Talks about the aggravation of the refugee crisis in Europe, recognized by the European Commission as the most serious since the Second World War, do not subside. At the same time, Germany is considered the state of the European Union, which took the brunt of the "refugee wave".
According to the German Interior Ministry, last year the country hosted more than a million migrants seeking asylum. This is twice as high as the previous year. The UN called unacceptable the situation when the main efforts to receive migrants are made by any one country. What is the situation with migrants in Germany in 2016?
Why are they coming here?
Germany is one of the most desirable countries for migrants. According to estimates by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Germany, last year about 1.1 million refugees were registered in the country. Syrians make up a significant part of them (428.5 thousand people).
The most attractive are the general economic level of the country and the level of social guarantees provided to migrants in Germany.
From the background
The theme "Germany: migrants" has deep historical and economic roots. germanthe economy since the post-war boom has not been able to do without migrant workers. The country needs labor and "young blood". The reason is the presence of a demographic crisis and clear signs of an aging population.
Country with managed immigration
Most of the 1950s guest workers returned home to Southern and South Eastern Europe, but many remained in Germany, transforming it from a “guest worker country” into a managed immigration country.
In the 80s in Germany, only due to the Turks, as well as the Germans, who returned from the territory of the former Soviet Union, Poland and Romania after the collapse of the communist system, the share of immigrants per capita exceeded those of immigrant countries: the USA, Canada and Australia.
In Germany until 2015, over 7 million migrants lived, which is about 9% of the population. This also includes 1.5 million foreigners who have received citizenship, and about 4.5 million immigrants. It turns out that every sixth inhabitant of Germany immigrated here or comes from a family of migrants.
Migrants in Germany: life after moving
Mostly, migrant workers are used as unskilled labor, since the latter was recruited by Germany primarily for simple jobs. Some are used as skilled workers, and only a few manage to get a profession that requires a relatively high skill. According to studies, it is not easy for families of German migrants to improve their financial situation or climb the social ladder.
And yet inOn the issue of integration of migrants, some progress has been made in recent decades: the law introduces simplifications in the acquisition of German citizenship, contacts between visitors and natives have become more intense, and the positive perception of ethnic and cultural diversity by the native population has increased. The adoption of the new law on immigration for the first time provided a broad legal framework governing all areas of migration policy.
Migrants' rights
Migrants in Germany live according to the rules in force in the country:
- The initial 3 months (during this period the application is being considered) refugees are provided with free shelter, food, clothing and medical care;
- a separate article provides for the issuance of "pocket money" to cover personal needs (143 euros per person per month);
- after leaving the reception centers, migrants in Germany today receive approximately 287-359 euros per month, in addition, they are en titled to 84 euros for children under 6;
- refugees have the right to receive social housing paid by the German authorities.
On social and economic challenges
Organizing the kind of reception that migrants receive in Germany is not an easy task. The acceptance and integration of such a large number of refugees presents enormous economic and social challenges. The country needs to invest significant funds in education, training, and the creation of new jobs that would help to cope with the challenges of the future. There is also a need for affordable housing and effective publicinfrastructure.
Numbers
In 2015, migrants in Germany received a total of 21 billion euros - so much the state invested in their settlement and integration, and in 2016-2017. at least 50 billion will be spent for these purposes. Of course, Germany is not a poor country, but these amounts could be used to improve the living standards of their own people.
Future country spending
Until 2020, the state will have to spend a total of approximately 93.6 billion euros to ensure the life of migrants in Germany. This information was published by the weekly Spiegel and is based on the estimates of the Ministry of Finance, prepared for negotiations with representatives of the federal states.
The calculations include the costs of accommodation and language courses, integration, social security for visitors, to overcome the reasons for their migration to Europe. In 2016, these goals will require about 16.1 billion euros, in 2020 the annual costs of migrants will increase to 20.4 billion euros.
The federal states will have to spend 21 billion euros on migrants in 2016. By 2020, their annual spending will rise to 30 billion.
Dual situation
In the country that has become the most attractive for migrants, there is a rather ambivalent situation. On the one hand, due to the demographic crisis and the aging of the population, the country continues to need the so-called "young blood" and additional labor. An influx of migrants is necessary to maintain the social system and the economy. According to the head of the Federal Labor Agency, approximately 70% of those who arrived in Germanyrefugees - people of working age.
On the other hand, only 10% of them are predicted to find a job in 5 years, and 50% in 10.
The official noted in a conversation with media representatives that the shortage of skilled labor in the country cannot be eliminated by refugees. When looking for a job, the question of insufficient knowledge of the language will certainly arise, there will certainly be problems with the recognition of certificates and diplomas, etc. The problem of labor integration of migrants is still solvable, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs believes. More effective coordination of programs for the integration of migrants offered by various departments of the country is needed.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, about 400,000 refugees will attend integration courses this year, which is twice as high as in 2015. We are talking only about migrants who are capable of integration in the labor market and are ready to accept European norms of behavior. In reality, most of the refugees hope to live off social benefits, that is, using taxpayers' money. This provokes protest from many indigenous people.
About "international debt"
The topic "Refugees, migrants: Germany" is complicated by the fact that the German society is afraid of the slightest accusations of xenophobia and racism, which is associated with the memory of the horrors of World War II. For this reason, xenophobic and anti-immigrant movements at first did not gain such scope here as in some European countries. The media and political elites in Germany are actively imposing a "positive image" of the refugee on citizens and are trying toimpress on the average layman - Michel, Hans or Fritz - that it is his "international duty" to help newcomers.
