Immigration-related attacks have been rioting across much of continental Europe in the wake of nationwide riots in Britain over attacks on girls by their immigrant descendants. A recent knife attack by Syrian migrants in Germany left three people dead and eight injured, leading to debate over whether to tighten immigration policy and the scope of the knife ban, and before the gubernatorial elections in several German states, there was a fierce confrontation between the left and the right. French media headlines in the last two days have been a synagogue attacked by Algerian immigrants. The recent spate of attacks in Europe, involving migrants or ethnic groups, is not just about immigration or ethnicity, but also about complex religious, economic and geopolitical causes. “The populist craze in Europe and the US and the anti-immigration rage are mutually reinforcing.” According to a Singapore Media website, the impact of the growing anti-immigration craze in Europe and the US is growing as it intensifies political conflict and partisanship, one of the pernicious effects of a democracy that is threatening the West’s pride is the rising tide of populism.
A police officer watches as a burnt car is towed away in lagrange, France, Monday. A local synagogue was set on fire on the 24th.
“Must be dealt with swiftly and severely.”
“Scholtz Solingen: knife attacks must be dealt with swiftly and severely,” the German newspaper Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung reported on the 26th, the German chancellor visited Solingen on Monday. “This is terrorism, terrorism against all of us,” he said, “Knife attacks must be swiftly and severely punished.” He also announced measures to tighten gun and knife controls and improve deportation procedures for illegal immigrants. Scholtz said the federal government would make every effort to ensure that “Those who can not or are not allowed to remain in Germany” were deported. In particular, he announced a rapid tightening of the carry-on rule: “This should and will happen soon.”
The suspect, a 26-year-old Syrian, arrived in Germany at the end of 2022 and applied for asylum in the Bielefeld, Bild reported. According to reports, the evening of 23 Solingen city held 650 anniversary celebrations. At about 9 P. M. that night, the perpetrators began the massacre. He wanders through rows of spectators, thrusting a 15-to 20-centimeter blade into the victim’s neck, seemingly casually but with absolute precision-to kill as many people as possible.
Islamic State (IS) , an extremist group in the Middle East, has claimed that its members carried out the Solingen knife attack, according to several German media reports. IS said on its website that“The target of the attack was Christians” and that the attack was“Revenge for Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere”. German police said they had received a statement from the terrorist group, but its authenticity has yet to be verified. In addition, the security services in the previous record does not list the suspects as extremists.
Meanwhile, the attack on the synagogue has dominated the headlines in France, the other big European country. A synagogue in the southwestern French coastal resort of Montpellier was set on fire Monday morning, destroying two cars and injuring a police officer, AFP said. Maqueron, the French president, was quick to denounce “The struggle against the antisemitism as a long one, a struggle for all”, and about 15 hours later police arrested the suspect. French authorities reported 25, the suspect has been identified as a 33-year-old Algerian man. According to Ministry of the Interior Darmanin, antisemitism behaviour has almost tripled since the start of the year, with 887 recorded in the first half, compared with 304 in the same period for 2023. The number of 20232023 has risen sharply, to 1,676 for the year, “Four times the number in 2022”.
“It’s not the knife’s fault.”
“Solingen has confirmed all warnings — knife attacks are sweeping across Europe,” the Swiss Neue Zürcher Zeitung said Tuesday, adding that since the start of the year, in many parts of Europe, including Solingen, Vienna and Zurich, the risk of attack increased significantly. In April, a knife attack in the city of Duisburg resulted in the death of one person and the wounding of three others by suspected IS members; in May, mannheim an Afghan refugee has attacked several people with a knife at a right-wing anti-islam rally, killing one and wounding five. Since 2021, the number of knife attacks in the national crime statistics has risen by more than 13,000 in just two years, with more than 13,8002023, according to the Bavarian newspaper. Berlin’s police chief said the suspects in knife attacks in Berlin were usually“Young men with non-german backgrounds”, most of whom were of“Arab or North African descent”.
Many people are angry about immigration policies in the past few years after the Solingen attack, the German newspaper Le Monde said Tuesday. Near the crime scene, people laid flowers, candles, stuffed animals, letters and message boards, mixing grief with anger over immigration policy, one message board read “Thank you, MERKL and the Greens”– a dig at the former German chancellor and the Greens’ refugee policy. Reported that Germany, like many European countries, from the surrounding Islamic countries face a surge in migrant (refugee) violence attacks.
