Story highlights
Germany has set $6 billion aside to care for 800,000 refugees this year
The government says it may take in another 500,000 for years to come
Many Germans have opened their homes to refugees -- but some aren't so sure
One morning, as we set up to broadcast live in front of the Munich train station, we watched as a group of new arrivals stepped off the train from Budapest to register as refugees.
There were several families from Syria, a clutch of young men from Pakistan and a couple from Afghanistan. They passed through the medical tents, looking dazed from their long journey.
A few meters away, a crowd of local residents gathered to watch the new arrivals, spontaneously applauding as one refugee after another came through the medical screening. A young man held up a cardboard sign, decorated with sunflowers, that said “Welcome to Germany.” A middle-aged woman came with a bag of toys and candy, offering them to every refugee child that came through.
But not everyone was so welcoming.
“Soon, it will be millions coming in!” grumbled one retiree as he watched the refugees trickling in. “Millions! And how will we pay for all of them?” he asked rhetorically to the young couple who waited patiently beside him.