More refugees are seeking asylum in Germany than in any other country, straining Germans’ tolerance for foreigners and taxing the government’s ability to find housing for them. By: Erik Olsen
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"Your violence is just a silent cry for love," states the 22-year-old German anti-nazi punk rock song, “Schrei nach Liebe” (“Cry for Love”) by the Berlin-based band Die Ärzte (The Doctors). The song has been pushed to the top slot on the German charts this week, by an activist group, in efforts to help refugees and put to rest anti-refugee protests.
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The Washington Post reports Sept. 4 that similar events took place more than 20 years ago, when refugees fleeing the Yugoslav wars (1991 to 2001) were met with angry and violent protesters in Germany. Now, refugeesfleeing the Syrian civil war are being met with hostile right-wing extremists, some of whom have been setting fire to refugee shelters and placing Nazi related messages and symbols in their camps along with their protests.
“In the turbulent early 1990s -- when East Germans got their first taste of democracy, but also faced economic collapse and uncertainty -- the frustration exploded in sometimes deadly mob attacks against asylum shelters,” reports AFP via Yahoo News. Now, Germany is facing the biggest influx of migrants since World War II, with 800,000 people expected to apply for asylum this year. Many German civilians are afraid and full of rage. Some officials admit that the refugee crisis in unsustainable.
In the wake of these protests, the efforts of the German pro-refugee activist group Aktion A***hloch (Action A**hole) have cultivated a big win against what they explain as “the rampant xenophobia in Germany.” The group has promoted the old anti-Nazi protest song by using social media and it has reached number one on Germany’s iTunes chart.
The band Die Ärzte states that they are happy their song is being used to rally support for the refugees and to speak against right wing extremists. Band members also hope that their song joins other anti-Nazi protest songs in those efforts. Die Ärzte members stated that any money raised from sales of “Schrei nach Liebe” will go to the German independent human rights organization, Pro Asyl.
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