Short report on the refugee situation in Europe, in Germany and with us in Bavaria, by
Michael Grabow, Regional bishop Augsburg/Bavarian Swabia
But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt
love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: (Leviticus 19, 34)
God loves all His creatures and wishes to provide them with food, subsistence and shelter on this
earth. These gifts of God are unattainable to millions of people. Hunger, violence and persecution
weigh heavy on them. Countless of these people are fugitives. They are also at the gates of Europe
and Germany. Welcoming them, accommodating them and giving them what God wanted us all to
have and what we, in rich countries like Germany, have in abundance - that is a matter of general
humanity, and for us and for me it is also a matter of Christian responsibility. The human being,
each individual, must be the focus of any effort concerning refugees. The great challenge lies in
not seeing those who flee as big anonymous masses, but to meet the needs of every single person.
Every one of them has his or her own, often traumatising story and his or her own longing for life
and will for survival.
1. Where do the refugees come from and what are their reasons for coming?
Currently, most refugees come from the areas of conflict in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq,
Afghanistan) and from different African countries (dealing with civil war, such as Eritrea, or
with persecution, like in West Africa by the Islamist militia of Boko Haram). There a many
Muslims among the refugees, but there are also many Christians coming, particularly from
Syria and Iraq, who were driven out of their villages by IS; many women had to watch their
husbands and their teenage sons being shot by IS militia.
Additionally, people come from Africa, but also from counties of South-Eastern Europe
(Albania, Kosovo, Serbia), who don’t see any economic prospects for themselves at home or
who, like the Roma people, suffer from hostility in the population and from arbitrariness at
state level.
Almost all of the refugees from civil war countries will obtain a residence status in Germany,
99% of Syrian people, but the people from South-Eastern Europe will be expelled almost
without exception and sent back to their countries of origin after the legal procedures.
However, the authorities are completely overwhelmed by the extremely high numbers. For too
long, it was not considered necessary to increase the staff. So now, the procedures take five
months on average, in more complicated cases even several years. Currently, there are around
276,000 asylum applications in Germany that have not yet been dealt with.
In 2014, 202,000 people sought asylum in Germany. In 2015, in late July, this number had
already risen to 213,000. Since August, the numbers have skyrocketed. Current estimates
calculate at least 800,000 asylum seekers/refugees by the end of the year. From September 1st
to September 10th , 60,000 refugees arrived in Munich, on September 7th there were 4,400, on
September 10th 7,000.
2. What is their route of travel and what do they have to go through?
For a long time, the main route was the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea, which
the refugees attempted after paying horrendous amounts of money to unscrupulous smugglers
on rubber rafts and other boats not fit for the open sea. Thousands of men, women and children
cruelly drowned or were suffocated on the boats. This route is still used. Troupes of the
European Union provide sea rescue, but not consistently. If the refugees do reach the European
mainland, they are locked away in camps in Italy and later, they are often sent on to Central
Europe, contrary to the European agreements. In Greece, they are left to their own devices and
live without shelter, mainly in the cities, without any accommodation at all.
Since August, the land route via Greece has become the new main route. The people who have
fled Syria and Iraq initially sought shelter in Lebanon and Turkey. Lebanon is now completely
overrun by refugees, Turkey abandons the refugees to their fate in the refugee camps, at the
same time forbids them to earn a living in any way and increasingly harasses them. The violent
conflict with the Kurds, which is now escalating, massively contributes to exacerbating the
situation and as a result, many refugees are now under general “Kurd suspicion”. At the same
time, the Turkish government is suspected of having indirectly supported IS because the latter
combats the Kurds. Therefore, the refugees left Lebanon and Turkey for Europe on foot, in
buses or, hidden by smugglers, in cargo containers and trucks. Here, too, quite a few of them
suffocated in these containers and trucks. Macedonia attempted to close off the borders against
the flood of refugees by military efforts. Hungary builds a border fence against Serbia, but the
refugees repeatedly overcome it, even though it is furnished with barbed wire. Hungary also
declared that it will exclusively accept Christian refugees, if any. Then, the refugees who had
camped at the Budapest train station for days were put on trains to Munich. There, several
thousand people have arrived every day since last week. They are swiftly distributed and sent
on to various different cities and villages all over Germany. Many of them also want to travel
on to Sweden.
Yesterday, the Danish railway company stopped trains to Northern Germany in order to block
the way to Sweden for these refugees. This is meant to be revoked. Today, Austria temporarily
stopped trains to Hungary because there were too many refugees. On Tuesday, Hungary wants
to make a decision on declaring the state of national crisis. Starting on Tuesday, illegally
crossing borders in Hungary will be considered a criminal offence, instead of a mere petty
crime. Moreover, Hungary intends to stop all trains to Serbia and to block the train tracks with
barbed wire, because many refugees come on foot from Serbia to Hungary. With such
measures, these countries, at least temporarily, abrogate the Schengen Agreement of the
European Union on the freedom of movement and the free crossing of borders without
inspection.
