The German Refugee Episode

In recent days, the German refugee episode has gotten into the news in two new ways.

First, some pictures came out....showing "guards" (I use the term loosely here) who abused the refugee members in some fashion.  All total?  Right now, you can cite four episodes.  The state organizations are investigating and it appears that all of those noted will be relieved and let go.  A more intense review program will be mounted.

In general....there's been continual negative reports about various "guards" in Germany....from local fest operations, to even the yearly Oktoberfest in Munich.  As an American viewing the situation....I'd say these "guards" are mostly unemployed guys with various levels of competence, and some of them are not suited for the profession. So, it's not a refugee-driven situation....overall, the whole industry of "guards" need a complete review.

Here in the local area....the local Army post has contract "guards".  It's not a high-paying job or a profession that you'd want to remain in for years and years.  Most end up there because they can't find work in their original profession, and they were able to get the gun certificate in a short period of time.  I'd trust them to check ID's and question people.....but if things got tense with a nutcase or Jihad guy.....I'm not sure these guys are the type to handle the mess.

Adding to this mess.....a number of journalists (especially RT, Russia Today)....have tagged Germany as the new "Gitmo".  Germans usually get incensed when this gets brought up.

The second issue is quantity.  Over the past six months....around 108,000 have shown up in Europe, and somewhere around 37,000 are in Germany (at least those who got picked up).  Cops will admit that they look more around train stations now and find a few each night at major stations (like Frankfurt).  They come mostly out of Syria and Eritrea.

These guys get funneled out daily to some refugee camp that each state sets up.  The camps range from fest-tents to older buildings where one family ends up one single room.  Everyone is in some waiting situation, and while this is better than being in Syria or Eritrea.....it's nothing like they imagined.  Staying a month or two might be acceptable.  The problem is that no one.....especially the Germans.....see how this can last on for several years.  The camps developed.....aren't meant to be a permanent structure.

Added to this....there are the refugees who made it past the cops and are hiding out with relatives or friends.  Hundreds?  Thousands?  No one knows.

Long term mess?  Yeah.  More in the funnel?  More than likely.  By summer of 2015, I'd take a guess that Germany will be housing over sixty thousand guests.  The expense of this?  That's a curious thing....it's a state cost.  So they are dipping into a bucket and removing money that was intended for some other purpose.

Journalists have been trying to tell the woeful story of the refugees, and the guard problem helps them to tell that story.  But generally, if you go across the German public.....somewhere around fifty percent of the population isn't that happy with housing the refugees or enthusiastic about long-term care.  Nor do they want them released into the general public with the idea of eventually becoming German residents/citizens.

So when you see this pop up about refugees in Germany.....it's a wide variety of stories, and ranked by Germans in various way.  For a number of Germans....it's not in the top ten priorities.  For some....it's problem in the top three.  Don't expect a conversation to ever be simple on this topic.