Several years ago, the German Language Society (GfdS) named the word Wutbürger, which in German means "enraged citizen," as the most important German word of the year. The choice reflected the mood of the society in a particular period, during which angry masses took to the streets in protest of the politics of the government regarding a number of hot-button issues.
Ahead of the country's parliamentary elections, Sputnik Deutschland has talked with two public activists Colly and Evi, the organizers of a protest group, who explained why this word still remains hot and trendy.
Their group, however, is not a registered organization and is a lot smaller. Their demonstrations gather maximum 250 people. The characteristic feature of their rallies is an open microphone, where everyone can voice his opinion on any social issues.The two retired ladies started participating in protests three years ago, with the start of the refugee crisis in Europe and Germany in particular. They set up a small group on Facebook, similar to the country's PEGIDA movement (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West), which believes that Germany is being Islamicized and opposes Islamic extremism.
"They are being fooled the same way we are, but they do not notice it so far. But what they will do when they stop getting benefits and allowances," the two activists wonder.
Colly and Evi stress that they have nothing against refugees. Turkish taxi drivers and Italian restaurant owners are well integrated into German society. The situation, however, is quite different with other newcomers, and the government constantly lies about refugees.
"And those in power simply set us against each other and rub their hands," they add.
The two ladies said that immigration in Germany has reached the scale of resettlement of peoples, which is being supported by the state. They, however, call for the so-called Canadian model of immigration, where migrants are required to speak the country's languages, have certain level of capital and documentarily confirm their profession. And nobody is calling these requirements Nazi, they say.
Colly and Evi therefore call for the securing of external borders and control of immigration in Europe in order to block the way for terrorism.
"Germany is the only country which invites everyone, with or without passport," they say.
"The programs of the participating parties lack suggestions on the migration law. … I don't see any party that would be able to protect my interests throughout the four-year term," Colly told Sputnik. The two ladies further explained why they are not going to vote during Sunday's parliamentary elections.
She also noted that there is only visibility of democracy.
"Nobody had ever asked us whether we want the euro or the European Union," she said.
"Any country should be able to make decisions on its national level. Why should the EU define which lamps should be allowed in any particular country," she wondered.
"One more thing that I can't understand is why a Russian should all of a sudden become my enemy. However, there is a different point of view in Western Germany, as well as regarding [Syrian President] Assad, who, we stress, had been elected. And this is a democracy. This remains a huge difference between Eastern and Western Germany," Colly concluded.