The German government plans to further tighten the“Knife ban” and expand the“Knife Ban Zone” in response to the rapidly rising incidence of knife-wielding attacks: “Further strict control on carrying knives in public places”, the public will be banned from carrying folding knives, switchblades, while the blade maximum control standard from the original 12 cm to 6 cm. “Criminals and people who are prone to violence don’t care about these bans,” one German commenter said on the internet
“It’s not the knife’s fault,” said the German newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “Germany’s immigration policy must change.”. Saskia Esken, president of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, wants to deport the culprits to Syria and Afghanistan because“Such behaviour leaves scars on our society that can not be healed”. Merz, the CDU leader, wants permanent border controls.
British right-wing television channel GBNEWS25, said the German knife attack caused a new wave of concern in Europe. Europe is entering a new political cycle. Support for the afd party, which has a tough stance on immigration, is rising rapidly ahead of important regional elections in Thuringia ? Thüringen?Land, Saxony ? Sachsen?Land and Brandenburg?Land, according to reports.
“’migrant violence’ has become a key issue in German state elections,” Radio Internationale said after the Solingen incident, “How many more of these terrorist attacks are we going to have to go through?” The afd’s leader, WEIDL, said: “Immigration violence against Germans has become the terrible new normal.”, chirié, a German political scientist, says the rhetoric is purely for the sake of the upcoming state elections.
Meanwhile, about 30,000 people took to the streets of Thuringia ? Thüringen?Land and Saxony ? Sachsen?Land on the 25th to protest against right-wing extremism. About 12,000 people demonstrated in Dresden, Saxony ? Sachsen?Land’s capital, Leipzig, with about 11,000 taking to the streets in Erfurt, Thuringia, AFP said. The demonstrators’ slogans read“Defend democracy” and“Fascists please give up their seats in parliament”. Organizers of the protest called on other parties to“Completely exclude any alliance with the afd.”.
Populism and anti-immigrant sentiment form a vicious circle
“With populism on the rise, climate issues on the rise, divisions in the migration debate on the rise and Europe facing turmoil, urgent action is needed,” the Turkish daily newspaper said, europe is mired in unsettling social and political turmoil. The immediate causes of the unrest are immigration, the soaring cost of living and security. The report said the rise of rightwing populism can be attributed to its emotional rhetoric, which worries about the country being besieged by immigrants and accuses them of eroding cultural identity and economic stability, they believe that immigration endangers employment, housing and security.
The report also said that the issue of migration is Europe’s far right mobilization and manipulation of a powerful tool. After centuries of colonisation, many countries had long been ravaged by Europeans, and now the poor in those countries had to travel to the land of the conquerors in search of a new beginning. Many of them are also refugees from wars instigated, supported or instigated by the west. This historical amnesia is convenient for the far right, which prefers to portray immigrants as a threat. Such statements fuel fear and division and create fertile ground for their agenda.
An 11-year-old boy was killed in Spain on Sunday, but the country’s far-right political party launched a campaign against African migrants, although police said the killer was Spanish, the European news website reported. With the rapid spread of false news, hostility towards immigrants has been fuelled.
According to the singapore-based think China website, the immigration problem in Europe is intractable, the economy is Attack the Gas Station, poverty has become a hotbed of extremism, and demonstrations against immigration have become more intense. Europeans sought scapegoats, and immigrants were seen as invaders. Reported that the current economic downturn in European countries, Russia and Ukraine conflict has exacerbated high energy prices and inflation. The government’s failure to curb inflation in the face of financial difficulties has further aroused public resentment, and the welfare and treatment of immigrants are regarded as a human rights category. As a result, a strong anti-immigration trend has been catalysed, social antagonism, ethnic conflicts and extreme political conflicts have intensified. The global rise of right-wing populism, the main reason is multiple crises, and immigration is the key.
The report also said that populism and anti-immigration tide in Europe and the United States mutual agitation, mutual reinforcement, forming a vicious circle, leading to major political issues. In recent years, wars around the world have created more refugees who have been forced by their livelihoods to seek shelter and development. Their plight is sympathetic, but the burden on the countries they visit is near its limit, and the political turmoil it has provoked is accelerating and has in turn eaten away at migrants. This is a tragedy for migrants and a serious challenge for countries.