The Difficult Refugee Experience in Germany

Refugee assimilation in Europe has been a topic of heated debate over the past few years. It became a platform that vaulted many right-wing parties into positions of power and one that has weakened the resolve of moderates. The main issue is that both sides misunderstand the issue they so fervently argue about.

In 2015, German chancellor Angela Merkel eased the burdens of nearly 1 million refugees by opening her country’s doors to those fleeing civil war. At the time, it may have seemed as the right course of action, helping those in need. But in hindsight, it was a rash decision that disregarded the concerns of German citizens and increased her unpopularity among East Germans in particular. The language of an east and west Germany may seem outdated, but the divisions are still as real, if not as visible.

Countries that adopt this many refugees at once, especially Germany, find it hard to recognize the longer-term dangers. Under the impression of moral action, these governments send a message to their own people that foreigners are more important than citizens. Eastern Germany already struggles with employment, at least in comparison to other areas of the country, and their education system portrays the Second World War in a much more favorable light. A wave of refugees that also need jobs to sustain them threatens job prospects of Germans, though not as much as right-wing constituents believe.

The goal is not to establish a ‘home away from home’ in European countries; it is to integrate refugees into a society kinder than the one they have just left.

Newly arrived refugees normally wait months, if not over a year, to find employment. In the Netherlands, they are kept from jobs for the first six months by law, and in other countries the language barrier creates the same effect. Not only are these people escaping terrors in their home countries, leaving behind nearly everything; they also face a daunting task of quickly adapting to a new country’s language and culture, evolving to survive.

This prospect is made harder by hostile natives who feel threatened by a perceived erosion of their culture and national identity. Whether attacking refugees themselves or weakening the government through political action, this misconceptions damage the society even more. The governments themselves can do just as much damage. They forget that there are two steps to the process: admitting refugees and then looking after them. Denying access to jobs or leaving refugees uneducated worsens the separation they feel from their new country and is more likely to inflame tensions between natives and foreigners.

German culture in particular makes it very hard for dissenters to be taken seriously. A nation that is still coming to grips with its military history has opted for inflicting as much guilt as possible on its people. German history must be recognized and learned from, but there is a point where Germans can no longer be expected to pay for the evils of their ancestors. Building a progressive society is made twice as hard when you have to dig yourself out from under government-mandated guilt first.

Refugees that have been accepted by a country also have a duty to give back or take up that country’s values. The goal is not to establish a ‘home away from home’ in European countries; it is to integrate refugees into a society kinder than the one they have just left. Even right-wing German activists like Götz Kubitschek agree that immigrants can become Germans like anyone else, provided they are “willing to give everything for this country and are ready to identify with it.” The point of departure from reason for people like Kubitschek is their belief that immigrants are here to conquer their society. They deliver emotionally charged rants that effectively condemn refugees as opportunists waiting for the chance to storm the German fortress. They fear being exchanged for refugees, neglected by their elected government.

Even leaders subscribe to this rhetoric. Trump delivered a speech in Poland that framed the issue as “The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive.” This is not a battle of survival that must end in the eradication of one group. It is no doubt a tumultuous transition but not an insurmountable one.

Furthermore, these notions clearly conflict with fact. Refugees welcome the chance to give back, but they must be put in a position to do so. Without an equal opportunity for employment and schooling, immigrants can’t be expected to immediately morph into patriotic members of their new country. Most of Germany’s refugees work in temporary, low-paying (as in 1 euro an hour), hard labor jobs.

Clearly, governments that face this issue and the citizens it affects have to recognize the viewpoint of the opposing side as true. Right-wing aggressors must realize that refugees are victims, not opportunists. The governments must also realize its duty to its own people, as well as its duty to the world, and balance the two fairly.