A 14-year-old Palestinian refugee who burst into tears during a conversation with Angela Merkel is defending the German leader’s handling of the incident.
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Merkel told the teenager that “politics is hard” and although Reem seemed like a likeable person, Germany could not cope with the influx wanting to come to the country.
In response, Merkel told her “sometimes politics is hard” and Germany can’t accommodate everybody who wants to come.
At a forum for young people, Mrs Merkel told the Palestinian girl, Reem, that not all migrants can stay in Germany and “some will have to go home”.
They were told they would have to return to a camp in Lebanon imminently – only to receive a last-minute temporary German residency permit, she said. “It’s very unpleasant to see how others can enjoy life, and I can’t myself”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had a dramatic confrontation with the effects of her government’s immigration policies today when she comforted a sobbing teenage asylum seeker after telling her why her family can’t remain in Germany.
“I know it’s a hard situation, but I still want to give her a pat”, the chancellor said. “I don t know what my future will bring”. There are thousands of Palestinians in refugee camps in Lebanon.
She added that Germany would be unable to shoulder the burden of all the people fleeing war and poverty who would like to move to Europe’s top economy seeking a better life.
Within hours of the video being broadcast, the term #Merkelstreichelt (Merkel strokes) trended on Twitter.
Merkel muttered “oh gott” after seeing Reem was crying and stepped forward to comfort her, stroking her hair and saying that she had done a “great job”. Figures released this week showed that 179,037 asylum applications were filed in the first six months of 2015, more than twice as many as the same period previous year.
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“The mistakes in the government’s refugee policies can’t be patted away”, tweeted Katrin Goering-Eckardt of the opposition Green party.
