Why a German Turk opened a hotline for the some distance merely

It used to be early 2016 and 20 refugees had arrived in the east German town of Clausnitz.

An offended mob greeted the bus that carried them, blockading the road with their autos and shouting on the visibly distressed refugees.

The scene used to be captured on video, which used to be first uploaded by customers of an anti-refugee Facebook page.

It used to be this shaded, shaky video that left Ali Can feeling unnerved.

« This can rep been me on the bus, » said the 24-year-susceptible, whose family left Turkey and sought asylum in Germany when he used to be two years susceptible.

There rep been several original incidents of xenophobia in Germany, a rustic that seen virtually 900,000 refugees and migrants advance in 2015 alone.

« I was questioning the build the hate used to be coming from, » Ali suggested Al Jazeera. « Why used to be there no empathy? »

In March 2016, he toured east Germany, a space dwelling to burning anti-immigration sentiment.

A year earlier, in the east German city of Dresden, shut to the Czech Republic, some 25,000 supporters of the anti-Islam Pegida celebration rallied in opposition to the « Islamisation » of the West.

The celebration has held several identical rallies since, drawing thousands out on to the streets.

Pegida supporters on a typical foundation withhold anti-Islam protests in east Germany, a space dwelling to anti-immigrant sentiment [File: Sean Gallup/Getty Images]

« I researched to discover the build I might secure neo-Nazis or initiatives in opposition to immigrants, » Can said.

His conception? Seek the advice of with of us that didn’t need immigrants like him in Germany and stamp their motives.

Can attended a Pegida rally in the east and marched alongside some distance-merely protesters. When he returned to his dwelling town of Giessen, a girl he had met on the narrate phoned to expose him a pair of good detect she had with a refugee.

« She potentially had no person she might expose which rep too, » Can said.

He idea he had chanced on the resolution: of us wished to talk.

« Most of us rep prejudices and are disquieted of what they manufacture not know, » he said. « Nonetheless that doesn’t mean they are racist. »

‘Call me when you are panicked about refugees’

Later, motivated by the pictures of the chanting mob in Clausnitz, Can posted a video revealing his mobile phone number on Facebook, spellbinding of us to name him.

« You might additionally reach me on this number when you are panicked, offended or qualified rep questions in regards to the increasing number of refugees in Germany, » Can said in the video, in August.

Beforehand, he had held workshops to educate of us about immigration.

Racism and prejudice are principally rooted in the worry of shedding withhold an eye fixed on.

Ali Can, hotline creator

300 and sixty five days has handed since he began to get mobile phone calls from strangers.

In that time, he has got roughly 200 calls.

His hotline is originate twice per week for a few hours.

« Once in some time no person calls, some days six of us name, » he said.

Integrating refugees, the perceived incompatibility of Islam with German tradition, and the worry that migrants manufacture Germany much less protected are the foremost topics discussed.

After an attack, Ali said he receives more calls than current and callers can become more aggressive.

« Racism and prejudice are principally rooted in the worry of shedding withhold an eye fixed on and the unknown, as smartly as susceptible-customary thinking structures, » he said. « It be finest to meet these fears in person. »

As a primitive asylum seeker, he’s smartly positioned to abet rid of us of their fears.

« I’m the example that integration can work, » said Can, who’s studying to become a German language trainer.

He wants to glue with voters of the some distance-merely, anti-immigration AfD (Different for Germany) that turned the third strongest celebration in the country’s federal election earlier in 2017.

Protesters marched in opposition to the AfD, a much-merely celebration that did smartly in polls [File: Alexander Koerner/Getty Images]

Ali has reach to needless to bid his foremost role is to hear.

« Then I build a question to questions to study up on how worthy doable there might be and expose my rep anecdotes, » he said.

List facts that dispute the caller’s idea would not work. As a replace, he looks for similarities.

If somebody calls to convey that they are alive to to curb the number of refugees to with out a doubt feel protected, Ali will expose that he too wants to are residing in a get country.

« It be in regards to the caller reflecting [upon] himself critically [during the conversation]. It be not qualified about convincing or lecturing him. »

Allowing of us to focus on their fears decreases the possibility of them turning to merely-cruise populists, who employ these fears to device their political agenda, he said.

‘Nothing greater’ than talking to one another

Nonetheless can Ali’s manner in actuality rep an cease?

Holger Lengfeld, a sociologist on the University of Leipzig who has researched AfD voters, thinks it with out a doubt sends a factual message.

« Talking to one another is continuously factual, there is nothing greater, » he suggested Al Jazeera. « One amongst the foundations of democracy is that it’s good to hear to opinions of others even when you manufacture not like them.

« It does signal one thing that democracy desires: we rep varied views, nonetheless we rep to withhold talking to one another. »

Nonetheless he acknowledged that many are closed off to dialogue.

« You are most productive in a space to seek the advice of with these which are inviting to complete so – and that is the reason the predicament, » he said.

As smartly as to mobile phone calls, Ali also receives emails and typically even deepest visits.

In a book he honest currently wrote in regards to the hotline, he recounts how an AfD voter visited his fogeys’ takeaway restaurant to talk to him.

The same man now on a typical foundation passes by for a meal, talking to Can and his family.

« I are wanting so that you can add grey areas to the image that is principally painted shaded and white – which is, on the one hand, the factual of us, and, on the alternative hand, the racists, » he said.

His motto is « enjoy is stronger than hate. »

« Sure, it be naive, » he said. After a short silence, he added: « What’s the alternative? »

Syrian refugees and their young of us support an election campaign rally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in September [File: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters]