A German family travelled to Russia before claiming asylum – insisting their homeland is no longer safe because of the influx of migrants.
Carola Griesbach, 51, and her husband Andre, 45, drove the 1,400 miles from northern Germany to Moscow’s Red Square in a VW camper van to escape the ‘German dictatorship’.
Two of their daughters, Dominique and Julia, along with four of their grandchildren were also crammed into the van.
The family left Germany for a number of reasons including that they were concerned about the number of migrants entering the country.
However, since arriving on New Year’s Eve in 2015, they have been stranded at a small motel in a forest outside the Russian capital with the authorities knocking back their claims for asylum.
The Russian government considers Germany a ‘safe’ country and the family are not allowed to become asylum seekers in Russian.
But the Griesbachs claim they had no time to organise more suitable paperwork.
Andre said: ‘We have been worried ever since we staged a protest against the German Government outside the Bundestag [Parliament] from September to December 2013.
‘We don’t feel like Germany is a safe place for us, or to bring up children.
‘When we left Germany in December 2015 we had no time to organise anything.
‘We only got a tourist visa just so we could enter the country. There was no time to arrange a work visa.’
Since arriving in Russia’s famous Red Square, the family have been relying on the good will of the Russian…