Many refugees, especially children and women, have been on the road for many months,
sometimes even years. Usually, their only possessions are what they have on their person,
maybe plus a toothbrush, the passport and education certificates. Many of them have a cheap
mobile phone, not as a luxury good but as their sole possibility to get in contact with their
family or relatives. These people have reached the limit of what they can endure. Often, they
walked hundreds of kilometres in this summer’s extreme heat, and the smugglers took their
money. They have no roof over their heads and hardly any food. They are doubly traumatised
when they reach us: By the experience of the war in their home countries and by the flight and
the arbitrariness of the national authorities of Southern Europe.
3. How do the European states react to the flood of refugees?
I already described many aspects of this question. Hungary on September 10th declared to
abrogate the European refugee agreement but revoked this in reaction to protests. We can say
that the EU-refugee agreements (Dublin 1 to 3) are for the most part ignored. Solidarity among
the European states is actually abolished. Many states are overwhelmed by the flood of
refugees and others, such as England, seal themselves off. So it’s no surprise that so many
people want to go to Germany, France or Sweden, where they are warmly welcomed and
treated like human beings.
4. What’s the situation in Germany?
The Federal Office of Migration is completely overwhelmed. As a result, the procedures take
way too long. The German government waited for much too long, now about 1,300 additional
staff members are to be employed. The German government wants to provide 6 billion Euro to
support the states and local authorities to accommodate, to medically treat and to provide
anything necessary to the 800,000 (or more) refugees that are expected and to be able to handle
the legal recognition procedures more swiftly.
About 53% of the refugees will stay in Germany. German classes are required everywhere so
that these people can communicate. For children, we need access to schools and additional
teaching staff. For the adults, we need jobs and all refugees need a place to live. This last
aspect is difficult, particularly here in the South, where the rent is very high. Many
organisations try to develop concepts to integrate refugees, particularly sports clubs, such as
football clubs. They start special teams for them or integrate them into existing trams. Last
night, there was a special programme on TV called “refugees welcome”, which showed many
examples for how the people here support the refugees. In the majority of the population, the
atmosphere is positive and welcoming. The German president Gauck used the term “a bright
Germany” in this context. Unfortunately, there is a small number of right-wing extremists who
try to create a spirit of xenophobia and to rally people against the refugees. Unfortunately, they
are supported by a small part of the population, particularly in the states of former Eastern
Germany. We saw arson attacks against asylum seekers’ residences, mainly before anyone
moved in there and one attack against a residence that people were already living in. There
were casualties, but, thank goodness, no fatal victims. Here, president Gauck spoke of a dark
Germany. But the vast majority of the German population rejects these right-wing extremists
and takes a stand against them.
5. What’s the situation in Bavaria?
Bavaria is the initial destination for almost all refugees. Munich in particular is the first place
where they are cared for, medically examined and distributed to other places in Germany. The
biggest problem is accommodation. Many gyms are taken by refugees. Accommodation in
tents can only be a temporary solution and must be abandoned before autumn. The prime
minister of Bavaria last year invited stakeholders, including the churches, to take part in a
refugee crisis summit in order to concertedly plan the next steps. The Chamber of Industry and
Commerce Augsburg found apprenticeships for 180 youth refugees and will continue to do so.
6. How does the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany (EKD) help the refugees?
a. EKD
EKD focusses on political efforts and tries to make a difference at German and European level
to foster human dignity and ethically responsible policy.
Yesterday at the church conference, the member churches had a long discussion on which
measures are necessary. The Chair of EKD wants to contact the president of the EU
commission, Mr Juncker.
b. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria
For many years, the Bavarian State Church has provided financial means and staff for the care
of refugees. Now, an additional amount of 10 million Euro shall be provided, if the synod
assembly gives its consent, as I am sure it will.
We asked the church communities to provide church buildings and community buildings as
accommodation facilities for refugees, or even to accommodate at home. The protestant realestate company Evangelisches Siedlungswerk already provided apartments and will continue to
do so. In the communities, the willingness to help and the number of volunteers are great.
c. Augsburg and Swabia
In Augsburg and in Swabia the willingness to help is equally great. There are many cases of
church asylum, where people find protection from impending deportation. Königsbrunn has
provided a community building. We are currently looking for more community buildings. Each
church district is meant to provide a certain amount of living space. In Augsburg, we collect
clothing and other items and bring it to the refugees. The volunteer helpers visit the refugees
and accompany them to public authorities. They also enable them to meet the population, they
organise parties and thus allow for a more swift integration. They are important links between
the refugees, the authorities and the people on site. They show benevolence, attention and they
help to overcome traumas. It is amazing to see all that is going on. But they have often reached
the limit of what is possible because there are simply too many refugees who need our support.
7. What we ask of our friends in America
Please pray for us and most of all, pray for the people who have to flee. If you wish, send us a
short note of solidarity and support. If you have access to the world of politics, ask the
politicians to give more financial support to the United Nations, so that the refugee camps in
Syria, Iraq and Lebanon can once again be supported in a humane manner. This helps to enable
more people to stay there and not have to flee to Europe. Presently, the food rations are cut in
half and other life necessities are scarce. The people there have no prospects.
We thank you very much for your interest, your solidarity and your prayers.