"We can do this." So Germany 10 years after the exile crisis

I remember the words. Angela Merkelwhich traditionally appeared at an yearly press conference, organised by the Association of German Journalists "Bundespresseconferenz" and the Association of abroad Journalists (VAP). Many questions about current policies are usually raised during specified meetings. However, in 2015 journalists were primarily curious in migration problembecause of Hungary more and more Syrian refugees were gathering.

Merkel herself admitted she was expecting an influx. more than 800,000 refugees to Germany within 1 year. That's erstwhile the question was, Germany They will deal with specified a immense number of people and whether the German state and society will not be overwhelmed by this challenge.

Angela Merkel She responded spontaneously.“Let me be clear: Germany is simply a strong country... we have achieved a lot – we will manage. And where something stands in the way, you gotta overcome it and work on it. The national government will do their best. – together with the trade union countries and municipalities – to implement this”

Migrants and Germany. Angela Merkel doesn't regret her decision.

Since then, journalists have repeatedly asked the German Chancellor about her historical words, but it was only after 9 years that Angela Merkel decided share your thoughts extensively in the book Freedom – Memories 1954-2021. An alternate to beginning borders, according to Merkel, was the usage of force against desperate people at the border, to which "never could agree".

Merkel writes plainly that does not regret the decision to let refugees, though he is aware of its political implications. The erstwhile Chancellor explained that she was guided humanitarian and European values. It stresses that its precedence in 2015 was to defend human dignity and to stay faithful to the principles of European solidarity.

Rejecting criticism, she denied that her open attitude encouraged more people to come. In her opinion The Chancellor's "kind face" was not the reason for the exile wave – people were moving distant from war and terror, not due to the fact that they felt invited. Merkel stressed that the exile crisis was due to conflicts on Middle East (especially the war in Syria) and lamented that the global community she didn't respond before..

The words “we can do” radically changed the German political scene

As refugees stood at the German borders, the German political scene looked different than today. alternate to Germany (AfD) was practically bankrupt.

Before the Merkel press conference itself, public tv presented the latest polls that indicated that AfD has only 3% support And there's no way to get into parliament. Today, things are different. Migration problem was highly right-wing populists To historical success, like a wave of tide. Currently AfD in polls ahead of the organization of the erstwhile Chancellor and strives to strengthen its position.

Political scene She's polarized.and German parties verified their programs. Openness is gone. On the contrary – Germany They closed their borders., they decided to disrupt the functioning of the Schengen area and became little generous in terms of social assistance for those who come to Germany.

But that doesn't mean the problems are gone. Migration problem remains a major political topic, and the questions of how to conduct a migration policy that can benefit Germany stay unanswered.

Refugees opened their eyes to Germans for their own problems

After 10 years, Germany managed to make mechanisms that partially arranged the reception process for refugeesAlthough the beginnings were highly hard and chaotic.

Katarina Niewiał – Berlin legislature Plenipotentiary for Participation, Integration and Migration, asked by Interia about the first months of the influx of refugees to Berlin, described this period as A time of large chaos, disinformation and deficiency of clear plan. She stressed that it was mainly thanks to volunteers that the visitors were able to supply accommodation and first aid.

Today, a decade later, “ I think it is crucial to stress that we are facing the immense challenge of transformation. Only now, especially after Chancellor Merkel left, do we realise how many structural reforms have been neglected in this country – from housing, education, to infrastructure: both physical and social. These problems are frequently mistakenly linked to migration, although in reality migration acts like a lens. It was thanks to the people who came to us, We saw our own shortcomings more clearly. Refugees have highlighted errors and problems in the strategy – not in themselves.”

Continuing waiting for the asylum decision

Undoubtedly the German social strategy has been a serious test. Refugees who reached Germany for a long time were mainly integrated with the German work system. Syrians, but besides immigrants from another countries, waited up to two, 3 years for the German authorities to decide on work permits or the request to leave Germany.

This slow process, caused by the overload of the German offices, only piled up problems. Closed in asylum centers people started literally freak out.. They did not know what was waiting for them, whether they could take the occupation and look to the future normally.

The side effect was besides Increasing crime, and German services were increasingly hard to verify refugees for the reasons why they came to Germany. The increasing problem of integration has led to people seeing refugees and immigrants as a problem at a flat rate. Which was convenient for the populists of AfD.

Anas Modamani, a Syrian exile who was celebrated in Germany for his photograph of a selfie taken with Angela Merkel (today a writer and video producer), said Interia about his feelings about coming to Germany: "I have 2 houses.. Got it. Syria And I have Berlin – and it makes my life more beautiful than the lives of many others who inactive do not have a German passport. due to the fact that whoever in Berlin doesn't have a German passport, It's truly hard.. 1 cannot relax, it is hard to focus on exams in schools, on universities – thoughts proceed to flee towards deportation. I know quite a few friends who don't have a German passport yet and It's very hard for them to find themselves here.. However, erstwhile you have a German passport, from this minute on you can go to work, you can relax and think about the future. And without him inactive living in fear of deportation‘.

Today it is even hard to tell whether Germany is halfway to solving the migration problem. On the 1 hand, they want to destruct the migration that is geared towards utilizing the German social system. On the another hand, Germany faces a immense challenge shrinking labour market. And although unemployment has increased in fresh months, the number of skilled workers is decreasing due to the fact that Germany is no longer as attractive a country for immigrants from another European countries as it was 10 years ago.

Tomasz Lejman, correspondent for Polsat News and Interii in Berlin