Austria: German language app launched for migrant children

The Austrian government has launched a German language app for migrant children in a bid to promote their faster integration into the society. The app, which was unveiled on 8 October, will also be launched in Germany, which has been the migrants' most preferred final destination.

The app named 'hallo App Deutsch' contains images, sounds and some 1,000 commonly used German words. A later version of the corporate-sponsored app will also cater to adults. "Learning the language is a vital key for integration. This new app represents a major step in promoting language-learning," said Education Minister Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek, reported France24 News.

So far, an estimated 200,000 migrants have arrived in Austria since the start of September and according to government estimates, nearly 85,000 asylum claims will be made in 2015, despite a number of migrants moving onto Germany.

Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) has gained momentum as fears mount in light of the migrant crisis. Heinz-Christian Strache, the leader of FPO, has criticised the United States and the NATO Western military alliance for the European migrant crisis.

"The USA and NATO have destroyed Iraq and Libya with their military intervention, bombs and missiles; provided financial, logistical and military support to the opposition against President Assad in Syria, and thus made possible the destruction, chaos, suffering and radical Islamism [Isis] in the region," said Heinz-Christian Strache on his Facebook page, reported Reuters.

"The USA for decades has started fires in the Middle East and then has the chutzpah to claim that responsibility for the flood of refugees unleashed lies with Europe. That's geostrategic detribalization at its finest."

Earlier, a group of young Dutch entrepreneurs launched a free Airbnb-style site for refugees to help provide them with temporary accommodation across Europe. The site, Refugee Hero, launched on 21 September, works on a simple principle –individuals and organisations with free space simply leave their contact information on the site for refugees to reach out to them.