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Germany

Hanau Attack: Echos Of The Past In Germany's Far-Right Hatred

After the killing of nine in the western German town of Hanau, it is clear the state must do more to crack down. But the responsibility extends much farther.

A vigil in Munich for the victims of the Hanau attack
A vigil in Munich for the victims of the Hanau attack
Kurt Kister

-Analysis-

MUNICH — Watching the video in which mass murderer Tobias R. explains to the world that the US military is killing children and engaging in satanic rituals in underground bases, it's easy to dismiss him as crazy. But now he has killed ten people, all of whom – apart from his mother – he shot because he wanted to kill foreigners, immigrants, non-Germans. The attacks in Hanau were racially motivated terrorism – regardless of whether the perpetrator was suffering from mental illness or not.

For Germany, this brings back uncomfortable echoes of the first half of the 20th century, when racially motivated terrorism grew out of widespread xenophobia and racism among the population, mainly – although not solely – directed at Jews. It started with a few individual perpetrators, then groups that were protected by parts of society. They were not seriously investigated by police, and the justice system often treated them leniently as "politically motivated offenders."

The terrible events of the 1920s and 30s are not about to repeat themselves. Nowadays there is no danger of a coup, no revisionist foreign policy that aims to reunite Germany's "stolen" land. Most people live, think and love differently from how they did a hundred years ago. However, in Germany, there is plenty of reason to remind ourselves of what went before, as some of what is happening now is uncomfortably familiar.

At Munich's Odeonsplatz, a memorial for victims of the Hanau attack — Photo:Sachelle Babbar/ZUMA

The so-called "lone wolves' who carried out attacks in Munich in 2016, Halle in 2019 and now Hanau, as well as the neo-Nazi extremist who killed politician Walter Lübcke in 2019, acted in the knowledge that there are many others who think the same way they do – even if they wouldn't commit the same acts. The terrorists are targeting the same people who were targeted a hundred years ago: Jews, foreigners, representatives of "the system." Now, Muslims and refugees have been added to the list. You only have to look at the U.S. to see how quickly mass murders can change a society: there, the number of shootings has become so great that they seem to be accepted as part of everyday life. The President says his prayers are with the victims, society is outraged, and three months later another shooter kills twelve people.

Although it's terrible, there is still hope. It is a good thing that the supposedly homogenous Germany of the 20th century no longer exists. For it was this Germany that was responsible for one of the worst crimes in human history. Today Germany is a diverse country that is looking towards the future with a fierce determination. Despite the attacks in Hanau and Halle, Germany has never been as good, and as free.

The justice system often treated them leniently as "politically motivated offenders'

This Germany is what the murderers are attacking when they shoot migrants. But they are not the only ones we have to fight. We must also look at the people who prepare the ground for them. People who constantly speak about "foreign infiltration," who denigrate specific communities, who compare lifestyles to diseases, who try to build barriers between "us' and "them." People like polemical politician Thilo Sarrazin who disparage Muslims; people like reactionary Alexander Gauland who break taboos because they want to divide society; people like Alternative for Germany (AfD) party member Björn Höcke who use neo-Nazi rhetoric. Of course these people don't load the murderers' guns, but they create an atmosphere in which the murderers don't feel like "lone wolves' – because they're not.

Yes, the state has to take a stronger stance against right-wing extremism in all its forms. It needs to offer better protection to synagogues and mosques while the threat is so significant. Restricting individuals and shooting club members from keeping certain guns at home would also be an important step towards prevention.

However, none of this alone will be enough. Every individual also has a responsibility, whether they're making insensitive jokes or not speaking up against everyday racism. We have to call a spade a spade: anyone who votes for AfD is aligning themselves with the far-right, as they are also voting for the right-wing extremists within the party. This country, its society and its people – whether they originally come from Berlin, Ankara or Krakow – deserve protection, especially from those who, through their words or their actions, want to turn the clock back.

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Migrant Lives

What's Driving More Venezuelans To Migrate To The U.S.

With dimmed hopes of a transition from the economic crisis and repressive regime of Nicolas Maduro, many Venezuelans increasingly see the United States, rather than Latin America, as the place to rebuild a life..

Photo of a family of Migrants from Venezuela crossing the Rio Grande between Mexico and the U.S. to surrender to the border patrol with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum​

Migrants from Venezuela crossed the Rio Grande between Mexico and the U.S. to surrender to the border patrol with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum.

Julio Borges

-Analysis-

Migration has too many elements to count. Beyond the matter of leaving your homeland, the process creates a gaping emptiness inside the migrant — and outside, in their lives. If forced upon someone, it can cause psychological and anthropological harm, as it involves the destruction of roots. That's in fact the case of millions of Venezuelans who have left their country without plans for the future or pleasurable intentions.

Their experience is comparable to paddling desperately in shark-infested waters. As many Mexicans will concur, it is one thing to take a plane, and another to pay a coyote to smuggle you to some place 'safe.'

Venezuela's mass emigration of recent years has evolved in time. Initially, it was the middle and upper classes and especially their youth, migrating to escape the socialist regime's socio-political and economic policies. Evidently, they sought countries with better work, study and business opportunities like the United States, Panama or Spain. The process intensified after 2017 when the regime's erosion of democratic structures and unrelenting economic vandalism were harming all Venezuelans.

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