Fifty-eight years after the martyrdom of the well-known Iraqi leftist fighter, Muhammad Salih Alabali, who died after being tortured by gangs of the National Guard immediately after his arrest in July 1963, his granddaughter, Mrs. Reem Salam Alabali has emerged as a shining star in the sky of Germany as a young politician with great popularity within German society.
Reem Alabali won the direct election in September 2021 for the district of Schwerin-Ludwigslust-Parchim in northern Germany, after she ran for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and won 44,107 votes in her constituency, which constitutes a percentage of 29.4%.
At a time when immigrants and refugees of different nationalities and ethnicities are experiencing harsh conditions and difficult challenges in the countries where they seek refuge, and in light of the restrictive policies and rhetoric of incitement and racism, the story of the Iraqi immigrant Reem Alabali seems to be a point of light in this blackness, and the success that gave many immigrants hope for a better life.
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The assignment of Reem Alabali as Minister of State for Migration Affairs in the new German government drew the attention of many to the inspiring success story of the young woman of Iraqi descent, as thousands of Iraqis celebrated this success on social media platforms. Many wondered if her new position would affect future immigration policies in Germany.
Alabali’s family, which is an Iraqi political family, sought refuge in Russia, where she was born in 1990. Her journey from asylum-seeker to the chair of responsibility encapsulates the migrant journey for many who were forced to leave their home-country for foreign countries in the hope of a better life and better living conditions than their own countries.
After that, the Alabali grew up in Germany, where she studied political science at the Free University of Berlin, and succeeded in learning German alongside Arabic and Assyrian. Thus, she was able to shape a successful political career for herself despite her young age.
Since 2015 Alabali has worked as the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Government Commissioner for Integration, channeling her interest in integration issues. Meanwhile, she was an active member of the Social Democratic Party. She later ran in the German parliamentary elections last September for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), in the district of Schwerin-Ludwigslust-Parchim in northern Germany.
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Alabali won 44,107 votes in her constituency, or nearly 29.4% of the voter turnout, outperforming her Christian Democrat rival Dietrich Münstadt, who had obtained 20.7%. Commenting on her results, Alabalisaid in a statement to the media at the time: "I myself am impressed at having won a direct seat in the German parliament, in a region where there are not many foreigners or people with immigrant backgrounds."
Given that governments of some foreign and European countries usually appoint candidates of immigrant origins to the position of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration, Reem Alabali was a perfect candidate because of her academic excellence and political activity at a young age; thus, she succeeded in obtaining this position in the new government formation in Germany.
As an Iraqi immigrant, many are looking forward today to the role that Reem Alabali will play and the influence she can have on immigration policies in Germany, especially in light of the recent campaigns by the far-right camp in Germany against immigrants and media incitement as well.
“My Iraqi roots are always with me, I know that politics can do a lot, and because my parents came from a country that suffered from wars, I understand that politics means taking responsibility.” she said.
