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Электронное приложение к журналу «Международная жизнь»
Author : I. Kravchenko
Second Secretary, General Secretariat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Candidate
of Science (Political Science)
ANY NATIONAL CRISIS tests a country's political
system, exposing its latent vices and vulnerabilities. Eu-
ropean countries have been plunged into such crises
when, after times of affluent, carefree existence, they
were spontaneously inundated by refugees from con-
flict-stricken areas in the Middle East and North Africa.
Obviously, this is the biggest-ever challenge of this kind
for the West, which has got accustomed to quietly deal-
ing with small-scale problems and to loudly proclaiming
invented large-scale ones such as the "Russian threat."
There is a national security aspect as well: the poorly controlled inflow of mostly Muslim refugees
might include Islamist fundamentalists, even Islamic State agents who would build conspiratorial
networks in the EU for purposes of propaganda, recruitment and terrorism.
The number one task is to find out what needs to be done to solve the problems - placing blames
is a job that can be postponed.
The refugee crisis fully dominates German media. No wonder - the situation is pretty dismal
and there is little reason for optimism. About 40% of refugees arriving in Europe seek to settle
in Germany.
Under German law, the entire work and cost of accepting and putting up asylum seekers is the
responsibility of regional and local authorities. Asylum seekers have no right to work or study
with the exception of attending German language courses, which means the law prohibits them
from paying their own costs of living, least of all from making any financial contributions to
the state.
The authorities in effect seek to gloss over or ignore the problem, or to blame all extremist in-
cidents on neo-Nazis or ultrarightist freaks, but this is a fruitless, and quite often counterpro-
ductive, policy.
This produces what is one of the worst parts of any crisis - the population gets the impression
that the government is out of control, makes no effort to solve the problem, and is burying its
head in the sand.
One more reason for the government to pay close attention to the refugee issue is that the next
federal elections are just two years away.
The people will pay for the mistakes of Germany's rulers, while the history of these times will
be written by the winners.
The Difficult Plight of a Promised Land