In an interview with the newspaper Bild, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called Germany a "beacon of hope, social integration, economic growth and human compassion" and warned that it can't become a "fortress" that denies migrants the right to integrate into German society. He further advised Germans not to judge all Afghans just because some had committed crimes, stating that many are very productive workers.
"Could anybody have imagined in 1945 that Germany would be such a formidable economic and social power on Earth? It is because it opened itself up. It fundamentally transformed itself, and re-espoused its classic liberal values of philosophy, human engagement," Ashraf Ghani said.
At the same time the Afghan president spoke against unlimited migration from Afghanistan to the European country, adding that many of those who do so, are led by a false belief that streets in Germany "are paved with gold." Ashraf Ghani said he is going to combat such beliefs with an information campaign. The president further noted that many Afghans, considered part of the middle class at home and have higher positions are often forced to do manual labor in Germany.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government is facing a public backlash over an increased number of crimes carried out by migrants, who flooded into the country in 2015, when Germany adopted open door policy to take in refugees from Syria and other Middle East countries. The murder of a German carpenter in Chemnitz by migrants from Iraq and Syria at the end of August sparked several days of protests in the city that drew both right-wing activists and ordinary citizens.
