Germany-Refugees: Influx of refugees creates tension in Germany - by K. Grieshaber

Daniel Krawczyk is convinced bad things will happen to his Berlin neighborhood once the refugees move in: ‘‘They'll break into our basements,’’ he says, ‘‘steal our kids’ cell phones, bring crime and violence and take away our jobs.’’

The 29-year-old janitor in the eastern outskirts of Berlin is among many locals up in arms over the city’s plans to turn an empty high school into a center for up to 400 asylum seekers, part of growing opposition to refugee shelters across the country.

The boat-is-full mentality in Germany is finding an echo in the government: ‘‘Even an economically strong country like Germany is considerably challenged’’ by the influx, Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said recently, in an apparent attempt to reflect voter fears two months ahead of general elections. Meanwhile the far-right is exploiting anti-refugee fears, seeking new supporters as its members participate in rallies against new asylum shelters.

About 43,000 people applied for asylum in Germany in the first six months of 2013, almost double the roughly 23,000 for the same period in 2012. While the numbers are a far cry from the hundreds of thousands who flowed into Germany at the height of the 1990s Yugoslavia wars, German cities still find themselves struggling to cope with the influx of recent refugees, mainly from Syria, Chechnya and Afghanistan. Germany is the top destination for refugees to the European Union, followed by Sweden, France and Britain, all of which also received thousands of asylum applications during the last few months.

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