Germans demonstrate in Berlin to support refugees

Nearly 1,000 people have taken to the streets in the German capital of Berlin to show their support for refugees and protest against racism and Islamophobia.

The demonstrators participated in the rally on “Berlin’s Global Action Day against Racism” on Sunday.

They marched through Berlin’s districts, holding signs that condemned racism and Islamophobia. They also carried banners reading “Against all racism, against Islamophobia,” and held signs that read, “No one puts their children on a boat unless the water is safer than the land.”

The event’s organizers said the demonstration aimed to raise awareness among people about challenges facing refugees who are living in the city shelters.

Germany opened its borders to the refugees last summer with a welcoming mood, but it gradually shifted away from the policy and now Chancellor Angela Merkel stresses that the number of refugees arriving in the country needs to be reduced.

“The federal government has completely changed its refugee policy, even if it does not admit that,” said Horst Seehofer, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU).