The author of the guide for refugees was criticized for his ill-chosen tone
According to Russkaya Germaniya, the total number of new residents of Hardheim now amounts to nearly a thousand people. It is clear that such a number of outsiders is not to everyone's liking in the village. However, it must be said that many local residents voluntarily help refugees, supplying them with food and clothing, helping them learn German. But this community made it into the news for a different reason. The reason for the increased attention of the German press to the small village lies in a special guide prepared by the local mayor Volker Rom for refugees.
The politician, who represents the Free Voters party (Freie Wähler), supposedly had a good intention: to help refugees integrate into German society as quickly as possible, to make their temporary stay in Hardheim more comfortable. But as a result, the mayor has to justify himself, because he was accused of racism and discrimination. Why? Because he allegedly chose the wrong tone for his message to refugees.
“In Germany, people respect the property of others, so you may not enter other people's land. You may not pick vegetables and fruits that do not belong to you,” Mr. Rom informs the new residents of the village. “Germany is a clean country, garbage must be thrown into specially designated garbage cans,” the guide states.
The message also gives advice on behavior in local stores: “In Germany, you first pay for goods in the supermarket, and then open them.” Advice on personal hygiene was not forgotten: “We relieve ourselves exclusively in toilets, not in gardens or parks, not near fences or in bushes.” The issue of communication between refugees and locals also did not escape the mayor's attention. “Young women consider it harassment when asked for a phone number or personal data on Facebook. Moreover, they do not want to marry anyone,” the guide summarizes.
After this message was reprinted by leading German publications, the mayor of Hardheim gives interviews to the press almost daily. According to him, his letter in no way conveys all the existing negative clichés about refugees. The politician declares that he did not at all want to spread “conjectures that all refugees are thieves and cheats, do not observe hygiene, and harass women.” “I assure you, everything written is based on specific incidents that we would like to avoid in the future,” Herr Rom vowed.
Interestingly, some of the refugees housed in Hardheim, who were asked for comments by journalists, acknowledged that the problems described in the guide do indeed exist. At the same time, some asylum seekers even apologized for the behavior of their neighbors. Meanwhile, it is expected that by the end of the year the number of new residents of the village will grow to two thousand.