It was election day in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt and Alaa Yakoub Agha was overjoyed. The 55-year-old Syrian, now a German citizen, had voted for the first time since arriving in the country in 2015.
Her happiness was short-lived. During a lakeside walk that afternoon, she was the victim of a tirade of racist abuse, as a man bellowed at her to “go back to your own country”.
