DEPORT EM ALL !  Merkeljewitz first ! - Refugees celebrate Merkel win but fear rise of far-right

By Joseph Nasr
ReutersSeptember 24, 2017
By Joseph Nasr

BERLIN (Reuters) - Syrian refugees rejoiced on Sunday at the news that Angela Merkel had secured a fourth term as German chancellor, but said they were alarmed by the rise of the far-right AfD party, which they feared could push her to tighten asylum rules.

"We prayed that Merkel would win," said Fatima al-Haidar, a mother of two from Damascus. "Allah answered our prayers. To us she represents wisdom and humanity."


While Merkel's conservative bloc won most seats in parliament, the result was its worst since 1949 as voters turned en masse to smaller parties.

The conservatives bled support to the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), which entered parliament for the first time as the third-biggest party, cashing in on anger at Merkel's decision to welcome more than 1.3 million refugees.

"Merkel put her career on the line to help us," said Haidar's 55-year-old husband Ayman. "We want to learn German and contribute to the success of this country through work, simply to prove that she was right and her opponents were wrong."

Fatima and Ayman found out the election results from their 14-year-old son Zayd, who tuned in to the public broadcaster ZDF on his mobilehttps://www.yahoo.com/news/germanys-syrian-refugees-celebrate-merkel-win-fear-rise-201936020.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/germanys-syrian-refugees-celebrate-merkel-win-fear-rise-201936020.html