Europe was ‘ill-prepared’ for refugee deluge, says German ambassador to the U.S.- PBS

PETER WITTIG: Well, we have to understand this is a crisis of historic proportions.  Never, since the World War II, have we seen that flow of refugees pouring into Europe, so small wonder that Europe was ill-prepared for this momentous crisis. But I think all the countries have realized we can only solve this together. And it’s a litmus test of European solidarity.

And that’s why the chancellor has called for an urgent summit, to do basically two things, provide more help for the front-line states, those states where the refugees transit through or enter the European Union, help them manage the border, help them to receive the refugees in a dignified manner, and help to fight human trafficking.

And the second thing is, the second challenge is to find a fair and a fairer distribution of those refugees among us. In a way, this is a litmus test for European solidarity.

PETER WITTIG: Well, the German reaction to the refugee flow was generally very welcoming.  We saw an outpour, an overwhelming outpour of solidarity by thousands and thousands of volunteers in Germany. And so the reaction is still very positive. But the sheer number and the speed of the refugees, they are — now start to stretch the capabilities of our country, of the cities, of the municipalities.

PETER WITTIG: Well, the first concern is now to have a more orderly process. And we have got to house the refugees decently, give them food, school them.  And we have got to distinguish between those who are really in need of help, like the asylum-seeker who are politically persecuted, or the refugees from Syria. For instance, they need our help.

PETER WITTIG: Well, they have to go through a process of registration, and eventually seeking asylum, getting asylum, or getting the status of a refugee.

And then we can help them and welcome them for a longer time. And there are others who come for different reasons that we might not be able to take in for good. So, there are security concerns also. We have to know who is coming into our countries.

So now we are at a point — and that’s the backdrop of that reintroduction of border controls. We’re not closing the border, nor are we putting into question the system of free movement within Europe. But that’s an emergency measure, in order to have a more orderly process of entry into our country.

PETER WITTIG: I think it’s a couple of reasons.  First of all, we have an historic legacy. We know the tremendous value of asylum, countries granting asylum. We have our own — we had in our history the Nazi dictatorship that produced refugees, so we have a very liberal asylum law.

I think we saw this compassion in the German population which was really heartwarming for the victims of the civil war in Syria. That’s something — I served there, and, you know, people are fleeing hell, fleeing the barrel bombs of Assad and the murderous swathes of ISIL.

So I think that is what people felt. They need to — they wanted to comply with humanitarian norms.

PETER WITTIG: The root causes, we have got to tackle.  And I think this refugee crisis now should be a catalyst, if you will, a new incentive to once again try politically to cope with this cruel, horrendous civil war in Syria. And I think a good occasion would be the next meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in two weeks’ time, where hopefully leaders will sit together and address that political challenge to come to a political solution in Syria that includes not only the main segments of the Syrian population, but also the main powers of the region, including Saudi Arabia and Iran and others. - Read More at GWEN IFILL

Europe was ‘ill-prepared’ for refugee deluge, says German ambassador to the U.S.