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Syrian refugee ends German election campaign over ‘racism’

The first Syrian refugee to run for a seat in the German parliament has withdrawn his candidacy due to racism and threats, the environmentalist Green party said Tuesday.

Syrian refugee ends German election campaign over 'racism'
Alaows standing in front of the Bundestag U-Bahn stop in February. Photo: DPA

Tareq Alaows is ending his bid to enter the lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, for the Greens in Oberhausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia state, for “personal reasons”, the party said in a statement.

“The high threat level for me and especially for people close to me is the most important reason for withdrawing my candidacy,” Alaows said.

“My candidacy has shown that we need strong structures in all parties, politics and society to confront structural racism and help those affected,” he added.

READ ALSO: OPINION: When will Germany deal with its casual racism problem?

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas reacted to the news on Twitter, describing it as “a disgrace for our democracy” that Alaows’ political ambitions had been thwarted by “threats and racism”.

Alaows will be spending some time out of the public eye due to the “tense security situation”, the party said, without giving details.

“We would have liked to be able to continue to fight for a humane asylum and migration policy with Mr Alaows as our candidate for the Bundestag.

READ ALSO: Integration in Germany: Half of refugees find jobs within five years

Unfortunately, this is no longer possible,” it said.

The Green party had said in February that Alaows would be running.

The 31-year-old fled Syria’s civil war to arrive in the western city of Bochum in 2015 after studying law in Aleppo and Damascus, the Tagesspiegel newspaper reported at the time.

He learned German in six months and quickly landed a job as a social worker, also taking part in various initiatives to help refugees, the newspaper said.

Germany took in more than one million migrants including tens of thousands of Syrians at the height of the European refugee influx of 2015-16.

Controversy around the decision led to the rise of the far right, which has often accused Chancellor Angela Merkel of contributing to the Islamist threat by letting in the migrants.

Member comments

  1. Absolutely disgraceful that a politician can fear for his safety because of his heritage. This tells us we still have such a long way to go. Such a shame given the importance of a diverse political leadership to ensure we are a progressive, inclusive Country. The Local.de, keep on keeping us informed about these important matters.

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IMMIGRATION

France ‘will not welcome migrants’ from Lampedusa: interior minister

France "will not welcome migrants" from the island, Gérald Darmanin has insisted

France 'will not welcome migrants' from Lampedusa: interior minister

France will not welcome any migrants coming from Italy’s Lampedusa, interior minister Gérald Darmanin has said after the Mediterranean island saw record numbers of arrivals.

Some 8,500 people arrived on Lampedusa on 199 boats between Monday and Wednesday last week, according to the UN’s International Organisation for
Migration, prompting European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to travel there Sunday to announce an emergency action plan.

According to Darmanin, Paris told Italy it was “ready to help them return people to countries with which we have good diplomatic relations”, giving the
example of Ivory Coast and Senegal.

But France “will not welcome migrants” from the island, he said, speaking on French television on Tuesday evening.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called on Italy’s EU partners to share more of the responsibility.

The recent arrivals on Lampedusa equal more than the whole population of the tiny Italian island.

The mass movement has stoked the immigration debate in France, where political parties in the country’s hung parliament are wrangling over a draft law governing new arrivals.

France is expected to face a call from Pope Francis for greater tolerance towards migrants later this week during a high-profile visit to Mediterranean city Marseille, where the pontiff will meet President Emmanuel Macron and celebrate mass before tens of thousands in a stadium.

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