Cologne Attacks: German Women Respond By Handing Out Flowers To Refugees
Women In Germany Are Handing Out Flowers To Refugees
Eve Hartley— The Huffington Post UK
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German women are handing flowers to refugees across the country to protest against violence, in light of the Cologne New Year’s Day attacks.
The 'Flowers for Humanity in Cologne' campaign took to the streets on Friday and saw close to one hundred women visit the city's biggest refugee center to present them with roses.
An ongoing gesture, thousands more are expected to join in similar events this weekend, after an online gathering is campaigning for an end to xenophobia.
It comes after attacks in Cologne where some 90 women claimed to have been sexually assaulted, and some raped.
In turn, refugees handed out flowers to women in German cities to show their respect.
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The ongoing action for women is set up by Avaaz, a global web movement, which is expecting thousands more to turnout this weekend.
Anne Agius, a woman who participated in the event in Cologne on Friday, said: “After the shocking attacks here in Cologne, we Germans are at a crossroads. Will we take the road of division and xenophobia? Or will we choose the road of unity and humanity that will ultimately also keep our country safer?
"While condemning the despicable acts of New Year's Eve, today, hundreds of women here and across the country are choosing to build bridges and overcome fear by reaching out in love.”
Earlier this month a group of German feminists wrote an open letter asking that sexual violence is not attributed to race or ethnicity, in the aftermath of the attacks.
The women's rights activists wrote: "It is harmful for all of us if feminism is exploited by extremists to incite against certain ethnicities, as is currently being done in the discussion surrounding the incidents in Cologne."
The pressure comes after Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would consider making Germany’s immigration laws tougher and she said that she would look at making it easier to deport immigrants who commit crimes.
Flowers For Cologane
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A refugee from Afghanistan smells on a rose he received from a German woman during an action of German women demonstrating against violence in Cologne, western Germany on January 22, 2016.Hundreds of women were groped and robbed in a throng of mostly Arab and North African men during New Year's festivities in Cologne. German authorities said that nearly all the suspects in a rash of New Year's Eve violence against women in Cologne were 'of foreign origin', as foreigners came under attack amid surging tensions. / AFP / PATRIK STOLLARZ (Photo credit should read PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PATRIK STOLLARZ via Getty Images)
(03 of12)
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(credit:Avaaz)
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A refugee from Morocco holds flowers in his hands in front of a refugee camp during an action of German women demonstrating against violence in Cologne, western Germany on January 22, 2016.Hundreds of women were groped and robbed in a throng of mostly Arab and North African men during New Year's festivities in Cologne. German authorities said that nearly all the suspects in a rash of New Year's Eve violence against women in Cologne were 'of foreign origin', as foreigners came under attack amid surging tensions. / AFP / PATRIK STOLLARZ (Photo credit should read PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PATRIK STOLLARZ via Getty Images)
(06 of12)
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(credit:Avaaz)
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A refugee woman from Afghanistan holds flowers in her hands in front of a refugee camp during an action of German women demonstrating against violence in Cologne, western Germany on January 22, 2016.Hundreds of women were groped and robbed in a throng of mostly Arab and North African men during New Year's festivities in Cologne. German authorities said that nearly all the suspects in a rash of New Year's Eve violence against women in Cologne were 'of foreign origin', as foreigners came under attack amid surging tensions. / AFP / PATRIK STOLLARZ (Photo credit should read PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PATRIK STOLLARZ via Getty Images)
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Refugees from Afghanistan hold flowers in their hands in front of a refugee camp during an action of German women demonstrating against violence in Cologne, western Germany on January 22, 2016.Hundreds of women were groped and robbed in a throng of mostly Arab and North African men during New Year's festivities in Cologne. German authorities said that nearly all the suspects in a rash of New Year's Eve violence against women in Cologne were 'of foreign origin', as foreigners came under attack amid surging tensions. / AFP / PATRIK STOLLARZ (Photo credit should read PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PATRIK STOLLARZ via Getty Images)
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Refugees from Iran hold flowers in their hands in front of a refugee camp during an action of German women demonstrating against violence in Cologne, western Germany on January 22, 2016.Hundreds of women were groped and robbed in a throng of mostly Arab and North African men during New Year's festivities in Cologne. German authorities said that nearly all the suspects in a rash of New Year's Eve violence against women in Cologne were 'of foreign origin', as foreigners came under attack amid surging tensions. / AFP / PATRIK STOLLARZ (Photo credit should read PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PATRIK STOLLARZ via Getty Images)
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Refugees stand at a fence and chat with a woman with a rose in her hand in front of a refugee camp during an action of German women demonstrating against violence in Cologne, western Germany on January 22, 2016.Hundreds of women were groped and robbed in a throng of mostly Arab and North African men during New Year's festivities in Cologne. German authorities said that nearly all the suspects in a rash of New Year's Eve violence against women in Cologne were 'of foreign origin', as foreigners came under attack amid surging tensions. / AFP / PATRIK STOLLARZ (Photo credit should read PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PATRIK STOLLARZ via Getty Images)
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A refugee from Morocco holds flowers in his hands in front of a refugee camp during an action of German women demonstrating against violence in Cologne, western Germany on January 22, 2016.Hundreds of women were groped and robbed in a throng of mostly Arab and North African men during New Year's festivities in Cologne. German authorities said that nearly all the suspects in a rash of New Year's Eve violence against women in Cologne were 'of foreign origin', as foreigners came under attack amid surging tensions. / AFP / PATRIK STOLLARZ (Photo credit should read PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PATRIK STOLLARZ via Getty Images)