Features of modern integration
For a European, the common truths enshrined in the German Constitution and forming the foundation of its society - human dignity, equality between men and women, freedom of conscience and religion, personal immunity, etc. - are obvious. Arriving from the countries of North Africa and the Middle East, they are not perceived at all. The inviolability of the person and freedom of conscience in these countries are understood as the freedom to persecute and destroy "infidels", that is, representatives of other religions. Migrants demonstrated their understanding of the equal rights of men and women in Cologne on New Year's Eve, when about a thousand young Arabs and North Africans staged a sex hunt for German women.
According to analysts, the integration of migrants into society will be the most difficult task the country has ever faced.
On the issue of anti-Semitism
Today in Germany, the height of political incorrectness is considered a public statement that in the modern world terror comes from adherents of Islam. Although everyone knows that for decades these people have been influenced by growing aggressive anti-Semitism. Jew-hatred is preached and escalated on social media, newspapers, television and textbooks.
In October last year, the President of the Council of the Jews of Germany, Josef Schuster, expressed to the Chancellor his extremeconcern about the endless influx of refugees into the country from Muslim countries where anti-Semitism is state policy.
This January, speaking at the opening of the Art of the Holocaust exhibition, Merkel acknowledged that "anti-Semitism in Germany is indeed more widespread" than one could imagine. And the Germans "are obligated to actively resist him."
Recognition of the problem by the chancellor was enough for the president of the CESG to declare on the metropolitan radio that Jews have nothing to fear, most Jewish objects in the country are provided with reliable protection. Nevertheless, in some areas, one should be careful not to advertise one’s origin”(?!)
There is an understanding in society that a tougher policy is needed in relation to migrants.
On the immediate deportation of criminal migrants
The theme of the life of migrants in Germany has an aspect that can be formulated as follows: "Germany, migrants, riots." The number of adherents of the immediate expulsion from the country of visitors who have violated the law has increased in the country.
In Germany, there is a rule providing that a migrant before his deportation may be in a local prison for three years. Obviously, such a fate does not frighten visitors. There is a need to revise this rule, according to the society. Refugees who break the law must be deported from the country immediately. According to experts, the expanded migrant community has turned into a favorable breeding ground forcrime and international terrorism.
The authorities covered up the crimes of migrants
According to analysts, the sensational incident in Cologne, when on New Year's Eve the inhabitants of the city were attacked by Arab and Syrian migrants, who, being in a state of drug and alcohol intoxication, began to provoke conflicts with the local police, rob passers-by and to rape German women was not the only one in Germany. Migrants have repeatedly violated the law and order.
Cases of systematic violation of the law by migrants have long been known. But they were not announced publicly - until the incident, which could no longer be hidden.
New racism?
The mayor of Cologne proposed the introduction of a certain "code of conduct" for women: she recommended that German women dress modestly, not walk alone and try to stay at arm's length from male refugees.
The proposal was met with a storm of indignation in Germany. German bloggers have started posting archival photographs of German women holding their right arms outstretched in a fascist salute. This is how German women can raise their hands to protect themselves from migrants, the bloggers explained.
Many long-term IDPs express fear that they will now be shadowed by the crimes of the newly arrived refugees. A night in Cologne did away with German cordiality and hospitality, they say. They were replaced by a new type of racism. It can affect all migrants, in differenttime of arrivals in the country.
Germany against migrants
After the unrest in a number of cities, the situation in Germany escalated. There was a wave of demonstrations and rallies against the migration policy of the Merkel cabinet. The Germans organize self-defense patrols to protect themselves from the arrivals. Attacks on "foreigners" have become more frequent in the country.
The problem of migrants in Germany has grown to the extent of the European crisis. The country with the strongest economy in the EU is not coping.
Instead of recognizing the obvious problem with refugees, the authorities accuse German radicals of provocations, allegedly fascist thugs are trying to discredit migrants. But the Germans don't believe it. German intelligence services do not rule out that the riots in the country were organized not by radicals, but by members of the IS, who are groping for weaknesses in the European law enforcement system.
Consequences of the chancellor's grand gesture
The topic of migrant life in modern Germany should be labeled as "Germany, migrants, Merkel", since the chancellor's sweeping gesture towards Syrian refugees is now being criticized derogatoryly on many levels.
In German society, Madam Chancellor is condemned for the fact that she, in fact, herself invited refugees into the country. Anti-immigrant sentiment in Germany is currently prevailing. It is obvious to most Germans that the chancellor's immigration policy is wrong.
Elective Madness
In the elections infederal lands - Baden-Württemberg, Saxony-Anh alt, Rhineland-Palatinate - the ruling party of the chancellor was defeated. There are now representatives of parties opposed to granting asylum to refugees and migrants in state parliaments:
- far-right "Alternative for Germany", which advocates the closure of borders and the ban on refugees;
- Green Party;
- Social Democrats.
Tabloid Bild called the situation "electoral madness". The Sueddeutsche Zeitung predicts that the 2016 elections will "change Germany". Some publications have suggested that Angela Merkel and the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) are paying the price for their liberal immigration policies.
The recent elections, according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, provide a glimpse into the future of German democracy. According to the publication, Germany is beginning to "brown". "As you know, everything flows, everything changes. It may seem to some that everything is still in order, but in fact it is no longer the case," states the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
