13/01/2016 President
PACE President Anne Brasseur, ending a visit to Berlin and Golzow, has underlined that integration should be the top priority in dealing with migrants and refugees, highlighting local integration successes, and praised Germany’s “humanist response” to the current crisis.
“When I was elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe two years ago, I said that migration would be the first priority of my mandate. Little did I know that it would become the burning issue of 2015 – the year of the refugee crisis.
Migration makes headlines on a daily basis, but they are mostly negative. These feed the populists. By surfing on fear, these populists are boosted at the polls, with the consequence that hatred grows. We must put an end to this.
Hatred is a genuine threat to democracy. We must put party politics aside and unite in order to create a democratic alliance that can stand firm against those who spread hate.
This is why I decided to dedicate my last visit as President of the Assembly to the question of migration – and, more precisely, to the question of integration. Integration, integration, integration – this should always be the absolute priority in dealing with the refugee crisis.
Germany has long experience of integrating migrants, an asset that will help the country to deal with the tremendous task it now faces. Germany’s humanist response to the refugee crisis is to be commended. But a handful of countries cannot welcome all the migrants, and Europe’s lack of a common response is a bitter state of affairs.
"It is our duty to make integration work – and it is on the ground, at local level and in small communities, that it can work best. Here in Golzow, I have witnessed how success was achieved because both sides were ready to collaborate together: the community was ready to welcome refugees, and refugees themselves were willing to integrate.”
Positive examples of integration are badly needed. They may not make the headlines, but it is important that people know that it is possible and that indeed, it happens around the corner, on a daily basis, step by step, every day.”
Anne Brasseur commended the commitment of the village, the school and the mayor. “I was thrilled at the prevailing sense of community in Golzow. Great things can be achieved at the local level, when the right people come together to make a difference, and I urge states to encourage local initiatives such as this.”
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Anne Brasseur, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), paid a working visit on 11-12 January to Berlin and Golzow, where she met the Minister of State for Migration, Refugees and Integration and the German delegation to PACE.
She also visited the town of Golzow (850 inhabitants) in Brandenburg Land. Golzow has welcomed families of Syrian refugees, which has helped to keep the school in the town open.