Not all AfD voters are right-wing extremists. But anyone who is confronted with right-wing narratives in a conversation and wants to contradict them should have the facts ready. A handout against helplessness.
These arguments can help you when speaking to the right. Read how you can prepare psychologically for this in this text.
In the office kitchen, a colleague defames refugees in an approving aside. “I go to work every day, the refugees get the money thrown at me,” it says, for example. The narrative: us versus them.
There could be prejudices, fears or simply insecurity behind this. How do you behave in such a situation? You can hardly prepare yourself for a spontaneous conversation. But you can continue your education and information.
People who are affected by discrimination also demand this. Especially since the research network Correctiv discovered that right-wing extremists and AfD politicians were said to have discussed the forced expulsion of millions of people with a migration background at a secret meeting in Potsdam. Afterwards, the best-selling author of “Exit Racism,” Tupoka Ogette, found clear words on Instagram: “Have your facts ready.”
AfD stirs up prejudices against migrants
As strenuous as these conversations are, addressing racism and prejudice in the immediate environment has the greatest effect on the attitude of the conversation partner. This was confirmed by a specialist from the Federal Agency for Civic Education in an interview with star: “All studies show that if you want to take effective action against conspiracy ideologies or racism, it works best within family or acquaintances.”
Five theses that you come across particularly frequently in conversation and what you can say in response.
Claim 1: Migrants are more criminal than Germans
This can hardly be proven. A first look at the police crime statistics from 2022 shows that non-German suspects are overrepresented. But the numbers don’t paint the complete picture. Research has shown this for years that it is not their background that causes people to become criminals, but their social circumstances. Most people who come to Germany do not commit crimes.
The numbers are not very meaningful for the following reasons:
- Slate comparison: The statistics list all non-German suspects who are in the country. This means that the suspects also include people who do not actually live in Germany, such as criminals who deliberately come to the country to commit crimes such as burglaries, or tourists and commuters.
- Risk of poverty: Statistically speaking, those who are financially worse off or live in socially disadvantaged areas are more likely to become criminals. Migrants and especially refugees are overrepresented here too.
- Many young men: The biggest risk group for crime are young men. This group is also overrepresented, especially among refugees. You would therefore have to compare the numbers with young men who live in similarly poor conditions in Germany, rather than with the population as a whole. The BKA also points this out in its report.
- Traumatization: Refugees are often traumatized and poorly socially integrated, and their access to the labor market is limited. All other factors that would increase the risk of becoming a criminal in any group.
- Racial profiling and discrimination: The Police study on behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior 2023 showed that discrimination must also be addressed within the police. According to the study, prejudices against the homeless and Muslims are most present. “Racial profiling” (the increased control of people based on their skin color) is also not a fringe phenomenon, the authors write.
Claim 2: Refugees receive more social benefits than German citizens
That’s wrong. People in the asylum process are entitled to benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. The standard rate for single people is 410 euros per month. Recognized refugees are entitled to citizen’s benefit, which has been 563 euros per month for single people since this year. Nothing more and nothing less than German citizens.
The AfD also deliberately stirs up prejudices like this through its election program. Flight is presented as a problem that threatens Germany. Demands such as closing the “Asylum Paradise Germany” are also inciting. But Germany is not an “asylum paradise”; asylum law has recently been tightened by the traffic light coalition. For example, police officers have more rights during searches and detention pending deportation has been extended.
“The idea behind it is, why does he get more than me?” said the employee at the Federal Agency for Civic Education in an interview with the star. “You should get to the bottom of this and ask in conversation: Are you not feeling well?” You could also appeal to empathy and ask: “Are you really sure that migrants in a reception center who come from a country devastated by civil war have more than you?”
Claim 3: Everyone just wants to go to Germany
Incorrect. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has around 2023 325,000 asylum applications recorded. That is more than in previous years and about half as many as in 2016. There are currently around 2.23 million people with a refugee background living in Germany.
Here, too, it depends on the relationship; most people don’t want to or can’t even make it to the European Union. According to the UN refugee agency, more than 108 million people were displaced worldwide at the end of 2022. 70 percent of them fled to neighboring countries, which are often developing countries.
Most refugees live in Turkey and Colombia. Germany follows behind. The fact that Turkey has taken in so many refugees is mainly due to its direct border with Syria and the EU-Turkey pact of 2016. But most people want to return to their homeland, reports the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), among others. According to the UNHCR, four million people returned to their home country between 2012 and 2022, but since then more have been on the run.
Escape worldwide
103 million refugees worldwide – these countries take in the most
Claim 4: Germany is being invaded by foreigners
Unclear claim. 2022 lived according to the Federal Statistical Office around 20.2 million people with a migration history in Germany – many of them in the third, fourth or fifth generation. “If this sentence were uttered, I would ask: What does foreign infiltration actually mean? Because a farmer in Upper Bavaria has little in common with someone from the Ruhr area or the Uckermark,” said the expert from the Federal Agency for Civic Education.
In this case, migrants are used as a projection surface for insecurity, strangeness and worries. However, there is no fixed “German people”; the borders have been moved over the centuries.
German history is shaped by immigration and flight, which reflects the culture and the population. This is also why the right to asylum exists. “Migration has constantly changed society and made ‘us’ what ‘we’ are today,” says a collection of texts by Pro Asyl. “In this respect, we all have a ‘migrant background’.”
Claim 5: These are not “real” refugees
Positive asylum decisions are justified. What is meant by “real refugees”? If you follow right-wing narratives, these are often so-called economic refugees who are accused of seeking social benefits.
Most refugees in Germany come from Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan. People there have been confronted with war, persecution and terror for years. Many have lost family members and friends.
Migration 2023
Most people from these countries apply for asylum in Germany
“It also helps to question this claim and appeal to empathy,” says the extremism expert at the Federal Agency for Civic Education. Escape is expensive, time-consuming and often ends in death. But even those who make it to Germany are not always allowed to stay. In 2023, the BAMF approved almost 52 percent of asylum applications. Anyone who receives a rejection notice must leave the country or be deported if they do not receive subsidiary protection for good reason and are therefore allowed to remain in Germany for the time being.
People with a positive asylum decision have gone through a multi-stage process by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). Afterwards, refugees usually receive a residence permit for three years or can apply for other residence permits.
Further sources: Federal Agency for Civic Education,Amadeu Antonion Foundation, AfD,UN refugee aid, Federal Criminal Police Office, Federal Criminal Police Office 2