Ulrich Siegmund (left), lead candidate of the far-right party « Alternative for Germany » (AfD) in the Saxony-Anhalt regional elections, addresses his supporters alongside his wife Julia Siegmund during the election night organized by the AfD in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on Sep. 6, 2026, following the Saxony-Anhalt regional elections. (Credit: Ronny Hartmann/AFP)
From Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt, Zahra* felt her anxiety rise when the Alternative for Germany (AfD) was declared the winner of the regional elections Monday. ''It was a shock,'' said the artist and visual arts teacher in her 40s. Arriving from Damascus in 2015, she has lived in this city in eastern Germany for the past 11 years.That same year, 1.2 million Syrians fled the civil war and the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, like her, for Germany, which has since become home to Europe’s largest Syrian diaspora. ''Magdeburg is not just where I live. It has become my home,'' she said. The rise of the far right now shakes her sense of belonging. ''When I hear anti-migrant rhetoric or people talking about deporting certain populations, I wonder: Are my family and I truly welcome here...
From Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt, Zahra* felt her anxiety rise when the Alternative for Germany (AfD) was declared the winner of the regional elections Monday. ''It was a shock,'' said the artist and visual arts teacher in her 40s. Arriving from Damascus in 2015, she has lived in this city in eastern Germany for the past 11 years.That same year, 1.2 million Syrians fled the civil war and the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, like her, for Germany, which has since become home to Europe’s largest Syrian diaspora. ''Magdeburg is not just where I live. It has become my home,'' she said. The rise of the far right now shakes her sense of belonging. ''When I hear anti-migrant rhetoric or people talking about deporting certain populations, I wonder: Are my family and I truly welcome here...
Israeli army continues explosions in Mansouri, strikes in Nabatieh district