O TEMPORA! O MORES! (Satis Shroff)

Remembering the Past & Deciding for the Future: O Tempora! O Mores! (Satis Shroff)

Gurs(France): Jewish citizens imprisoned in a camp by the Nazis

TWO thirds of German citizens reckon with a strike by the IS in this country. Only 17% believe that this will not happen, according to the opinion researcher institute YouGov. There have been terror alarms but till now Germany has been spared.

It might be remembered that on November 13,2015 there was a terror attack in Paris which killed 130 people. After talks with President Hollande, Chancellor Merkel’s government is taking part in the air-attacks of the Alliance against the IS in Syria.

Is war going to be the means to reach an end? The nato as well as a new alliance, comprising Assad and Putin, are bombing Syria hoping to stop the IS, with collateral damage in the form of civilians taken into account.

I remember the BBC broadcast, when I was in London, about the necessity of the Iraq war, and the need to stop Sadam Hussein. There was tension in London with security controls from Gattwick airport to Paddington Station. I could feel the feat of a possible terror strike not only in the streets of London but also in the underground. After the attacks in Paris, fear in Brüssels and angst in Germany you ask yourself: when will this uncanny war end?

A decade long war in the offing: Germany is taking part in the war against the terror militia IS in Syria and Iraq with 1200 soldiers. The Luftwaffe has started its reconnaissance sorties with tornado-jets and a marine ship to protect the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. Germany is also assisting the Alliance to tank its fighter jets, and has been actively helping to train and arm the Peshmerga troops, who are engaged in the Anti-IS-Coalition.  According to foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier: ‘Against an opponent like the IS we need a long breath.’ As if to support this statement, Andre Wüstner, the chairman of the German Bundeswehrverband said, ‘I take it that when we wage this war seriously it’ll take over a decade.’

Krieg in the trenches with colonial soldiers: World War II

Hierarchical society: George Orwell comes to my mind and his ruminations about krieg in his book ‘1984’ which was penned in 1949, when England was still reeling under the impact of World War II: ‘War is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous. Hierarchical society is only possible on the bases of poverty and ignorance. The war is waged by the ruling group against its own subjects and its object is not the victory over either Eurasia or East Asia, but to keep the very structure of society intact.’

In the Syrian war Muslims are fighting against, Sunnites versus Shiites, Allevites against other Muslims, Turks against Kurds, Peshmerga warriors against the IS, and in the forage communists are fighting for Allivites (Assad) and Christians against Muslims (IS).

Passage to Lampedusa: The war in Syria, initiated by the so-called Islamic States, has caused thousands of people to flee and seek refuge via dangerous routes. In Lampedusa, an Italian isle with 4,500 inhabitants, 20,000 boat refugees landed in 2005 alone—on their way to Europe, where they’d heard and read though google and other media that Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden were practicing humanitarian assistance in accordance with international law, and that Germany’s Chancellor Merkel had an open-door and open-arm policy—and the restrictive laws of Fortress Europe had been put out of use for awhile. And soon by the end of 2015 over a million people came, not only from Syria but also from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North African countries, and from Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Macedonia.

‘Fluchtlinge’ becomes the Word of the Year: ‘Fluchtlinge’ (refugees) became the Word of the Year in Germany. The international press reported the about the great social engagement of the German people, a people who’d cheered the Nazis in its hoary historical past, and were bombed by the USA and its Allies; a folk that knew the suffering and caused by war.

Chancellor Merkel remained adamant even when protests were raised by the CDU and the CSU-members. She maintained her course like the iron-lady of Germany she was, and remained humanitarian, self-conscious and open to the world. We are witnessing the emergence of a world politician who has character, integrity and the will to help those in need, who are ready to accept German values, traditions, our understanding of justice, our language, our laws, rules and regulations that govern daily life.

Freiburg im Breisgau: razed to the ground by Royal Air Force, rebuilt and now a beautiful, flourising city.

Mastering problems: Germany has mastered a lot of problems in the past, building the country after World War II with the help of the so-called guest workers from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, as well as the reunification of East and West Germany during which a lot of the tax-payer’s money was diverted to the former East Germany to standardize the broken communist-ruined economy till it reached its present state. Yet there’s an increasing section of the population who are against Merckel’s open-door policy such as the neonazis and the pegida movement, and has reached pan-European dimensions. Nevertheless, Chancellor Merckel remains optimistic about the integration and the potential man-power of the refugee force and she remains full of hope for the future. This has been repeatedly reassured by the media with success stories of refugees.

Positive decision: There are other European states that have not followed the path taken by richer and resourceful countries Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, because they have angst, show indifference towards refugees who come from other countries, have different religions or due to egoistic reasons. This doesn’t hold for the majority of the Germans because they were in the same position after the Russians and the Allies divided Germany into respective sectors. Thousands of refugees from the former occupied German territories had to flee to Germany, and still live to tell the tale of these hard times. This is a positive decision taken by the German government with a certain amount of risk. But history will tell more.

Meanwhile, the refugees are willing to learn the language, act according to German rules and regulations and to integrate themselves in the German society. Other want to return once its safe to their home countries.