Germany in a state of SIEGE: Merkel was cheered when she opened the floodgates to migrants. Now, with gangs of men roaming the streets and young German women being told to cover up, the mood's changing
- Thousands of economic migrants are posing as refugees to reach Europe
- David Cameron said this week that Europe must said failed asylum claimants back to their countries
- Demands for Germany's 'open doors and windows' policy to be scrapped
- Women said rape and child abuse were rife in Giessen's refugee camp
On
the busy shopping street in Giessen, a German university town twinned
with Winchester, migrant Atif Zahoor tucks into a chicken dish with his
brother and cousin at the curry restaurant Chillie To Go.
They have left good jobs back in Karachi, Pakistan, and now want to be Europeans.
In
late July the three slipped into Germany with their wives and children,
using illegal documents. They live together in a five-bedroom house,
rented for them by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, a 40-minute
drive away from Giessen, which is home to the biggest migrants’ camp in
the country.
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Migrants and refugees pictured waiting
for a bus outside the Migrant Receiving Camp on the outskirts of the
German city of Giessen. Social workers and women's groups warned that
facilities were hopelessly inadequate and security was a problem for
female residents
Migrants and refugees queue at the
compound outside the Berlin Office of Health and Social Affairs as they
wait for their registration. But there are warnings that millions more
newcomers should be expected in the current migrant crisis
‘We
paid a trafficking agent for false visas to fly here to Germany,’ says
34-year-old Atif. ‘We claimed asylum and came to Giessen camp with other
migrants. Three weeks ago, because we had families, they gave us a
proper home.’
Atif
is well-dressed and speaks perfect English. He used to be a transport
manager at Karachi airport and is from a well-to-do family. Between
mouthfuls of curry, he adds: ‘But there is violence between political
gangs in Karachi. Lots of people are leaving for Europe. The trafficker
decided that Germany was the place for us because it is welcoming
refugees.’
There is violence between political gangs in Karachi. Lots of people are leaving for Europe.
Atif, 34, from Pakistan
Yet
the raw truth is that Atif is not fleeing war or persecution. He is one
of thousands of economic migrants getting into Germany as the EU’s
immigration crisis grows bigger each day.
This
week, David Cameron said Europe must send failed asylum claimants back
to their own countries, while European Council president Donald Tusk has
warned that millions more migrants are on their way and ‘the policy of
open doors and windows’ must be scrapped.
They
are tough words, but it’s action that is needed. As Jens Spahn, a
deputy finance minister in Chancellor Merkel’s government, said this
week: ‘Not everyone can stay in Germany, or in Europe. If people are
coming for poverty reasons... we have to send them back.’
Mrs
Merkel’s offer last month to accept all refugees from war-ravaged Syria
opened the floodgates. More than a million migrants are expected this
year alone, the bulk of them far from genuine asylum seekers. There is
now deepening disquiet in this Christian country, dotted with churches,
that it is being overwhelmed by people of a different religion and
culture.
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Refugees from Afghanistan and Pakistan
inside a tent shared by more than 60 men at the refugee registration
center for the German state of Hesse in Giessen, 40km southwest of
Frankfurt
David Cameron said Europe must send
failed asylum claimants back to their own countries, while European
Council president Donald Tusk has warned that millions more migrants are
on their way and ‘the policy of open doors and windows’ must be
scrapped
Yesterday,
the Mail reported how social workers and women’s groups in Giessen
wrote a letter to the local state parliament claiming that rape and
child abuse were rife in the refugee camp. The allegations were
corroborated by Atif over his curry. ‘The camp is dangerous,’ he agreed.
‘Men of different nationalities fight and women are attacked.’
Many women have felt the need to sleep in their clothes... they won’t go to the toilet at night because rapes and assaults have taken place on their way to, or from, there.
Letter written by social workers and women's groups in the Giessen camp
The
letter says the camp, far from being a peaceful haven for those fleeing
war, is a dangerous melting-pot, where there have been ‘numerous rapes
and sexual assaults, and forced prostitution’.
There are even reports of children being raped and subjected to sexual assault, it adds.
‘Many
women have felt the need to sleep in their clothes... they won’t go to
the toilet at night because rapes and assaults have taken place on their
way to, or from, there. Even in daylight, a walk through the camp is
fraught with fear.’
Controversially,
the letter suggests that in the migrants’ culture, women are viewed
differently: ‘It is a fact that women and children are unprotected. This
situation is opportune for those men who already regard women as their
inferiors and treat unaccompanied women as “fair game”.’
Many
migrant women have fled here to escape forced marriages or female
genital mutilation, which are rife in some African and Middle Eastern
countries. ‘They believe they have found safety in Germany,’ says the
letter, ‘and realise it’s not the case.’
Turkish volunteers living in Berlin
give away water bottles and snacks to migrants and refugees queuing at
the compound outside the Berlin Office of Health and Social Affairs
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