Solingen knife attack puts spotlight on refugees in Germany

Vivienne Vetter is furious at what she says is an unchecked flood of refugees into her German city of Solingen, blaming it for a deadly knife rampage by a Syrian man.

But Turkish man and Solingen local Kadir Ayten is more concerned Friday’s attack at a festival will widen social divisions and cause Germans to become ever more wary of foreigners.

The differing reactions highlight how the attack that killed three and wounded eight is fuelling an already bitter debate about immigration policy, and could further boost the resurgent far right.

Vetter, who is originally from Poland but has lived in Germany for two decades, expressed anger at recently arrived migrants in Solingen who she said “don’t learn German”.

“They take away childcare places, take away daycare places, take away money, take away flats,” the 26-year-old who works in the elder care sector told AFP, adding she herself was struggling to find an affordable apartment.

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“If they would integrate, I wouldn’t have a problem with it,” she adding, noting she lives just minutes’ walk from the scene of the attack.

She was among a crowd of Solingen residents who had turned out Monday to see Chancellor Olaf Scholz visit the site of the attack, with many venting their frustration at government asylum policy.

While Scholz pledged to tighten immigration rules, Solingen mayor Tim Kurzbach appealed for calm: “It’s not just about Solingen – it’s about our country”.

The refugee centre housing the alleged attacker, a 26-year-old Syrian who had reportedly arrived in Germany around two years ago, was around just 300 metres (980 feet) from where the violence took place.

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A former tax office building, it has been housing migrants since December 2022 as Germany struggled to find space for the huge numbers of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.

‘Turning point’

For Solingen resident Wolfgang Matthes, the attack – which the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for – will mark a “turning point in controlling people who come to our country”.

“The government has to toughen asylum policy,” added the 61-year-old.

It is not the first time that Solingen, an ethnically diverse city of about 160,000 people, has experienced tensions between its different communities.

Far-right extremists set fire to a house of a large Turkish family in 1993, killing three girls and two women.

But like in other parts of Europe, tensions have more recently centred on rising immigration.

The debate in Germany flared anew last year due to an uptick in illegal migration when initial asylum applications rose more than 50 percent.

But while some were quick to blame rising numbers of migrants for Friday’s tragedy, others saw it as an isolated incident and were more worried it could worsen already heightened tensions in multicultural places like Solingen.

These tensions were on display at the weekend following the attack, with left-wing groups and the youth organisation of the far-right AfD party staging rival demonstrations.

Turkish man Ayten, a taxi driver who has been living in Germany for some 20 years and is Muslim, described the attack as a “huge shame”.

“Such things can divide society. People will be more fearful of foreigners,” the 46-year-old said.

The attack had “nothing to with Islam”, he added.

Resul Salihu, an 18-year-old Serbian who has lived all his life in Solingen, said it was wrong to blame migration for the tragedy and “generalise” about everyone who comes to Germany.

He also expressed fears people could be encouraged to vote for the AfD, which backs anti-immigrant policies and is expected to make gains at key regional polls in eastern Germany Sunday.

“People are motivated by fear, because of that fear they might turn to (parties) with more extreme policies,” he said.