BUTTON) MENU * TV * Radio * News * Sports * Music * Arts * (BUTTON) Local * (BUTTON) More * Watch * Listen * (BUTTON) Log in * (BUTTON) SEARCH ____________________ SEARCH * British Columbia * Kamloops * Calgary * Edmonton * Saskatchewan * Saskatoon * Manitoba * Thunder Bay * Sudbury * Windsor * Kitchener-Waterloo * Hamilton * Toronto * Ottawa * Montreal * New Brunswick * Prince Edward Island * Nova Scotia * Newfoundland & Labrador * North * Kids * Documentaries * Comedy * Books * Parents * Aboriginal * Weather * CBC Connects * Digital Archives * Podcasts * Games * Contests * Holiday * Site Map CBC Member CBC User User profile avatar image You currently have: * 0 Likes * 0 Comments Subscriptions Go to the Subscriptions Centre to manage your: * CBC Newsletters * Daily Digests * Breaking Alerts Log Out Log out of your CBC account. (BUTTON) My Profile (BUTTON) My Subscriptions (BUTTON) Log Out CBC News World CBC News Navigation * Home * World * Canada * Politics * Business * Health * Arts & Entertainment * Technology & Science * Trending * Weather * Video * World * Photo Galleries Syrian refugees' window for a storybook ending in Europe may be closing EU meeting today to decide whether countries will accept quotas to resettle asylum-seekers By Nahlah Ayed, CBC News Posted: Sep 14, 2015 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Sep 14, 2015 4:02 PM ET Close Hungary closes border Hungary closes border 3:33 Hungary closes border 3:33 Photo of Nahlah Ayed Nahlah Ayed Foreign Correspondent Nahlah Ayed is a London-based correspondent for CBC News and its flagship program The National. She has been reporting regularly from abroad while also covering Canada's foreign policy. She spent seven years reporting from the Middle East and has often returned there to cover the wave of popular uprisings in the Arab world. Prior to joining CBC, Ayed was a parliamentary reporter for The Canadian Press. * More by this author * Video by Nahlah Ayed Related Stories * Government creates emergency relief fund to aid Syrian crisis victims * Refugee crisis brings out best and worst in Europe: Nahlah Ayed * Refugee crisis makes for strange sights on Lesbos: Margaret Evans * Thousands more refugees to arrive in Hungary in next 10 days: UN * Syrian refugee crisis: Quebec triples number of refugee sponsorships * Refugee crisis: Stephen Harper rejects proposed meeting with political rivals Long before the exodus from Syria to Europe reached its current peak, an untold number of mostly young male asylum-seekers embarked on the journey as a kind of advance party. One of them was Hussein Ahmad. * Germany, Austria, Slovakia move to tighten border controls * Federal government creates Syrian emergency relief fund * ANALYSIS | Strange sights on Lesbos: Margaret Evans Even before that, the route into Europe had already been well used by many, including Iraqis fleeing the carnage of their own civil war. Then, with few welcoming places left in the Mideast, Syrians started to take the route to find European refuge, hoping their families could later follow. Back then, before the entire world got a glimpse, it was an even longer and riskier journey. Still, Ahmad was desperate. Home was Raqqa, the seat of power for ISIS. The group had imprisoned him twice for not being observant enough. The third time they came to his house, he fled out the back door, and the next day was using a way out that would later be successfully used by his wife, Amal, and his two small children — and tens of thousands of other Syrians — to get to Germany. Last Friday, after a year and a half apart, the family tearfully reunited on Platform 25 of Munich's central train station. "I'm very, very happy my family reached me, thank God," he said, beaming. "I thank the German government." A handful of other men stood watching. With no sight of their own loved ones they walked away, clearly disappointed. At least two of them said they too had arrived months ago, using the same route. Chance of a lifetime Fathers, sons and husbands who made the journey many months ago are waiting in places like Germany and Sweden for families to follow. It's yet another major pull for many Syrians now making their way to, and across, Europe. Encouraged by news of the happy reunions and warm welcome in Germany in the past week, many more have left Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon and beyond, to make the same journey. In my calls to colleagues in Baghdad and Beirut, there are suggestions the flow is about to surge. For those who have yearned for a better life in Europe, this is the chance of a lifetime. But the window for a happy conclusion to the story for those now en route may be closing. * Ex top general wants 50,000 refugees here by Christmas * For Syrian refugees, smartphones are a lifeline — not a toy The Ahmads are lucky. Their reunion predated word that Germany was starting to strain under the influx it had invited, and they just missed by days the decision to temporarily impose controls at the border with Austria and to send 2,100 riot police to secure it. Their reunion also comes before tough new Hungarian laws come into effect this week, aimed at stemming the stream of asylum seekers walking across its border, and likely scuttling the plans of thousands trying to get to Germany. What happens to the refugees currently making their way across Europe when the flow is interrupted, as it inevitably will be, is unclear. Thousands could soon be stranded Today, EU member states will be discussing a proposal to more evenly spread the already arrived refugees