{UAH} Asylum case rattles Angela Merkel

Asylum case rattles Angela Merkel

An encounter filmed in North Germany between a tearful Palestinian refugee girl from Lebanon and Chancellor Angela Merkel has fueled a debate overASYLUM POLICY. 14-year-old Reem told Merkel her family faced deportation.

Footage of Merkel's wide-rangingCHAT with 29 pupils at a high school in Rostock went viral in social media on Thursday. Users variously defended Merkel's explanations on refugee policy or described her reaction to the girl's situation as insensitive.

'"Meedia," theONLINE MAGAZINE offshoot of the Handelsblatt newspaper group, headlined the encounter as a "PR disaster" for Merkel's chancellery team.

The debate followsFOREIGN criticism of Germany over its handling of Greece and its latest bailout. Stern magazine's fronted its latest edition with the title "The Ice Queen."

Deportation suspended pending decision

Stern magazine uses the title: "The Ice Queen"

During Wednesday evening's discussion - filmed by public NDR television - Reem told Merkel - in fluent German learned in only four years - that her family had a temporary stay on deportation back to Lebanon. She wanted to study in Germany, but her prospects were uncertain. For the family, it was a very difficult time.

"I am here now and live here, but don't know what myFUTURE looks like, because I don't know if I can really stay here," Reem told Merkel.

"We were at the embassy in Berlin and picked up Lebanese passports and we are waiting for the [local German] office for foreigners to send an answer," Reem said, adding that her father, a welder, was not permittedTO WORK.

Politics 'sometimes hard'

Merkel described Reem as an "incredibly sympathetic person" and praised her acquisition of German as anESSENTIAL skill for migrants to integrate in Germany, but added that politics was "sometimes hard."

Addressing Reem directly, she said: "You know too that in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, there are thousands and thousands. And, when we were to say now you can all come; and you can all come from Africa; we could not manage that."

Lebanon was not regarded as a civil war country, Merkel said.

Referring to Syria, she said Germany gave asylum to people in greater danger from civil war regions.The federal and regional governments had, however, recently agreed to shorten their decision-making procedures on asylumAPPLICATIONS.

"The only answer we give is that it shouldn't take so long until things are decided, but there are some who will have to go back," Merkel said.

Chancellor comforts Reem

Nearly a minute passed until Merkel saw that Reem was crying and approached her saying: "You did that very well," while stroking her hair and right shoulder.

The discussion host then intervened, telling Merkel that it was not a case of Reem doing things well, but instead a very stressful situation for the teenager.

"Despite that I want to caress her," Merkel replied sharply, saying she understood that the situation for Reem was stressful.

Encounter footage goesVIRAL

NDR published the footage in full length on Thursday while excerpts wentVIRAL in various social media, including Twitter, under the hashtag #MerkelStreichelt.

FederalGOVERNMENT sources quoted by the German news agency DPA said Merkel during the discussion had been careful not to favor persons she met personally, nor overrule decision-making on asylum carried out by local authorities.

Rostock's mayor, an independent, without political partyMEMBERSHIP, Roland Methling said his council would examine the case "just like every other one" carefully.

"An arbitrary single-case decision is not possible under German law," Methling said.

DGB: Chance missed to attract workers

The federal DGBTRADE union federation's head for northern Germany Uwe Polkaehn accused Merkel of propagating a "false signal for tomorrow's expert workers."

"The Federal Chancellor bungled a chance to enthuse young people from abroadTO WORK and live in Germany, Polkaehn said.

Germany needed "motivated people like Reem thirsty for knowledge," he added.

Former German justice minister Sabine Leuthhauser-Schnarrenberger tweeted: "People who have long lived here and feel as though they belong need ultimately aSECURE perspective for a life here and not the threat of deportation."

ipj/jil (epd, dpa, AFP)

Viele GruBe

Robukui

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