A council meeting was held recently in the town of Bad Schlema, Saxony, in eastern Germany. The town has a population of about 5,500 and 85 migrants reside in the town.
The meeting proceeded uneventfully until an elderly man asked Mayor Jens Muller a question. The man said he has a granddaughter who he identified only as being under the age of 10. The man asked the mayor what his plans are to prevent sexual assaults against young girls by the town’s migrants. He further said girls have already been sexually harassed by some of these migrants while walking to school and passing by the refugee centre.
The questioner added parents were concerned that when the warm weather comes, these acts will get worse as the girls will be wearing less clothing.
Muller is reported to have answered the man by saying, “That’s easy, just don’t provoke them and don’t walk in these areas.” The mayor later added, “Well, it’s technically not necessary for the girls to walk there. There are alternative routes for going to school.”
Reaction was swift. One of the attendees yelled, “In your own country! You can’t even walk in your own city anymore!” Others called for the mayor’s resignation with one person yelling “Who the hell elected you?”
One person said, “Yeah, let’s all keep one metre distance.” This was in reference to similar comments made by the mayor of Cologne after allegations of sexual assaults committed by migrants on New Year’s Even arose in that city. Mayor Henriette Reker also seemed to blame the victims saying women can avoid being sexually assaulted if they do not get too close to people they do not know and do not have a trusting relationship with. She also told women to travel in groups and not allow themselves to split from the group.
Muller threatened to call police if those at the meeting did not calm down.
Muller is a member of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The Toronto Sun reports a recent poll shows the CDU has its lowest level of support since August 2011. Most voters do not believe Germany has the refugee crisis under control after 1.1 million migrants entered the country last year and after the assaults in Cologne. Only 46 percent of those polled support Merkel and compared to the 75 percent support she and the CDU enjoyed prior to the mass entry of migrants..
