BERLIN, July 16 (UPI) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday faced a heartbreaking ordeal and told a tearful Palestinian girl that not all immigrants can stay in Europe -- and that some will "have to go back."
The videotaped question and answer session, in the town of Rostock, made waves on the Internet Thursday -- with some praising Merkel's answer and others denouncing it.
The girl, named Reem, initiated the conversation by pleading with the German chancellor to allow her and her family to remain in Germany, where they have lived for four months.
"We had a hard time recently because we were close to being deported," Reem said. As she began another sentence, Merkel asked if her family had been asked to return to Lebanon. The girl said, "yes, exactly."
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After Reem finished speaking, Merkel sympathized with the girl's plight -- however, said not everyone who makes it to Germany can stay.
"I do understand this," the chancellor said. "However ... sometimes politics is hard. So when you are standing in front of me -- and you're a very likable girl -- but you know in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, there are thousands and thousands."
The girl had expressed sadness that she might have to leave Germany, when she would much rather stay and study and live like her friends do.
"If we now say, 'you can all come, you can all come from Africa, you can all come. We just can't manage this," Merkel continued. "The only answer we have is don't let it take too long until things are decided. But some people will have to go back."
When the girl started crying, Merkel left the stage and tried to console her.
"I know that it's a difficult situation and that's why I want to comfort her," she said to someone on the stage.
Thousands of immigrants from Africa and the Middle East have been flocking to Europe in recent years for economic opportunities and political asylum. Hundreds of thousands have emigrated to Germany in the last year alone, officials say.
