94Ha Viewpoint
Members of the Magdeburg fire department stand in front of a makeshift memorial outside the Johannis Church, near the site of a car ramming into a crowd, on December 22, Germany. (AFP)
A car rammed into the public at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on Friday evening (December 20) local time, killing five people and injuring more than 200 people. The arrested SUV driver is a Saudi Arabian immigrant and a permanent resident of Germany. According to reports, he calls himself a “Saudi atheist” and has long supported Saudi women’s rights. He claims to be worried about the growing “Islamization” trend in Germany. my country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack, emphasizing that no reason can legalize the attack on innocent civilians.
This incident, which has attracted international attention, occurred about two months before the German general election, and the whole country was boiling, which was extremely unfavorable to the already fragile coalition government of Chancellor Scholz. The leader of the far-right German Alternative Party took the opportunity to attack the government, asking “When will this madness end?” This is the third attack involving immigrants in Germany this year. In August, a Syrian immigrant in Solingen killed three people with a knife; in May, an Afghan refugee in Mannheim randomly stabbed a police officer with a knife at an anti-Muslim immigrant rally, killing one police officer and injuring several people. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has risen amid social anxiety caused by similar incidents in recent years. The suspect in the latest attack claimed to be a supporter of the AfD, but launched the attack in eastern Germany. The motive is yet to be announced by the authorities.
After the incident, Christmas markets across Germany strengthened security, and some simply canceled the last weekend before Christmas. A pro-Saudi source revealed that the Saudi government had warned German officials several times that the suspect was a “person with extreme views”, but they were all ignored by the German authorities. Right-wing anti-immigration Hungarian Prime Minister Orban commented after the incident that similar attacks have occurred frequently in many European countries in recent years, all of which are related to the relaxed immigration policies of various countries. Orban even believes that Hungary is right to basically block immigration.
The immigration issue has led to the intensification of political and social contradictions. Germany is just one example of the intensification of left-wing conflicts throughout Europe. The immigration and refugee issues reached a peak in 2015. Refugees from the Middle East, especially Syria, and people from North Africa and even South Asia, due to geopolitical wars and other reasons, went to Europe on a large scale to seek asylum, with the number exceeding one million. The EU tried to ask member states to share the number of refugees, but the willingness of each country was different. In the end, Germany took in the largest number of people. Including the number of immigrants before and after, in 2022, German statistics show that about 18.4% of the total population are first-generation immigrants. If the second generation is included, it has exceeded 20% of the population.
Immigrants with a relatively high proportion of Muslims have very different culture and beliefs from white Christians in Europe. Each country has its own immigrant integration program and plan, including language learning. In theory, new immigrants must go through these integration processes, but problems such as immigrant concentration and underemployment make integration difficult. Religious identity factors are also the cause of ethnic divisions. The increase in immigration In countries with continued economic downturns, especially Germany, news of layoffs in large companies has appeared from time to time. Against the background of the government’s inability to improve the economy, policies such as immigrants enjoying social welfare have been criticized by local people. At the same time, more and more Muslim immigrants are showing off their own religion and culture. For example, Islamic organizations have repeatedly held demonstrations demanding that Germany implement Islamic law and establish a caliphate. This provocative attitude towards the local society further stimulates the sense of crisis of white people, which is the main reason for the rapid rise of extreme right-wing forces such as the German Choice Party.
As the locomotive of the European economy, Germany has not vigorously promoted the transformation of energy and economic structure since the Merkel era. At the same time, it has upheld the idealism of the left wing and ignored the differences in reality. In recent years, deeply affected by the epidemic and surrounding wars, the polarization of German politics has become more serious, the struggle between the left and the right has intensified, the people are facing multiple pressures such as inflation, and the immigration problem has become more acute. The social atmosphere has begun to tear apart and there is no peace.
Over the years, the accumulation of policy deviations has become a hidden danger in governance. Extreme opinions and forces have risen up, and political opposition has become polarized, which has made it more difficult to reach a consensus in society. It is impossible to reach an effective solution to the problem. In the end, the biggest victim is the whole society. Germany reflects the trend of social polarization in many European countries. What is the way out? It is not easy to have an answer today when the situation is serious and complicated. As a society with a multi-ethnic population, Singapore and Southeast Asian countries should base themselves on reality, cherish social harmony, and at the same time resolve various sensitive issues with a practical attitude and methods, seek cooperation and solidarity domestically and in the region, in order to strive for opportunities for peace and development. The experience of European countries such as Germany can serve as a mirror for us.
