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Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Mama Merkel: the ‘compassionate mother’ of Syrian refugees

Her stance over Greek debt earned comparisons to Hitler, but Syrians have taken to social media to post heartfelt tributes to the German chancellor Angela Merkel is seven months old and currently lives in a refugee camp in Hanover, with about 700 other migrants from 33 countries. Her mother, 26-year-old Ghanaian Ophelya Adé, arrived in Germany this year, after crossing the Mediterranean while heavily pregnant. In an interview with Der Spiegel, she said she named her daughter after the German chancellor because: “I was so grateful, so relieved that Angela Merkel is accepting us, so impressed with what this woman is achieving here.” Heartfelt tributes such as these are not exceptional among the migrant communities stationed on Europe’s borders: barely a month after Germany’s intransigence over Greek debt saw protesters likening her to Hitler, Merkel is suddenly finding herself at the receiving end of a virtual love-in on social media. Continue reading...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com