It’s official: 2016 won’t surprise us by ending on a good note.

Events in Berlin last night were the antithesis of a Christmas miracle as a lorry rammed into a busy festive market, taking 12 lives and injuring almost 50 others.

Despite pleas from German interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, to be “very, very cautious” when speculating who was responsible, there have already been presumptions from a number of sources that the person driving the lorry may have entered Germany among refugees.

This fear is detectable in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s statement. She said such an outcome would be “particularly repugnant” given the efforts of the German people to welcome refugees.

Their efforts to take in refugees from Syria and elsewhere have gone much further than their European neighbours.

Right-wing figures have jumped at the opportunity to blame Merkel’s open door policy. Nigel Farage dubbed the attack Merkel’s “legacy.”

Whoever is found to be responsible, this attack will breed further division and provide momentum to organisations like the populist AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) in Germany and sister movements across Europe which monopolise on fear of the outsider.

Which brings us to Aleppo…

For months now Aleppo’s inhabitants, particularly in rebel-held enclaves in the east, have borne the brunt of a deadly power struggle between President Assad’s regime and coalition with Russia and Iran, and opponents.

With the international community only contributing to the tragedy by its abject failure to act, this episode in history fits into the same category of similar failures in Rwanda and Srebrenica.

In spite of Aleppo’s purported liberation, suffering of its people has far from ended. Many are still stuck inside the city, whilst those who have escaped have had to contend with further onslaughts en route, including attacks on the buses hoping to bring them to safety.

Others, already malnourished and weak, face harsh winter temperatures and risks of further attack in attempting to flee by foot.

As we approach the new year it remains to be seen how these intertwined events will unfold: how the people of Germany will react to this latest attack and if the ceasefire in Aleppo holds.

We have much to reflect on, at home and abroad. Yet amidst our own political chaos in Northern Ireland this week, let’s remember that the goings on have come to pass at Stormont parliament buildings, across the Assembly chamber and in the media, without violence and bloodshed.