Ahead of next month’s federal election in Germany, German Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU) leader Angela Merkel held a campaign rally at Koblenz, Germany on Wednesday.
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU) leader (German): “We learned that we hadn’t cared enough about refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon. We hadn’t cared about the fact that there were already three million refugees in Turkey. We hadn’t looked at how the life conditions in Africa were – in any case, not sufficiently. It brought us to the situation where people didn’t have any chances, that they delivered themselves up to smugglers, that thousands died. We cannot stay uninvolved, we need to tackle the causes of migration on the ground, to make sure that people around the world have a decent live. And when people come to us, it must be legal, not through smugglers.”
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU) leader (German): “Of course, integration of those who can stay here is an important task. I believe, we all agree that Germany is such a country as it is because we adhere to the laws, and adhere to our principles. It means we invite everyone to integration. It doesn’t mean that you should forget your culture, you can keep it in your heart, but it also means that you should be open to the new society, integrate into it and above all learn the language, because we can only understand each other if we speak German.”