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| Angela Merkel’s Encounter With a Teary Young Refugee Draws Mixed Reactions | Angela Merkel’s Encounter With a Teary Young Refugee Draws Mixed Reactions |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s response to a tearful Palestinian girl who pleaded for her family to be allowed to stay in Germany drew both praise and criticism on Thursday, as a video of the encounter spread across the Internet. | |
| The video, taken as Ms. Merkel met with a group of students in Rostock on Wednesday, shows the girl asking to avoid deportation, so she can pursue her teenage dreams and enjoy the same security as her German friends. | The video, taken as Ms. Merkel met with a group of students in Rostock on Wednesday, shows the girl asking to avoid deportation, so she can pursue her teenage dreams and enjoy the same security as her German friends. |
| “I’m here now,” she says, “but I don’t know what my future looks like as long as I don’t really know that I can stay here.” | “I’m here now,” she says, “but I don’t know what my future looks like as long as I don’t really know that I can stay here.” |
| The girl’s plea put a human face to the dilemma of tens of thousands of newcomers from Syria, other parts of the Middle East and Africa, who have been pouring into Europe seeking economic opportunities and shelter from strife. Many are applying for refugee status, saying that they would be in danger if they returned to their homelands. | The girl’s plea put a human face to the dilemma of tens of thousands of newcomers from Syria, other parts of the Middle East and Africa, who have been pouring into Europe seeking economic opportunities and shelter from strife. Many are applying for refugee status, saying that they would be in danger if they returned to their homelands. |
| Germany, along with Italy, had been pressing for a European Union proposal that is all but dead, that would assign member nations a quota of migrants. So far, Italy has borne the brunt of the problem, as thousands make the perilous journey by boat across the Mediterranean and enter Europe at its southernmost border. | Germany, along with Italy, had been pressing for a European Union proposal that is all but dead, that would assign member nations a quota of migrants. So far, Italy has borne the brunt of the problem, as thousands make the perilous journey by boat across the Mediterranean and enter Europe at its southernmost border. |
| Hundreds of thousands of migrants have entered Germany in the last year, hoping to share in its strong economy. | Hundreds of thousands of migrants have entered Germany in the last year, hoping to share in its strong economy. |
| Ms. Merkel’s government has repeatedly emphasized the need to welcome the newcomers and to provide housing and other services, even as a right-wing anti-immigrant movement has grown and taken to the streets in protest. | Ms. Merkel’s government has repeatedly emphasized the need to welcome the newcomers and to provide housing and other services, even as a right-wing anti-immigrant movement has grown and taken to the streets in protest. |
| But in the encounter with the girl, Ms. Merkel pointed out that not every migrant can find shelter in Europe, and that not every applicant for asylum or other legal status can be approved. | But in the encounter with the girl, Ms. Merkel pointed out that not every migrant can find shelter in Europe, and that not every applicant for asylum or other legal status can be approved. |
| “Politics is sometimes hard,” the chancellor says in the video. “Some people will have to go back.” | “Politics is sometimes hard,” the chancellor says in the video. “Some people will have to go back.” |
| News reports said that the girl, identified only by her first name, Reem, had been in Germany for four years and narrowly avoided deportation. The chancellor’s office on Thursday declined to reveal her age or last name. | News reports said that the girl, identified only by her first name, Reem, had been in Germany for four years and narrowly avoided deportation. The chancellor’s office on Thursday declined to reveal her age or last name. |
| She was among 32 mostly teenage students who were assembled Wednesday in the Baltic port of Rostock for one of the chancellor’s sessions in a listening campaign called Gut Leben in Deutschland, or Living Well in Germany. | She was among 32 mostly teenage students who were assembled Wednesday in the Baltic port of Rostock for one of the chancellor’s sessions in a listening campaign called Gut Leben in Deutschland, or Living Well in Germany. |
| The young Palestinian spends several minutes calmly explaining her story to Ms. Merkel in fluent German, mentioning that her father is forbidden to work because the family does not have a permanent residence permit; that she hopes to go to university; and that she would love to feel as secure as her peers in enjoying their teenage lives. | The young Palestinian spends several minutes calmly explaining her story to Ms. Merkel in fluent German, mentioning that her father is forbidden to work because the family does not have a permanent residence permit; that she hopes to go to university; and that she would love to feel as secure as her peers in enjoying their teenage lives. |
| In the video, Ms. Merkel is seen listening sympathetically before explaining to Reem that not everybody can come to Germany and stay here. | In the video, Ms. Merkel is seen listening sympathetically before explaining to Reem that not everybody can come to Germany and stay here. |
| She mentions the possibility that Reem might profit from expedited procedures that Germany is putting in place for asylum seekers. But that policy may well result in more deportations. | She mentions the possibility that Reem might profit from expedited procedures that Germany is putting in place for asylum seekers. But that policy may well result in more deportations. |
| When Reem starts to cry, Ms. Merkel approaches her, pats her on the shoulder and praises her for her articulate presentation of her family’s plight. | When Reem starts to cry, Ms. Merkel approaches her, pats her on the shoulder and praises her for her articulate presentation of her family’s plight. |
| By Thursday, the video of the encounter had provoked criticism of Ms. Merkel as hardhearted and was trending on Twitter under the hashtag #merkelstreichelt, a reference to the chancellor’s effort to comfort the girl. | By Thursday, the video of the encounter had provoked criticism of Ms. Merkel as hardhearted and was trending on Twitter under the hashtag #merkelstreichelt, a reference to the chancellor’s effort to comfort the girl. |
| But the chancellor also had her defenders, including Ines Pohl, a well-known journalist and the former editor of the leftist daily known as Taz. | But the chancellor also had her defenders, including Ines Pohl, a well-known journalist and the former editor of the leftist daily known as Taz. |
| Ms. Merkel could have taken the political path and offered some individual examination of the case of Reem’s family, Ms. Pohl wrote. Instead, “the chancellor was honest and certainly not cold.” | Ms. Merkel could have taken the political path and offered some individual examination of the case of Reem’s family, Ms. Pohl wrote. Instead, “the chancellor was honest and certainly not cold.” |