Syrian schoolgirl named after Merkel gets note from ex-chancellor

A 6-year-old Syrian girl named Angela after the former German chancellor Angela Merkel had her first day of school on Friday in the western city of Cologne, reported dpa.

Shortly before she started school, she received an autographed card with a personal note from her namesake, the former chancellor.

Her father Ezzat says they named their daughter Angela out of gratitude for Merkel's refugee policy at the height of the exodus from the war-torn Middle Eastern country. Her parents fled to Germany in 2015 as part of that wave of refugees.

"She helped a lot of people; She helped us," he said.

Friends who have been accompanying the Syrian family as volunteers for several years made contact with Merkel's office, which confirmed that the card had been sent.

Angela already knows how to write her first name, and hopes to learn the rest of the alphabet at her new school.