Counting, calculating, comparing
Our perceptions are not only influenced by images and language. We are living in a world in which numbers are ever-present. We comprehend and organize our reality using numbers, figures, statistics—both in private life as well as in science, the economy, and politics.
Numbers and statistics convey a high degree of credibility. But the presentation and references used can influence the conclusions drawn and the effects they have. That is why it is important, if administrators or politicians use the statistics as a basis for far-reaching explanations and decisions, to inquire about their standpoint and aims.
Family reunification
One example of the strategic use of statistics is the political debate that ensued in 2015–16 around the question of family reunification. Up until 2016, refugees were entitled under German law to live together with their spouse, minor children, or parents. In 2016 family reunification was suspended for persons with subsidiary protection status for two years. Numbers in circulation served a certain argument, but could not be verified at the time. Political parties took advantage of insecurity in society in order to deliberately use the statistics for their political goals.
What statistics were
circulated in 2015 und 2016?
Who said what and when?
Lorenz Caffier (Interior Minister of Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, CDU), Interview, Welt am Sonntag, October 4, 2015.
“My personal opinion is that this year we are going to record a total of 1.2 to 1.5 million refugees.”
Ilse Aigner (Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, CSU), Interview, October 9, 2015, Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Horst Seehofer (Bavarian Minister President, CSU), Press statement, January 21, 2016, infoNetwork GmbH/n-tv.
German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Press release, June 8, 2016, BAMF.
Sahra Wagenknecht (Parliamentary party leader, DIE LINKE), Press statement, November 10, 2015, parliamentary party DIE LINKE in the Bundestag.
Sigmar Gabriel (Party chair, SPD), Press statement, January 29, 2016, phoenix.
Thomas de Maizière (Federal Interior Minister, CDU), Bundestag speech, February 19, 2016, German Federal Interior Ministry.
Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Parliamentary party leader, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN), Press statement, June 8, 2016, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN.
“Current BAMF [Federal Office for Migration and Refugees] figures speak for immediately rescinding the legally approved suspension of family reunification. We have to prevent women and children from boarding boats and embarking on the dangerous Mediterranean Sea route because the legal access routes are closed. There was and is no factual basis for the rumors of a tripling or quadrupling of the entry numbers through family reunification.”
Political decision: Suspension of family reunification from 2016 until 2018.
After the two-year suspension of family reunification, it was regulated anew in 2018. The number of family members who are allowed to enter Germany was limited to 12,000 people annually. However, this number has never been reached. A complicated procedure and long processing times have prevented family reunification in many cases. It is extremely common for statistics to be used as a basis for decisions and in resolving political challenges. The people affected by the decisions can all too easily be overlooked.
