Travelling to rich countries is for sure the dream of many people living in emerging economies, as is the case of Paraguay, a small country that has strong similarities with Brazil, such as the language that is very similar, the cuisine, culture and even the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant, which besides being the second largest hydroelectric power plant in the world is half Paraguayan and half Brazilian.
Paraguay is also famous for being a route for those who like to buy cheap products without fiscal note, but recently Paraguay is being known for being a destination or Escape Route for many people coming from Europe, mainly Germans.
But why is this happening in Europe?
Why are Germans fleeing to Paraguay?
What is happening in Germany and how might it affect the country?
Are there any benefits from the arrival of so many Germans in Paraguay?
Find out all that and more here in this article!
A brief introduction to Germany
As many already know, Germany went through two world wars was split in half and lived through hard times. But despite the comings and goings, it was reunified and became the greatest power in Europe and the fourth largest economy in the world. Furthermore, the country is also known for being the birthplace of great names such as Bach, Beethoven, Kant and Nietzsche.
Germany also produced inventions such as the light bulb and the gasoline-powered motor car. In fact, we can say that for decades Germany was an example of a country that worked, but in recent years the country has become the stage for an unprecedented crisis.
Many areas of Germany are no longer as safe as they used to be, especially for women. Violent protests occur frequently, taxes continue to rise, while freedom, quality of life and safety also decline. The government that always received praise now appears to persecute and rule its population with iron hands.
The Historical Context behind what is happening
We need to go back in time a little to understand what is happening in Germany. We can say that all or most of the problems started in 2010, with the war in Syria. Because of this many refugees fled in fear of the horrors of war, but most European countries refused to accept the large contingent of refugees and even imposed barriers and difficulties.
Welcoming Refugees
But Germany went against the grain and was one of the first countries to make exceptions for refugees, and believe me, the German exceptions were much friendlier and broader than other EU countries. In 2015 there was a big wave of refugees heading towards Germany, Arab countries of similar Culture did not want to accept such refugees, and the same ones also had no interest in settling in less economically attractive countries along the way. The way then was to embark on a long dangerous journey to Germany, a journey that would be completed mostly by young men, yes, of these more than 1.2 million refugees that Germany accepted, the overwhelming majority were young men and not women and families, as is the case in Ukraine today, where men were forced to stay and fight.
A Not-So-Wanted Immigrant
Yes, many of these were in fact people fleeing from the war zone, but there were also economic migrants hitching a ride on this crisis. Although there were peaceful people in this milieu who just wanted to live in peace in Germany, there were also huge numbers of men from cultures with problematic attitudes towards women.
And what happens when you import hundreds of thousands of men, and I repeat, men who believe they have a sexual right to any woman who is uncovered?
You don’t need a PhD in sociology to know that this form of cultural enrichment is not going to work very well!
And as I said, there are peaceful men among them, but it is undeniable that there has been a considerable increase in violence and sexual crimes in Germany.
The Reason For Accepting Immigration
Many would say that Germany created the incentives because it needs cheap labour. In short, the fact is that yes, Germany needs skilled and unskilled labour. Being a rich country, Germany could solve this problem in the blink of an eye by attracting people from poor and nearby countries like Albania and Bosnia, countries with a huge amount of European Muslims who would love to work in Germany but cannot due to Barriers of the European Union itself.
Germany could also attract immigration from Mexico, Haiti and even Brazil, in short, in these poor and emerging countries there are millions of men and women too, who would be more than willing to migrate to Germany permanently or temporarily, solving the labour shortage problem. These are immigrants of similar cultures that certainly would not cause the problems Germany is facing.
Protest Against And For Immigration
However, as we know, Germany once again tried to solve one problem by creating another even bigger problem, as soon the Germans found themselves divided about accepting this contingent of male refugees that was increasing every year. Both sides of the argument protested because of the prejudice against refugees and as much as others protested because of the increase of crimes committed by male refugees, such as thefts, burglaries, home invasions, physical aggression and of course, sexual crimes against women.
