Attacking a stranger at the cost of a familiar life
A bloody attack by a knife-wielding assailant in the city of Solingen, Germany, shook the country. The large Solingen festival was underway to celebrate its 350th anniversary, but what the assailant did cast a shadow over everything.
He launched an attack with the intention of killing, targeting people’s necks, heads, and faces with a knife. The three victims who lost their lives were all elderly. This event has had a significant impact on German politics and society, intensifying the pessimism and hatred towards specific segments of the German community, especially migrants, Arabs, and Muslims.
Previous cases of crimes committed by immigrants and refugees gradually created this wave, starting from the years 2014 and 2015, which were the peak period of Germany’s openness to migrants. Before a 26-year-old Syrian refugee surrendered to the German police and claimed responsibility for the attack, public opinion was highly sensitive due to the announcement of the attack by ISIS.
The rise of far-right extremist forces in Germany is not a new phenomenon and has been a primary concern of German politicians and social activists in recent years. The far-right AFD party has gained increasing support among citizens in multiple elections, drawing attention to German society.
A fundamental point that is undisputed is the decline in population growth in European countries like Germany, and the acceptance of immigrants has provided and will provide the grounds for more prosperity in society.
However, the waves of refugees are difficult to control in the current situation in Germany. Transforming refugees and new immigrants and integrating their meaningful and dynamic presence as a productive part of German society is time-consuming. It is in this process that any negative and destructive event associated with them provides fresh points for extremist racists in Germany.
300,000 refugees were registered in Germany in 2023, which is the highest number since 2015. In that year, Merkel opened the doors to one million immigrants. However, in recent months, immigration laws have become stricter, and it is unlikely that the trend of making things harder for refugees in Germany will remain the same.
The deadly attacks, crimes, and offenses of refugees actually end up costing the lives of other migrants.
A significant portion of the German society opposes extremism and racism, particularly certain parties and groups. When the hidden agendas of AFD were exposed, aligning with German neo-Nazis to create grounds for expelling millions of undesirable and non-German citizens, massive crowds took to the streets in support of migrants and against extremists, despite condemnation by German politicians and strong statements by Olaf Scholz against them.
Events like the attack in Solingen will naturally diminish such support. It’s evident that the impact of what happened in Germany won’t be limited to the politics of that country. France has tightened its immigration laws for months, and Macron was compelled to make this policy change due to the political and social conditions of the country.
During the same period when Germany’s extremists celebrated the approval of new immigration laws in France as a major achievement for their goals, this trend is also present in other countries.
The former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, by attempting to tighten immigration laws, caused the collapse of his coalition and, as fate would have it, the Dutch extremists gained more seats in the parliament than any other party in the subsequent elections. Events such as the Solingen incident with attacks and anti-Semitic behaviors, and even terrorist acts by extremist Muslim groups in Europe, have been accompanied by the attack of an Algerian on a synagogue in France, resulting in his confrontation with the police and scenes of horror that have been a significant achievement for anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim groups in France, Europe, and America. The issue of immigrants and refugees is a topic that has greatly influenced European and American policies.
If the issue of immigrants was an election topic in Britain, then after the elections and with the riots of British racists, it turned into a serious crisis at the societal and urban level of this country.
Trump has forever linked America’s elections to immigration since 2015 and his entry into the 2016 presidential elections. Immigrants have come to stay in world politics.
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