Bekir Altaş, Secretary General of the Islamic Community Millî Görüş (IGMG), released a statement regarding the increasing complaints from people who are active in helping refugees. “The unequal treatment of refugees is causing increasing resentment among those who are negatively affected and those involved in helping refugees. Integration facilitations that apply to people from Ukraine must be open to all those seeking protection,” said Altaş and continued his statement as follows:

“Those involved in helping refugees welcome the facilitating steps and integration assistance for Ukrainians. However, they would also like to see the same conditions for those seeking protection from other countries. The preferential treatment of refugees from Ukraine while at the same time discriminating against refugees from other countries is causing more and more incomprehension. This, in turn, has a negative impact on the morale and willingness of the people who do invaluable work in helping refugees.

Politics should always take the commitment of volunteers into account. Without their selfless commitment, the challenges of 2015 could not have been overcome, and their work is still very valuable today. However, in view of the increasing unequal treatment of refugees, their enthusiasm diminishes. What previously seemed impossible in the context of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan or other countries from these regions is being made possible for Ukrainians in an expedited procedure. We expressly welcome this, but demand a fundamental change of mentality that extends to all refugees and discriminates none.

The Islamic Community Millî Görüş calls on the Federal Government to show more tact in its refugee policy. The general impression that people are being discriminated against because of their origin, language, religion or culture must not be perpetuated. This would not only have fatal consequences for those affected or those helping, but also for some parts of the population in Germany.

That is why we urgently appeal to the Federal Government to grant all refugees the same facilitations and opportunities that are granted to Ukrainians: in education, in the recognition of foreign qualifications, in access to health care, to state aid or in the area of the right of residence. There is no justifiable or concrete reason for treating refugees unequally, but there are many reasons to treat them equally – and the most important one of these reasons is in the Basic Law.”