German President sends "Message of Love" on Christmas 2014

On the occasion of Christmas 2014, German President Joachim Gauck sent a "Message of Love," calling on people to extend their kindness to refugees across Germany.

German President Joachim Gauck. (Source: dw.de)

In his speech, President Gauck expressed his hope that the German people will always be tolerant and ready to welcome refugees to Germany to demonstrate their noble humanitarian spirit.

This message was issued in the context of a growing wave of anti-Islamic and xenophobic protests in Germany, led by a group calling itself "Europeans Against the Islamization of the West" (PEGIDA). However, the group's activities have faced fierce opposition from German public opinion.

Previously, in a televised speech on December 18, President Gauck said that the fact that German people opened their hearts to the unfortunate and that most people did not listen to those who wanted to "isolate Germany" was an encouraging thing this year.

As a country with a stronger economy than other countries in the Eurozone, Germany has become a top destination for immigrants. Germany is currently the leading country in Europe in receiving immigrants. Since the beginning of the year, Germany has received more than 180,000 asylum applications.

The number of immigrants to Germany has increased rapidly in recent times, especially as conflicts escalate in Iraq and Syria. In 2008, Germany received 28,000 immigrants, by 2012 this number increased to 77,000 and by last year it reached 127,000.

According to Vietnam+