A decade after the refugee crisis that shook Europe, a Syrian family becomes German

BERLIN — Nearly a decade after fleeing Syria's civil war, Rahaf Alshaar sat on her couch in a leafy suburb of Berlin sipping Arabic coffee spiced with cardamom.

When she, her husband and their three daughters arrived in Germany as refugees, they adapted quickly to their new country: learning the language, finding jobs and attending school.

“It was a lot of hard work, but I’m proud of what we achieved,” Alshaar, 44, told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

Earlier this year, the whole family became German citizens and bought a house with a nice garden.

“We are Germans,” said 52-year-old Basem Wahbeh, Alshaar's husband.

Their family arrived among an influx of migrants from war-torn Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan who took refuge in Germany, peaking at more than 1 million in 2015. Th