The idea: the Federal Chancellor should have a welcome letter handed to every asylum seeker or refugee at the registration facilities.
We considered this a way of addressing several aspects of the flow of migration (this is not a “refugee crisis”):
a) those who come to us receive a clear message of welcome and of our values,
b) those parts of the German population inclined towards intolerance and hatred are shown these values themselves,
c) mainstream German society experiences that its concerns and fears are taken into account in a clear act,
Our draft for such a letter is set out below. Its language is kept very simple so that it can be translated unambiguously into several languages (Arabic, Kurdish, Pashto and Urdu) and understood regardless of educational background.:
Dear new resident of Germany,
a warm welcome to you! You have come to us as a refugee and we are glad to be able to tell you: you are safe! Germany is a peaceful country in which the most diverse people wish to stand together in one society.
From the values that matter to us, our democratic parliament has made rules and laws. In this way everyone can live well together, whether Christians, Jews, Muslims, believers of other religions or people who believe in no God at all.
Here the principle applies: everyone may find happiness in their own way! No one may try to force another person to do anything. We call that: freedom.
The most important rules are set out in what is known as the Grundgesetz (Basic Law). It is a state law book with which all other laws must be compatible. With us it stands above the Koran, the Bible or any other book, however holy it may be. From this you can see that a person’s religion is their private affair.
Here women and men have equal rights. That applies always and everywhere: in the family, at school, at work and in the choice of partner.
Here men may love men and women may love women, and they may also start a family together. Babies may be breastfed in public, and in some places people may walk around naked and lie in the sun.Freedom of opinion and freedom of the press matter to us. Everyone may say and write what they think, as long as they do not thereby incite anyone to hatred and violence.
These fundamental values of freedom matter so much to us that people can even go to prison for violating them.
Please remember: you have come to us because Germany seems to you a good country. But it can only stay that way if you too join us in respecting the Grundgesetz and protecting freedom.
The German population is taking great trouble to help you. This works all the better the more quickly you learn German and the sooner you make our fundamental values your own as well. We hope that you will soon feel at home in Germany!
We never received any response from the Federal Chancellery – neither from Mrs Merkel nor from Mr Altmaier, to whom we had written separately.
