Merkel: The’mother of all refugees’!

If you asked the average Greek what their impression of German Chancellor Angela Merkel was the responses you would get would probably range from a ‘nazi’ at worst to maybe ‘a harsh politician’. It is an understatement to say that Merkel is not the most popular person in Greece. The feelings Syrian refugees foster towards the German ‘iron lady’ of European politics could be more further away than those of the Greeks. Their feelings are not short of adulation to her. Merkel is seen as a ‘compassionate mother’ by the thousands of Syrians entering Germany ready to accept them and take them under her protection, if they quality for refugee status. Social media pages are popping up with titles such as: “Mama Merkel”, “Mother of the outcast”, “Compassionate Mother” and they share their feelings of love towards her with expressions in German like ‘Wir Lieben dich’ (We love you!). A Ghanaian immigrant named Ophelya Ade named her daughter ‘Angela Merkel’, after she gave birth in a reception center in Hannover, Germany. The 26-year old woman told Der Spiegel: “I was so grateful and so relieved that Merkel accepted us. I am so impressed with what this woman has achieved here”. From the breakout of the civil war in Syria the refugees see Germany in the most positive light, as the country offers exceptional facilities in centers to immigrants with refugee status.