Men who don’t want to be burned in Ukraine or are Putin’s spies? Omid Nouripour isn’t so sure.
Photo: AP/dpa/ Zurab Tsertsvadze
Imagine if Gelsenkirchen would be deserted within a few days. The same number of men, 261,000, have left Russia since the mobilization began. And the stream of fleeing men doesn’t stop. Hardly any of them will make it into the EU. It has already closed its borders and even illegally sent a man back to Estonia.
Europe is repeating its mistake of February when it gave Russians the cold shoulder and told them that it was their own fault and that they should suffer. But the current situation is different. Without exaggeration, it is a matter of life and death. When, if not in war, should men conscientious objection? The idea seems to have reached at least the Social Democrat Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. She was open to accepting Russians, she said a few days ago. Unfortunately nothing has happened since then.
The fact that the Green coalition partner puts Russians under general suspicion makes admission even more difficult. The co-leader of the party, Omid Nouripour, calls for security checks to rule out free riders. The fear of mobilization is not enough to get asylum in Germany, he thinks. Instead of saving men from death, Nouripour sees them as Kremlin spies and praises the Balts for their Russophobic policies. Yet every Russian who is in Europe cannot fight for Putin.
Germany has discarded its welcoming culture. Origin is more important than the question of survival. Russian men are being shown the middle finger outstretched right now. Suspicion instead of admission: it is an act of failure to provide assistance.
