Stefan Nicola and Rainer Buergin
By Stefan Nicola and Rainer Buergin
Nuhad Al Suki, a refugee who fled war-torn Syria, has done her best to turn a classroom in a former high school in Berlin into a home for her husband and two daughters.
Al Suki has hung curtains, photographs of friends and large drapes from the ceiling to give the small room the homey feel of a studio apartment. The family arrived last July in Germany the day after the nation’s soccer team won the World Cup. “A happy day,” she says.
The Al Sukis are part of the biggest wave of refugees, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, to enter Germany in at least two decades. The influx last year of more than 200,000 asylum seekers has tested the limits of Germany’s generosity by straining budgets, crowding shelters and ultimately spurring debate over the country’s immigration law.
“Everyone is afraid of what’s foreign,” Al Suki, wearing a black hijab over a beige blouse, said of the discussion in Germany. “We fled Homs because I feared for the safety of my children as dying was a daily affair. Now we don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
A German group seeking to limit who’s allowed into the country and opposing Islam’s influence in Europe this week drew a record crowd for one of its rallies. A day later, the Muslim community held its own vigil with Chancellor Angela Merkel to promote tolerance.
About 25,000 people attended a march in Dresden organised by a movement called Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West, or Pegida. It’s one of a number of groups in countries from France to the UK and the Netherlands critical of their country’s immigration policies that say the killings last week of 17 people in Paris by terrorists justify their stance.
Merkel and other senior politicians, struggling to damp support for Pegida, have spoken out against the group and this week participated in a Berlin vigil in support of tolerance that included Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders. Merkel last month described some of the organisers as having “hatred in their hearts.”
“We won’t allow ourselves to be divided by those who use the terrorist attacks to place Muslims under blanket suspicion,” Merkel said in a speech to lower-house lawmakers in Berlin. “Every marginalisation of Muslims in Germany, every blanket judgement, is unacceptable.”
Caught up in the divisive issue is a debate over whether to overhaul the country’s immigration law, a plan that has stalled within Merkel’s coalition as factions within the government squabble over how to move forward.
Industry groups want to make sure Germany can attract qualified workers from abroad to offset an ageing, shrinking population. At the same time, the government is eager to diffuse the lure of Pegida and the two-year-old, anti-euro party Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which won seats last year in three state assemblies and the European Parliament.
Critical of German immigration policy, the AfD is taking voters from the chancellor’s Christian Democratic Union and other parties.
“Merkel’s Germany is changing its tune on immigration but that may be more due to the demands of German business rather than pandering to Pegida,” said Shada Islam, director of policy at the Friends of Europe advisory group in Brussels. “If Germany can revamp its immigration law then other European leaders will stand up and take notice. Merkel is the leading figure in Europe.”
Some in the government are pushing for a Canada-style point system to attract educated immigrants as the country’s population ages and German companies face a shortage of skilled workers. Organisations supporting asylum seekers say they’re concerned any reform would ultimately be aimed at also making it harder for refugees to enter the country.
“The tone of the current immigration debate is very worrisome,” said Bernd Mesovic, deputy managing director of Pro Asyl, a Frankfurt-based group that lobbies on the behalf of asylum seekers.
“It’s all about: We want to pick and choose those who benefit us economically and refuse the others who are branded as a burden. The debate must not undermine giving protection to those who need it.”
The number of refugees entering Germany soared 60 percent last year to 202,834, with 41,100 coming from Syria alone, according to figures released by the German Interior Ministry. The influx has forced cities to house people any place there’s space, such as in empty schools, at campgrounds, on a boat on the River Elbe and even in aluminum crates that resemble shipping containers. The town of Schwerte in North Rhine- Westphalia drew fire for considering putting up refugees in the barracks of a former Nazi concentration camp.
Tucked between a police station and an elementary school in northwestern Berlin, the building where the Al Sukis live is now home to about 160 refugees, mainly from Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Balkans. The Arbeiterwohlfahrt, a German organisation paid by the government to take care of refugees, is running the site and 10 others in the German capital, housing about 3,500.
“All our shelters are packed to the roof,” said Manfred Nowak, who’s responsible for the group’s Berlin locations. “Many refugees have to stay in emergency shelters like these longer than they should because it takes so long to process their requests.”
Nowak said some Germans are concerned that the shelters depress the value of nearby homes, or become a hotbed of crime. Neo-Nazis have joined demonstrations in Berlin chanting “Foreigners Out” and are suspected of torching three refugee homes outside Nuremberg in December.
Al Suki, aware of the debate going on around her, said she’s experienced Germany’s better side. The police across the street collected everything from clothes to children’s toys and brought it over before Christmas. Nowak said Berliners have made so many donations that he’s had trouble distributing it all.
“We’re very happy and comfortable here,” Al Suki said through a translator. “Once people realise we’re no threat, everything’s fine.”
Her daughters are attending a German school and are learning the language “with excitement and much faster than me,” she said, laughing. “They’ve already developed a love for this country. I don’t see us going back.”
And they won’t have to. Shortly after this week’s interview, she received the news she’d been waiting for: her asylum request had been granted.
