Germany: Fear of the AfD

DW (English)

Foreign students in Cottbus are choosing to live in protected communities. They fear they would be targeted if there are attacks ahead of Brandenburg’s state parliament elections.

Transcript

00:00Abhirami Vinodmanju is from India.

00:05She was happy when she received her place at the University of Technology in Cottbus.

00:10Its GDR predecessor already had a good reputation, and these days more international students

00:15apply to study here than the university can accommodate.

00:20Cottbus was the only university in Germany offering Masters in Artificial Intelligence

00:25and that too an English-oriented course.

00:28So I decided to come to Cottbus, Germany, and the university is offering a diverse and

00:33vigorous study programme.

00:38Ehsan Hayat was born in Pakistan.

00:41Almost half of the around 7,000 students here come from abroad, mainly from India, Pakistan

00:46and Bangladesh.

00:48The 33-year-old is doing a doctorate in Experimental Physics.

00:52Ehsan also appreciates the university's international cosmopolitan orientation.

00:58It is confidential and we can bring our concerns and they can also highlight what we can do

01:05to make it in the right direction.

01:08But there's a problem.

01:10There may not be right-wing graffiti here in Cottbus city centre, yet the surrounding

01:14area is anything but cosmopolitan.

01:17The far-right AFD party currently leads in polls for the upcoming September state elections

01:22here, as well as in two other eastern German states holding elections.

01:27Cottbus' AFD candidates are even being monitored by Germany's domestic intelligence agency.

01:32And Adelina Awemo, the Christian Democratic Union candidate, was racially assaulted.

01:38One of the people concerned about the increasingly xenophobic climate in the region is university

01:42president Gesine Grande.

01:45Over the years, the extreme right-wing networks, associations and organisations here have developed

01:53an unusual level of coordination and cooperation, and that's created a very specific milieu.

01:59It's not for nothing that the domestic intelligence agency keeps coming back to the region.

02:06They want to shed light on what's going on in these networks.

02:13Abhirami hasn't had any problems so far, neither on campus nor in the city.

02:19Far-right stickers do occasionally show up on campus.

02:23Far-right members have also tried to book rooms for events, and well-known right-wing

02:27extremists have enrolled in order to influence discussions.

02:34We don't want to live in such an unhealthy environment.

02:38All we need is to be accessible and present in an inclusive environment like Cottbus.

02:45So far the city is very welcoming and pleasant.

02:47I don't know if it's the case when the right-wing is coming to action.

02:51I'm really afraid, and it's a kind of threat to our lives as well.

02:58To counter this, Cottbus University has developed a programme against right-wing extremism,

03:02the first of its kind in Germany.

03:04This includes workshops, education on right-wing symbols, and clear messaging such as the motto

03:09on this bench, No Place for Racism.

03:12Cottbus is a pioneer in this respect.

03:16We're now going to work with other German universities nationwide to develop a common

03:20plan of action on how to deal with the far-right exerting its influence.

03:30Ehsan is married with two children and has been living in Cottbus for nine years.

03:34He also hasn't experienced any hostility, be it in the neighbourhood or at the gym.

03:40But the prospect of the far-right AFD coming first in the elections worries him.

03:47Our kids are born here.

03:48They are growing up, but still, you know, nobody knows if they are really born in Germany

03:54or they come from Pakistan because of the appearance of our kids.

04:00And in the street or at some point they could be in danger.

04:03So we are also afraid of this, like what the future holds for our kids.

04:09Other students feel the same way.

04:12Gesine Grande fears for the university's good reputation abroad, but she is not afraid

04:17of the AFD itself.

04:21Even if the worst case were ever to come about and we ended up with an AFD-led government,

04:27we would still have our university autonomy.

04:29And no politician of any shade can dictate what we research or teach or how we organise

04:36our campus life.

04:37No one.

04:38That's protected by the constitution and that's a good thing.

04:45Both Abhirami and Ehsan would like to plan their futures in Cottbus.

04:49And the region urgently needs such qualified workers.

04:53So there is a lot at stake for everyone in the upcoming state elections.

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