Despite the huge and disingenuous effort of the left-wing centrist media to downplay or not report such crimes, it is undeniable how much more unsafe Germany has become for women, gays and Jews. Yes, that group doesn’t like Jews either,
These protests also don’t make much of a distinction, while one side thinks that every refugee is good, the other thinks that every refugee is evil. The climate of insecurity took the streets and many violent protests for and against the refugees began to take place, dividing again the country that was already well divided in the past.
Aggravating Factors Caused by the Pandemic
But another problem arose in Germany, further increasing the tension in the already divided population, the pandemic restrictions, such as lockdown and other measures.
The German government wasted no time in adopting tough rules against the non-vaccinated, such as banning people from certain places, reducing contact with non-vaccinated people and many other rules. For many Germans it was as if the government was sowing a culture of separation between vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
And now the debate was wide, high taxes, refugees, crime and other problems. This popular dissatisfaction was gaining strength on both sides and more and more people started to become dissatisfied with government persecution, insecurity, closed businesses, high taxes and increasingly harsh restrictions, and even the cold climate of the country has its share.
Many of these Germans packed their bags and started to flee. At first they were only small groups, but the number began to grow and thousands of Germans were leaving.
But where would the Germans flee to?
The simplest answer would be neighbouring countries. Well, if a German woman doesn’t feel safer in Germany, she just has to go to Poland next door and that’s it, there is no such form of “cultural enrichment” there.
Montenegro further south is much less cold in winter, the currency is the euro, the cost of living is lower and the country is not yet part of the European Union. Next to Montenegro there are also Bosnia, Albania and Croatia, places that do not have those problems that plague Germany. And as long as a German migrating there is not dependent on the local salary, he or she will have a life with much more freedom.
Besides these countries, there are options outside Europe, such as Brazil itself, as long as the German does not depend on the Brazilian salary, there are great places in Brazil where there are considerable German speakers can participate in the Oktoberfest.
Why did the Germans choose Paraguay?
The Germans decided to flee to Paraguay, together with some Russians and Austrians who were also not very happy with their countries. But the million dollar question is:
Why Paraguay and not the more obvious countries already mentioned?
Well, we can say that the Germans chose Paraguay because inside Paraguay there is a “little Germany”. This place is called Colonias Unidas or the German colonies. In this region the Germans speak German, eat German food and maintain the German culture.
Why Are There German Colonies in Paraguay?
It all started at the beginning of the 20th century, when a group of Germans began arriving in Paraguay, these Germans built settlements that later became the Colonias Unidas or German colonies, formed by Hohenau, Bella Vista and Obligado.
Many Germans came to these colonies in World War II to escape the Nazis and later, even the Nazis came to the United Colonies to escape the Allies and the trial for their war crimes.
Currently it is estimated that more than 45,000 people live in these colonies and the number of Germans arriving is constantly growing. The Paraguayan people have always been very receptive to immigrants, but recently the Paraguayan population seems to be divided about accepting the new visitors. But not as divided as the Germans in Germany. Still the climate in the region of the colonies is considered peaceful and it is even possible to see ‘welcome’ signs in German in some areas.
The government even tried to limit the entry of Germans, but just like Brazil, Paraguay faces problems to control the borders and many arrive to stay for months, but end up liking the region, mainly because of the climate and their compatriots and decide to stay in Paraguay for good. Some even come and stay legally, yes, German and legal immigrants in Paraguay. Do you think you have seen it all?
The positive side of immigration to Paraguay
Economically Paraguay has already begun to benefit from the entry of Germans, especially in the real estate industry, with the sale of land and property. In addition, new businesses are being opened and the Germans also have great interest in areas such as technology and construction, and slowly they are leaving their marks in the country, mainly because of the construction of large buildings and houses that began to appear in places that before were just empty fields. However, there is the other side of the coin, many of the new visitors are not vaccinated and local governments still have no planning to deal with the new residents.