Bloomberg
By Stefan Nicola and Rainer Buergin
Nuhad Al Suki, a refugee who fled war-torn Syria, has done her best to turn a classroom in a former high school in Berlin into a home for her husband and two daughters.
Al Suki has hung curtains, photographs of friends and large drapes from the ceiling to give the small room the homey feel of a studio apartment. The family arrived last July in Germany the day after the nation’s soccer team won the World Cup. “A happy day,” she says.
The Al Sukis are part of the biggest wave of refugees, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, to enter Germany in at least two decades. The influx last year of more than 200,000 asylum seekers has tested the limits of Germany’s generosity by straining budgets, crowding shelters and ultimately spurring debate over the country’s immigration law.
“Everyone is afraid of what’s foreign,” Al Suki, wearing a black hijab over a beige blouse, said of the discussion in Germany. “We fled Homs because I feared for the safety of my children as dying was a daily affair. Now we don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
A German group seeking to limit who’s allowed into the country and opposing Islam’s influence in Europe this week drew a record crowd for one of its rallies. A day later, the Muslim community held its own vigil with Chancellor Angela Merkel to promote tolerance.
About 25,000 people attended a march in Dresden organised by a movement called Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West, or Pegida. It’s one of a number of groups in countries from France to the UK and the Netherlands critical of their country’s immigration policies that say the killings last week of 17 people in Paris by terrorists justify their stance.
Merkel and other senior politicians, struggling to damp support for Pegida, have spoken out against the group and this week participated in a Berlin vigil in support of tolerance that included Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders. Merkel last month described some of the organisers as having “hatred in their hearts.”
“We won’t allow ourselves to be divided by those who use the terrorist attacks to place Muslims under blanket suspicion,” Merkel said in a speech to lower-house lawmakers in Berlin. “Every marginalisation of Muslims in Germany, every blanket judgement, is unacceptable.”
Caught up in the divisive issue is a debate over whether to overhaul the country’s immigration law, a plan that has stalled within Merkel’s coalition as factions within the government squabble over how to move forward.
Industry groups want to make sure Germany can attract qualified workers from abroad to offset an ageing, shrinking population. At the same time, the government is eager to diffuse the lure of Pegida and the two-year-old, anti-euro party Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which won seats last year in three state assemblies and the European Parliament.
Critical of German immigration policy, the AfD is taking voters from the chancellor’s Christian Democratic Union and other parties.
“Merkel’s Germany is changing its tune on immigration but that may be more due to the demands of German business rather than pandering to Pegida,” said Shada Islam, director of policy at the Friends of Europe advisory group in Brussels. “If Germany can revamp its immigration law then other European leaders will stand up and take notice. Merkel is the leading figure in Europe.”
Some in the government are pushing for a Canada-style point system to attract educated immigrants as the country’s population ages and German companies face a shortage of skilled workers. Organisations supporting asylum seekers say they’re concerned any reform would ultimately be aimed at also making it harder for refugees to enter the country.
“The tone of the current immigration debate is very worrisome,” said Bernd Mesovic, deputy managing director of Pro Asyl, a Frankfurt-based group that lobbies on the behalf of asylum seekers.
“It’s all about: We want to pick and choose those who benefit us economically and refuse the others who are branded as a burden. The debate must not undermine giving protection to those who need it.”
The number of refugees entering Germany soared 60 percent last year to 202,834, with 41,100 coming from Syria alone, according to figures released by the German Interior Ministry. The influx has forced cities to house people any place there’s space, such as in empty schools, at campgrounds, on a boat on the River Elbe and even in aluminum crates that resemble shipping containers. The town of Schwerte in North Rhine- Westphalia drew fire for considering putting up refugees in the barracks of a former Nazi concentration camp.
Tucked between a police station and an elementary school in northwestern Berlin, the building where the Al Sukis live is now home to about 160 refugees, mainly from Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Balkans. The Arbeiterwohlfahrt, a German organisation paid by the government to take care of refugees, is running the site and 10 others in the German capital, housing about 3,500.
“All our shelters are packed to the roof,” said Manfred Nowak, who’s responsible for the group’s Berlin locations. “Many refugees have to stay in emergency shelters like these longer than they should because it takes so long to process their requests.”
Nowak said some Germans are concerned that the shelters depress the value of nearby homes, or become a hotbed of crime. Neo-Nazis have joined demonstrations in Berlin chanting “Foreigners Out” and are suspected of torching three refugee homes outside Nuremberg in December.
Al Suki, aware of the debate going on around her, said she’s experienced Germany’s better side. The police across the street collected everything from clothes to children’s toys and brought it over before Christmas. Nowak said Berliners have made so many donations that he’s had trouble distributing it all.
“We’re very happy and comfortable here,” Al Suki said through a translator. “Once people realise we’re no threat, everything’s fine.”
Her daughters are attending a German school and are learning the language “with excitement and much faster than me,” she said, laughing. “They’ve already developed a love for this country. I don’t see us going back.”
And they won’t have to. Shortly after this week’s interview, she received the news she’d been waiting for: her asylum request had been granted.
Bloomberg
