Merkel insists she was right

Chancellor Angela Merkel could be applauded for not changing her willingness to take in refugees following the spate of recent attacks which have frayed nerves in Germany which led the way in accepting asylum seekers from Syria. However, the flow of migrants into Germany has greatly decreased as borders have closed and agreements such as the EU's deal with Turkey have kept many would-be migrants well away from Germany. So at her press conference, Merkel’s doubling down on her decision was less about asking Germans to accept more refugees and more about delivering a staunch defense of her open-door policy toward them. Merkel walks a fine line as she insists she was right to allow around a million migrants and refugees to arrive last summer, the most generous migrant policy in all of Europe. But Merkel’s task is not easy amid her own acknowledgement that terrorists may have infiltrated the migrant route to Europe, growing unease in Germany over the asylum seekers, and the ability of individuals to carry out attacks, seemingly at will, across Germany and the rest of Europe. In the wake of the attacks, Germans are asking why Merkel thinks that Germany will succeed in assimilating refugees when France has basically failed. Germany did a remarkable job in the 90s and 2000s integrating their fairly backward eastern German brethren into the existing culture of West Germany. Then again, they have never taken a bite this big, all at once, with the backdrop of the destabilized Middle East. The Germans have been good at indoctrinating immigrants into their culture, and they spend a large amount of financial resources on training and retraining their workforce, which has helped prevent some of the economic isolation that immigrant groups run into in countries like France. But unlike France, they do not have a history of integrating a diverse population. This is all fairly new to them and the Muslim immigrants they are seeking to integrate are by no means easily assimilated. Integration needs good communication which Germans are perhaps not known for. Integration isn't about writing instructions on how to use a washing machine. There is no standard operating procedure to devise or follow. Many Germans will say it was foolish to attempt to integrate so many refugees when they did not really have to. They could have drawn a harder line, accepted a more modest flow of immigrants and refugees, and made life better for everyone concerned. Switzerland has opted to never let in refugees, England is leaving the EU, and Eastern European countries are defiantly building fences to stem immigration. So they wonder whether Merkel was out of touch with reality. On the flip side, it is said that if any country can do it, Germany can. The Germans certainly have created an orderly state, are efficient and follow rules and processes. Many also fail to see how the chancellor might have been able to prevent the recent attacks. In Munich, a natural-born citizen went berserk. In Reutlingen, an argument between a couple got out of hand. How on earth could any occupant of the chancellery have been able to prevent that? Apart from that, just two terrorist attacks out of a million refugees is an excellent ratio. Germans probably thought that all they had to do was let the refugees in and that they would rejoice at their new freedoms and embrace the new ways. Women would take off their hijabs, men would realize that an egalitarian society works best and that their religion is a quiet, private affair. Just like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Merkel believes Muslim refugees want to live the European/American dream. So far, despite the attacks, Germany has successfully assimilated a large number of immigrants. But if there are a few more attacks, it may be a cautionary tale for the rest of the world.