Bonn: About 600,000 asylum seekers got an unpleasant surprise when they went to collect their living allowances in early November. Their payments had been cut by 25% and came as coupons instead of cash.
In is part of a calculated effort by the German government, which has shut the door on new asylum seekers and wants those already living here to feel less at home. Advocates for the right to asylum say the policy is racist, paternalistic and inhumane.
To atone for its Nazi past, West Germany had one of the world’s most liberal asylum laws until July. Then the reunited Germany made an about-face, turning away most asylum applicants at the border. While tightening its borders, the government, hit by the worst economic slump of the postwar era, is tightening the belts of the asylum seekers it hosts.
Monthly payments were cut from an average of about $360 to about $268, with only $49 of that in cash; Funds for clothing and medical care were also cut.
German officials hope the new regulations will save the government up to $1.5 billion.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 12, 1993
