Lack of Prospects for Better Future 'Pushes Young Refugees Towards Terror'

Commenting on the recent Berlin attack allegedly committed by a 24-year-old asylum seeker from Tunisia, who drove a truck into a crowd at a Christmas market in the center of the city, Ezzedine Zerria from the German-Tunisian society explained to Sputnik what might compel young Tunisians to commit such villainous attacks.

On December 19, a truck drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in the center of Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring over 40 others.

The suspect, Anis Amri, is a 24-year-old asylum seeker from Tunisia. He reportedly fled to Milan, where he was killed in a shootout with police.

On Saturday, the Tunisian Interior Ministry said it has arrested three suspects, aged between 18 and 27, who are allegedly linked to the attacker, including the nephew of Anis Amri.

He reportedly confessed that Amri had urged him to join Daesh and sent him money to be able to travel to Germany.

Commenting on the heinous attack and the subsequent arrests, Ezzedine Zerria from the German-Tunisian society explained to Sputnik Deutschland what might compel young Tunisians to commit such villainous acts of terror.

At the very start of the interview, Ezzedine Zerria expressed his sincere condolences to the relatives of those killed and those injured in the attack.

"This crime has been committed by one single person, not by any society, group or country," he told Sputnik.

"The relationship between our countries should not be ruined by such acts of terror," he said.

He recalled that his home country has also suffered from numerous terrorist attacks, including one on the Tunisian island of Djerba, at the tourist resort at Port El Kantaoui and in the Tunisian capital, Tunis.

No city in the world, he said, could claim that it is absolutely safe from terrorists.

With regards to the recent terrorist attack allegedly committed by his fellow countryman, Zerria, who is in charge of the Ruhr University Bochum campus canteen, suggested that the reason these young radical Islamists hate society may be that they lack any prospects for a better future.

"The young people have nothing to dream about. They see no prospects for a better future and shrink into themselves. And in such a condition, a man is capable of doing anything," he said.

Such people, he continued, are very easy to manipulate and certain powers take advantage of them while pursuing their own purposes. Additionally, there are people who deliberately search for a way to die.

"We don't have the means to dissuade the people searching for death from doing it," he said, adding that he hopes the Germans do understand that not all Tunisians are terrorists.

"I am ashamed to say that I am Tunisian and Muslim. Why? Some religious lunatics have lost their senses and rushed to save Islam. However, only the Lord is able to defend it. Not me or any other human being."

Zerria has been married to a German for 30 years. His wife is Catholic and he is a devout Muslim. Together with their son, they are looking forward to peaceful holidays.

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