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BERLIN
Chancellor Angela Merkel says newcomers to Germany must learn the country's values and customs, but that Germans can also learn from them.
More than 1 million asylum seekers have arrived in the past two years, and Germany's been working hard on integration.
Speaking in her weekly podcast this Saturday, in a question-and-answer form with a Syrian journalist who arrived as a refugee in 2015, Merkel emphasized migrants need to respect Germany's values of"tolerance, openness, freedom of religion and freedom of expression" and also"be a little curious about our way of life."
On the flipside, Merkel says Germans should be open, and"seize upon it as a possibility to learn and experience more." Merkel meets with three organizations next week to thank them for their help with migrants.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said refugees who are looking to build a life in Germany should remain open to living in more sparsely populated areas rather than big cities and show a bit of curiosity about German culture.
Merkel acknowledged that many migrants prefer to live in large cities, but finding accommodation there can often be difficult.
"Therefore I advise to stay in the rural areas where it's maybe at first glance a bit unappealing," Merkel said.
Germany has taken in more than 1 million migrants and refugees since 2015 and has since grappled with the political and social pressures that come with integrating the new arrivals across the country.
Earlier Merkel insisted that resources must be concentrated on refugees fleeing war and turmoil who genuinely needed support.
Also that public acceptance for asylum seekers can only be maintained by deporting economic migrants trying to abuse the system.
Speaking at a conference of conservative MPs in Neum'fcnster last year the Chancellor said that she expects 100,000 migrants to leave Germany this year, of which a third will be forcibly removed.
But this turn in the tone of Germany since last months on accommodating refugees has developed into a absorption of the new arrivals.
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02/04/2017
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