among them. The idea for a mandatory refugee quota, presented at the European Parliament last week, suggests members resettle 160,000 between them. Besides the criticism that the number falls far short of what's necessary, working against this proposal will also be the significant differences of opinion among EU members. Most governments in Europe's East, as well as the U.K., balk at the idea of anyone telling them how many refugees to take in, if any at all. So do many of those countries' citizens, some of whom have erupted in protest to make their anti-refugee views known. All this means, at some point soon, there will be many more refugees languishing in Europe than apparently anyone is willing or able to cope with. The first major foreseeable bottleneck will be Hungary's inhospitable border with Serbia. Thousands could become stuck there as winter approaches — kept out by Hungary's new laws, a new fence, and also, if its parliament approves, the deployment of the Hungarian army. With rail services also more or less shut down now from Budapest to Munich, new routes will surely be sought out, which will affect more countries, and could be more dangerous. Smugglers who were sidelined when Germany and Austria threw open their borders could thrive again. That carries its own dangers, as we saw with the suffocation of more than 70 refugees in the back of a truck discovered in Austria. Thousands will likely find themselves stranded in or near countries that do not want them. Who will then care for the refugees several borders short of their destination and their loved ones? __________________________________________________________________ Read more about the refugee crisis: * ANALYSIS | Most seeking asylum are refugees, not migrants * ​Europe's moral quandry: the migrants who risk all for freedom * Canada approves just 9 refugee cases for private sponsorship * Canadians want more done to help refugees, polls suggest * Reality check: The ins and outs of sponsoring refugees * Report Typo Send Feedback Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time. Submission Policy Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines. Stay Connected with CBC News * Mobile * Facebook * Podcasts * Twitter * Alerts * Newsletter Advertisment Latest Video * Iran releases detained U.S. sailors Iran releases detained U.S. sailors 1:20 Video shows 10 navy members who were held overnight before being let go * Refugees fleeing conflict continue to arrive in Greece Refugees fleeing conflict continue to arrive in Greece 1:17 Ship carrying over 1,000 people lands in port of Piraeus * Obama on the threat of ISIS Obama on the threat of ISIS 1:30 President Barack Obama delivers his final annual report card on the U.S * 'Food Stamp recipients didn’t cause the 'Food Stamp recipients didn’t cause the 1:27 President Barack Obama delivers his final annual report card on the U.S Advertisment Most Viewed * Powerball lottery: Questions about legitimacy of online ticket brokers not stopping Canadians read comments * Istanbul suicide bomber entered the country as a refugee, PM says read comments * Alps avalanche kills 2 French high school students, 1 Ukrainian skier read comments * Iran's quick release of American sailors applauded by John Kerry read comments * Russian airstrikes help Syrian army gain major victory in strategic coastal region read comments Right Communications * hi-peter-mansbridge The National Canada's destination for original journalism and stories with added depth and context. Don't Miss * canada dollar loonie Canadian dollar will drop to 59 cents US in 2016, Macquarie forecasts * Obama State of Union Analysis Barack Obama delivers 'peppery and partisan' final state of the union address * A3 e-tron NAIAS 2016 NAIAS 2016: Detroit car show models are watching you right back * Powerball Jackpot Powerball lottery: 5 things Canadians need to know * John Tory and Justin Trudeau Updated Trudeau praises Toronto's response to Syrian refugee resettlement * Les Deux Alpes map Updated Alps avalanche kills 2 French high school students, 1 Ukrainian skier * Kevin O'Leary New Kevin O'Leary tries to trump Rachel Notley, saying she's 'bankrupt' of ideas * Predicting the 2016 Oscar nominees Analysis Oscar nominations 2016: CBC's Eli Glasner predicts the finalists * TURKEY-BLAST/ Istanbul suicide bomber entered the country as a refugee, PM says * Transport trucks lined up in Nipigon, Ont., winter Nipigon River Bridge delays slow $100M of goods shipped daily * canadian powerball ticket holder Powerball lottery: Questions about legitimacy of online ticket brokers not stopping Canadians * Oil and gas Oklahoma fracking lawsuit Oil prices Who wins, who loses when oil drops below $30 * CANADA/ RRSPs Selling your house in retirement: What not to do * winter storm 2016 Atlantic winter weather causes widespread outages, cancellations * Oilpatch Outlook 20151028 Analysis Seeking a political scapegoat for plunging oil: Don Pittis Explore CBC * CBC Home * TV * Radio * News * Sports * Music * Arts * Kids * Local * Documentaries * Comedy * Books * Parents * Aboriginal * Weather * CBC Connects * Digital Archives * Games * Contests * Site Map Stay Connected * Mobile * RSS * Podcasts * Newsletters & Alerts Services and Information * Corporate Info * Public Appearances * Commercial Services * Reuse & Permission * Terms of Use * Privacy Policy * CBC Shop * Help * Contact Us * Jobs * Doing Business with Us * Renting Facilities CBC CBC gem logo Radio-Canada ©2016 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved Visitez Radio-Canada.ca