The German state of Saxony is one of the most immigration-skeptical states in Germany and known as a stronghold for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which actively campaigns against mass immigration. However, the fact that such a large share of people in Saxony are generally opposed to foreigners flowing into their homeland is a major point of consternation for the left and the immigrants who want to settle in Germany.
Now, at the start of International Weeks Against Racism, the Refugee Council criticized the German state of Saxony, and in a paper signed by 40 pro-migrant and refugee associations, it called for a radical overhaul in migrant benefits and even voting rights. Many of these organizations are lavishly funded by the German federal government and even local authorities in Saxony.
At the presentation of the paper, a spokeswoman for the Committee of Migrant Self-Organizations, Syrian-born Hamida Taamiri complained about alleged racism in Saxony, according to German news outlet Tag24. She referred to an unnamed Syrian refugee child who claimed she experienced “daily racism at school.” The refugee claimed that “racism in Saxony is harder to bear than the everyday war in Syria.”
Such emotional appeals may be designed to drive support for the proposals being pushed by the array of pro-migrant organizations. The paper calls for an electronic health card granting migrants automatic access to the overburdened German healthcare system, and German language courses should be made available from the first day migrants arrive along with access to the labor market. All this at a time when Germany’s education system is struggling to find enough teachers and dealing with issues related to multiculturalism in the classroom.
In addition, the organizations are also pushing for a right to vote after living five years in Saxony for all migrants, regardless of their citizenship status, which would certainly be a boon for Germany’s left-wing parties.
The paper is also pushing for a range of benefits for migrants, many of who travel through multiple safe countries on their way to Germany. These migrants should be provided housing away from centralized migrant centers, according to the paper, even at a time when Germans are struggling to find affordable homes.
The paper additionally calls for multilingualism to “reduce institutional racism” in the public authorities of Saxony.
The executive director of the Saxon Refugee Council, Angela Müller, described Saxony as potentially a “laboratory for asylum policy.”