Breaking Her Silence: A German's Opinion on Immigration

The open-borders, EU-first and uncontrolled immigration attitude that Germany as a country is displaying does not necessarily reflect what the German people think. There are people who do think this way, obviously, or at least they claim to, but there is also a growing resistance and dislike towards how politicians are portraying the country. Whether people identify as left-wing or right-wing, many can see that uncontrolled immigration of millions of uneducated refugees is not something a country can deal with. And yet, criticizing the decisions made in regards to this topic can be a difficult endeavor. The media is covering up facts, incidents and statistics; people who dare to speak out against it are demonized or censored on social-media sites. It's not just happening in Germany, it's also happening in Sweden, the UK, and other countries. But why? Unfortunately, I can only talk about what I'm experiencing in Germany, as a life-long German citizen, but some of it might apply to other affected countries.

Something that I've been seeing in Germany for years is an urge by the people to appear "good" and virtuous - what is now in English called virtue signaling. The person doesn't necessarily care at all or really think that way, but what is important is to signal to others that you're a good person who very much cares about others, especially the less fortunate, or animals, or the environment. The most important thing to avoid is to seem uncaring, or especially racist and definitely not as a Nazi. If someone is seen as a Nazi for whatever reason, their reputation is completely ruined, their opinion is seen as not being worth listening to. This attitude can be seen across many, many countries today, and in Germany it's been like that for a long time. Germans are taught since their childhood that Germany used to be evil and committed many crimes - and people feel they have to make up for it.

Over many years, the common attitude in Germany was to feel bad and guilty for the past. To hate Germany for it and to have nothing other than maybe disdain for being German. But in the past few years, the attitude has slightly changed. While the past is still held in front as the worst possible thing, as something to make up for, a certain kind of confidence or arrogance has been taken on by a part of the population, particularly among politicians. Not only do they want to be good people that help everyone, they also think they can, to a point where they should lead the EU and tell other countries in it how to be just as good at helping others. While Germany's economy is doing well enough to put the country in a high spot, it doesn't mean that everyone who lives in it is rich and has unlimited resources to give to others in need. But the government and politicians don't care that people disagree, the politicians decide Germany can handle it.

What matters is helping others from far away, to show how really good we are. Because what matters isn't the own country, Germany used to be bad and evil after all. To redeem it, it's even better that millions of people from other countries can start repopulating the country and make it truly good. Diversity is our strength as they preach here as well.

Yet the diversity they're importing isn't strong, they are millions of African and Middle Eastern Muslim refugees who don't know German and might not even want to, nor do they want to integrate. Many of them don't even come from war-torn countries. Anyone can get in, at worst they just have to pretend to be from a different country. And Germany cannot handle them. Many are forced to live in inadequate quarters and can't be reasonably provided for. After every refugee in actual need come hundreds of people who entered just because they could or worse.

Terrorism and crime have been on a never-ending rise and not only they can't be prevented, it's called racist to acknowledge and complain about them. Terrorist attacks happen every other week, to a point where people almost get used to them, but what the media is most occupied with when it happens is to make sure nobody is making racist accusations and causing a backlash against refugees. Large cities have developed “No-Go-Zones”, parts of the city with such a high density of immigrants that law enforcement won't enter. Crimes, especially sexual violence, are on the rise and the reporting of it is questionable. In one case, a local newspaper was asked by the police not to report crimes committed by refugees, in other cases the police is instructed to be more lenient on refugees committing crimes - because what matters isn't the safety of the people, what matters is not to give off the impression that there is a problem and not to be a racist intolerant Nazi.

These days it is so blatant that more and more people are against it. The AfD, the German right-wing party Alternative für Deutschland, has seen a significant rise in voters since its inception, despite being only portrayed badly in the media. The media has publicly called it the Nazi party, even though it is mostly concerned about traditional family values, euroscepticism, restricted immigration and a more positive outlook on the German identity. Even the people who support it are called Nazis - something most Germans desperately want to avoid as mentioned before -, even if all they want to oppose is uncontrolled immigration. The growing trend of calling people who disagree and aren't agreeing with very liberal views Nazis is, of course, visible in many countries today, including the US. People are even starting to get desensitized to it, giving actual opportunity for real Nazis to normalize their views. The demonization, the censorship and refusal to engage problems and complex views are enabling an actual rise in extremism, the same one they're trying to suppress with their methods.

Normal, non-extremist people are being swept up in it. People who've never been right-wing or against immigration are opposing the current policies.

It's the number one topic at the table when my family is meeting. It's even a topic my green-voting, feminist friend can't help but bring up. To her, the millions of Muslims are detrimental to progress and women's rights. It's a topic so common and often talked about, that my parents once asked me what "rapefugee" meant. They didn't know how to pronounce it or what it could possibly mean, and I was taken aback to hear this word outside of the English-speaking Internet. After I explained it, they understood. "Oh, I see", they said, and laughed a little.

When among trusted friends and family, people talk about their concerns and opinions openly, but in public they cannot, because it could get you into trouble. On TV, they show debates about the topic, yet at best there is one person arguing against the current politics, while four others shout him or her down. Movies, shows and news stories only show friendly, tolerant refugees who are escaping the terror in their home countries and now really want to live in Germany and contribute. But anyone who follows news about crime and terrorism, who lives near or around refugee camps and buildings knows that's not the reality for the majority.

Anyone should be able to see that the migrant crisis is indeed a crisis, one that is not being handled well. And politicians aren't even attempting to face it. Scientists are making predictions about the population of Europe in 50 years, predictions that are scary, but also realistic. Many people can see, without being scientists, that things will only get worse. Those who speak out against it or are trying to prevent things from getting worse are harassed. The politicians pretend not to hear, pretend that those who are complaining are just a hateful, racist minority. And they're supported by people who, if you told them about your concerns, would at best respond: "Good. This country needs to be more diverse. Less racists like you." Even though the people that are flooding the country are far from being liberal, tolerant left-wing citizens, but largely highly conservative Muslims whose customs and beliefs are often intolerant towards non-Muslims and incompatible with German culture and lifestyle. But, maybe, German culture isn't something that is considered worth upholding to them.

Sources:

http://www.focus.de/politik/videos/relevante-ereignisse-verschweigen-polizei-forderte-journalisten-auf-nicht-ueber-fluechtlingslage-zu-berichten_id_5036357.html

http://www.focus.de/politik/videos/bei-straftaten-in-deutschland-vorgaben-von-oben-bundespolizist-wir-duerfen-fluechtlinge-nicht-mal-festhalten_id_5203930.html

http://www.zeit.de/2017/17/kriminalitaet-fluechtlinge-zunahme-gewalttaten-statistik

http://www.achgut.com/artikel/duesseldorf_schafft_sich_ab

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/729782/Germany-no-go-police-afraid-lawless-areas-migrants-rule

https://www.pro-deutschland.de/2017/01/15/facebook-wird-ab-februar-zensiert/