Guest article by Ahmad Mansour - Absurd ignorance! Merkel sees the responsibility not with refugees, but with us

Guest article by Ahmad Mansour - Absurd ignorance! Merkel sees the responsibility not with refugees, but with us FOCUS-online-Ahmad Mansour • 18 hours • 4 minutes reading time 09/09/2015, Berlin: Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) poses for a selfie with a refugee after visiting an initial reception center for asylum seekers. Even three years after leaving the Chancellery, Angela Merkel does not reflect critically on one of her important decisions. Her attitude to the decision not to close the borders to refugees in 2015 has not changed. Even looking back, Angela Merkel does not allow herself to doubt the moral dilemma of that time. Her understanding of integration as a responsibility of the receiving society is particularly striking. Expectations of a deeper reflection on this topic were not high anyway - and yet we are disappointed. Merkel, the border and the refugees More than nine years have passed since Merkel made the historic decision not to close the borders to refugees. Back then, the mood in Germany was different: thousands stood at train stations with signs like "Welcome", threw teddy bears and offered to accompany refugees - yes, even take them into their own homes. Germany wanted to show the world that it is an open, tolerant society, ready to take on responsibility and live with humanity. But a lot has happened since then. Many of the refugees have found a new home in Germany, but many others have arrived physically but not emotionally. The debates about crime, the sexual assaults on New Year's Eve 2015 in Cologne, anti-Semitism and Islamism have had a strong impact on public perception. Deportations, border controls, overwhelmed municipalities and dwindling social acceptance dominate the discussion about migration today. Germany is more divided than ever The initial enthusiasm has turned to disillusionment. The euphoria and collective commitment of 2015 have given way to a deep social divide. The question of how to deal with migration shows a Germany that is more divided today than ever before. Reality has long since overtaken us! The fact that greedy, unscrupulous people smugglers decide who is granted asylum in our country raises questions. The same is true of the problem that the identity of asylum seekers can hardly be established if passports and papers are missing. And those who really need protection, especially women and children, currently have little chance of reaching Europe as asylum seekers. Today we know that deportations are only feasible to a limited extent, and that in 2015 many people took advantage of the confusing, unclear situation to come to Germany from safe third countries. Attracted by prosperity, work and the welfare state, many people still travel through neighboring countries. Around ten years later, it is crystal clear: We need to look much more closely and decide who is coming into the country, why and from where. The crime statistics show worrying trends The warning signals have been increasing for years now. The security authorities are also critical of the decision made at the time. Politicians around the world are talking about historic mistakes in relation to migration policy that Germany has made since 2015 to the present. The crime statistics show worrying trends, and at the same time, many people are feeling a subjective sense of insecurity. The increase in anti-Semitic attitudes in the population is actually measurable, especially since October 7, 2023. Schools are overwhelmed, Jewish communities no longer feel adequately protected. This goes hand in hand with the increase in Islamist radicalization - including among refugees: real problems that must be openly addressed. Conducting this debate purely on moral grounds, as Merkel is now doing with her book "Freedom" - black and white, good and evil - will not get us anywhere. Fears and worries must not be taboo. It does not help to reflexively accuse everyone who criticizes migration policy of "racism". All democrats need the courage to address these questions, also in order not to make it easier for right-wing radical forces to rise. Because the speechlessness that Merkel and her supporters have created by presenting their decision on migration as having no alternative, as the only moral answer, is leading to radicalization in society. Radicalization that has become more visible every day. Merkel: Integration as a duty of the majority society On this issue, Merkel seems strangely out of date, like someone who got stuck in 2015 and has not followed the public debate in Germany in recent years. Today, parts of the Greens and the SPD have overtaken her on the right on this issue.