Luisa Neubauer, environmental and climate activist, speaks at the “We are the daughters” rally organized by the “Together Against the Right” initiative in front of the CDU federal office in response to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s statements linking migration to problems in German cities. Merz told a journalist that he has “nothing to take back” and added that “anyone who sees it in everyday life” knows that he is right. People who had daughters would know exactly what he meant, Merz said. Credit: Lilli Förter/dpa
Sixty women, including artists, researchers and politicians, have called on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to address real public safety concerns, after he suggested “daughters” feel unsafe because of migrants.
“We are happy to talk about safety for daughters, i.e. women,” the women write in the open letter published on Tuesday.
“However, we want to do it seriously, and not use it as a cheap excuse to justify racist narratives,” write the signatories, who include prominent Green lawmaker Ricarda Lang, writers Mithu Sanyal and Tupoka Ogette, as well as Luisa Neubauer, a leading figure in Germany’s Fridays for Future climate movement.
Their demands come as Germany is embroiled in a heated debate sparked by comments made by Merz linking crime in public spaces to migrants, statements that have drawn protests in several cities.
On October 14, Merz stated that the government was addressing past failures in migration policy and making progress, “but we still have this problem in how our cities look, of course, and that’s why the federal interior minister is facilitating and carrying out large-scale deportations.”
Shortly after that, when asked to clarify his comments, he doubled down, saying: “Ask your daughters what I might have meant by that. I suspect you’ll get a pretty clear and direct answer.”
On Wednesday, he clarified that the problems were caused by migrants who do not have permanent residency status, do not work and do not comply with the rules in Germany.
In the text, the women call for “a public space in which all people feel at ease”.
The letter includes 10 specific demands to improve “safety for daughters,” including better prosecution of sexual and domestic violence, better lighting and surveillance of public spaces, and adequate funding for women’s shelters and safe houses.
