by Mara Gergolet
The young Palestinian Reem, who arrived from Lebanon, burst into tears when Merkel told her that not everyone can stay: in recent days, one of her posts with the map of the Middle East without the State of Israel sparked controversy in Germany
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
BERLIN – She was the refugee child who defeated the Germans, little Reem. She was Palestinian, having arrived from Lebanon four years earlier, and had been chosen to speak to Chancellor Merkel at a meeting at a school. He spoke German very well and explained that his father was unemployed because his stay had not been extended after 4 years. And the Chancellor replied: The processes have to be changed, we can’t wait that long. But he also added: Not everyone will be able to stay. And fourteen-year-old Reem – faced with the possibility that her family could be deported and her life in Germany would be over – burst into tears, forcing a surprised Merkel to come to her (Ah, come on, come on) and comfort her .
A video that we all saw in 2015 and that was not only filmed in Germany but went viral worldwide. Many people felt sorry for the little refugee woman, whose sudden tears became a symbol of the many who had come.
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Reem is now 22 years old, has received German citizenship and has just published a post on Instagram in which she says #freepalestine #fromtherivertothesea. Furthermore, for clarity, he added a map of the original Palestine: the map that does not include Israel’s borders.
The message was found on the online news site Nius, one of the new German media that defines itself as the voice of the majority, that is, as the expression of new, more populist and right-wing feelings and interests, financed by tycoon Frank Gotthardt. But soon it spread everywhere, even to the third page of the picture.
There can be no naivety about what Reem posted, because in Germany there is no confusion about what #fromtherivertothesea means, i.e. the denial and abolition of the State of Israel. Footballer El Ghazi from Mainz, a team founded by Jews, was kicked out and had his contract terminated for posting the same slogan. When you look at the map, it is even clearer to read and does not allow you to take refuge in ambiguity. There are endless different ways to show solidarity and closeness to the people of Gaza and the suffering of your people – like the Palestinian Reem – without calling for the disappearance of Israel.
But more generally, there is a risk that the little girl who was the face of the refugees will become a symbol of their difficult or, in some ways, almost impossible integration. Those who came in the Angela Merkel years and with the big wave of 2015-2016 (but also before that) often bring with them from the Middle East a history full of prejudices and a deeply anti-Israel, often anti-Semitic education. These are not individuals: almost two million newly arrived refugees (plus four million of Turkish origin, who are more secularized) have reproduced their communities in Germany, which reflect the Nazi history and the deep ties that bind this country to Israel , to ignore. They do not (again) recognize the responsibility – and shame – that Germans feel towards the Jewish people and often have no interest in sharing or understanding this strange coming to terms with and condemnation of their past.
And so, whether she wants to or not, Reem makes it clear to us how complicated the integration of these groups will be, how difficult it will be to isolate the much more radical fringe groups. And what unexpected and subtle forms German neo-anti-Semitism can take.
November 13, 2023 (modified November 13, 2023 | 1:08 p.m.)
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