Berlin: Chancellor Angela Merkel unleashed a fierce debate Thursday over her handling of a Palestinian girl who confronted the German leader about her family’s fears of deportation.
Merkel was in the northern city of Rostock for a meeting with schoolchildren Wednesday when a Palestinian girl named Reem explained that her family faces the prospect of being forced to leave Germany if their asylum request fails.
“It is really difficult to see that others are able to enjoy their lives and you yourself are not able to enjoy it with them,” Reem said in fluent German, adding that it is her greatest wish to go to university in Germany.
“Politics is sometimes hard,” Merkel responded. “You are an extremely nice person, but you are aware that in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, there are thousands upon thousands [of people]. If we now say, ‘You can all come,’ ... we just can’t manage that.”
As Reem began to cry, Merkel stepped forward to stroke her head, saying, “But you did a great job,” at which point the presenter interjected by pointing out that Reem’s point wasn’t about doing a good job but about her difficult life situation.
“I know that it is difficult,” Merkel shot back. “That’s why I want to comfort her because we don’t want to bring all of you into these situations and because you are having a hard time and because you’ve shown a lot of other people what situations you can end up in, OK?”
Political commentators, including members of the opposition Greens party, blasted Merkel over the incident, describing her as “heartless,” “condescending” and “lacking empathy.”
Others came to her defence, saying it is better to be honest and pragmatic than to make false promises.
The hashtag #merkelstreichelt, which translates to “Merkel strokes,” became a number one trending topic on Twitter in Germany Thursday with one user commenting: “Utterly speechless. [Merkel’s reaction] lacks basic human empathy.”
Immigration is a contentious topic in Germany, where an unprecedented influx of asylum seekers from countries including Syria, Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories and Kosovo has placed a strain on public services. About 400,000 people are expected to apply for asylum in the country this year.
Merkel’s handling of the crisis is being closely scrutinised in light of growing anti-immigrant sentiment among Germans and the recent popularity of street protests against the perceived “Islamisation” of the country.
