Germany’s east ten times more unsafe for asylum seekers
Asylum seekers in eastern Germany are 10 times more likely to be hate crime victims as those who live in the west, a study published on Sunday found.
Researchers from the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) looked at 1,155 incidents that took place between 2013 and 2015.
The Mannheim-based center found that they were most frequent in the Saxon Switzerland Osterzgebirge administrative district near the Czech border, with 9.76 attacks per 100 people over the three-year period.
Next-worst, when it came to hate crime against asylum seekers, was the northeastern district of Uckermark , in the state of Brandenburg on the Polish border. In third place was the district of Saalekreis in the state of Saxony Anhalt, near Leipzig.
Less familiarity with new faces
All three areas are in the part of Germany that was once part of the country’s Soviet-controlled East, and which traditionally fewer immigrants than the West.
Read more: Germany speeds up asylum process
According to the study, there were 118 districts across Germany in which not a single attack was reported. Of those, only four lay in the eastern states.
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How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
Fleeing war and poverty
In late 2014, with the war in Syria approaching its fourth year and Islamic State making gains in the north of the country, the exodus of Syrians intensified. At the same time, others were fleeing violence and poverty in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Niger and Kosovo.
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How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
Seeking refuge over the border
Vast numbers of Syrian refugees had been gathering in border-town camps in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan since 2011. By 2015, with the camps full to bursting and residents often unable to find work or educate their children, more and more people decided to seek asylum further afield.
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How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
A long journey on foot
In 2015 an estimated 1.5 million people made their way on foot from Greece towards western Europe via the “Balkan route”. The Schengen Agreement, which allows passport-free travel within much of the EU, was called into question as refugees headed towards the wealthier European nations.
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How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
Desperate sea crossings
Tens of thousands of refugees were also attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean on overcrowded boats. In April 2015, 800 people of various nationalities drowned when a boat traveling from Libya capsized off the Italian coast. This was to be just one of many similar tragedies – by the end of the year, nearly 4,000 refugees were reported to have died attempting the crossing.
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How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
Pressure on the borders
Countries along the EU’s external border struggled to cope with the sheer number of arrivals. Fences were erected in Hungary, Slovenia, Macedonia and Austria. Asylum laws were tightened and several Schengen area countries introduced temporary border controls.
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How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
Closing the open door
Critics of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “open-door” refugee policy claimed it had made the situation worse by encouraging more people to embark on the dangerous journey to Europe. By September 2016, Germany had also introduced temporary checks on its border with Austria.
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How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
Striking a deal with Turkey
In early 2016, the EU and Turkey signed an agreement under which refugees arriving in Greece could be sent back to Turkey. The deal has been criticized by human rights groups and came under new strain following a vote by the European Parliament in November to freeze talks on Turkey’s potential accession to the EU.
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How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
No end in sight
With anti-immigration sentiment in Europe growing, governments are still struggling to reach a consensus on how to handle the continuing refugee crisis. Attempts to introduce quotas for the distribution of refugees among EU member states have largely failed. Conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere show no signs coming to an end, and the death toll from refugee sea crossings is on the rise.
The study’s authors said that the number of immigrants in a particular district is not the decisive factor in the level of hate crime. More important, they say, is the amount of experience that residents have with immigration.
In western parts of Germany, residents have long had more experience with foreigners, such as the Turkish guest workers who arrived in the country in the 1960s.
Economic issues
Economic conditions in the region also play only a minor role, the authors said. Hate crimes against foreigners had “primarily no economic motive,” they stressed.
Read more: Opinion: Abandoning asylum rights means forgetting German history
Instead of focusing on economic improvements, the researchers said, there was a need to increase awareness and compassion of locals when it came to the plight of asylum seekers.
The authors also said hate crimes were more likely in areas where comparable offenses have already been committed in the past and where “xenophobic views appear to be hardened.”
According to the study, hate crimes included hate speech, offensive graffiti, physical assault, and arson attacks.
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-s-east-ten-times-more-unsafe-for-asylum-seekers/a-47668430?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf