GERMANY: Muslims Targeted Again
Immigrants and foreigners were again targeted through the election campaign last month by right-wing politicians looking to win votes through racist statements.
The campaign is over, but the debate on the German management of immigration goes on, fuelled by anti-Muslim remarks by Thilo Sarrazin, a director in Bundesbank (the German central bank) and former minister of finance in the Berlin city administration.
Sarrazin, a leading member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), said in an interview with the Berlin-based quarterly Lettre International Oct. 1 that the Muslim immigrant population in Berlin is only good at 'producing more headscarf wearing girls.'
He said Turks are 'conquering Germany very much as the Muslim population conquered Kosovo - through a quite high birth rate.' A large number of Turks and Arabs in Berlin, he said, 'have no productive task other than trading in vegetables and fruits.'
Most Muslim immigrants 'do not respect German authorities, and do not do anything for the education of their children.' Only those immigrants who strive for economic success should be welcome; 'the rest should go see somewhere else.'
Sarrazin apologised after his statements provoked a landslide of indignation. But his remarks have fuelled a recurrent debate on integration of immigrants.
Former president of the German parliament Rita Suessmuth urged the new government to nominate immigrants into the cabinet. 'In a democracy, it must be a matter of course that all population groups be represented in government,' Suessmuth said.
Her call was immediately supported by the Turkish Community, the umbrella organisation that represents some 2.3 million Turkish immigrants in Germany. Kenan Kolat, president of the organisation, proposed Vietnam- born Phillip Roesler as minister.
Turks are the majority among about seven million immigrants in Germany, in a population of 82 million.
'An immigrant as minister would have an enormous identification potential for other immigrants in Germany,' Kolat told IPS. 'Of course, to be immigrant is no qualification per se. But distinguished immigrants must be supported and promoted, with the prospect of occupying high-ranking government positions.'
Many social scientists and commentators agree that Sarrazin's remarks were scandalous, but admit he touched a raw nerve - the failure of society to properly deal with immigration.
Immigration to Germany started after World War II. Post-war economic growth demanded a labour force, not available at home due to the high male mortality during the conflict.
Germany at first encouraged Italian, Spanish, and Yugoslav workers to migrate over. When economic growth began in these countries, ending the flow of migration from there, German authorities invited Turkish workers for simple, low-paid tasks. Most Turkish immigrants who first came to Germany were illiterate peasants.
But foreign workers were never seen as immigrants. They were the Gastarbeiter, literally guest workers. The assumption was they would leave after reaching pension age and return to their countries of origin. For that reason, Germany failed to bring in elementary integration policies, such as German language courses.
But Turkish immigration continued after the economic boom had ended. Most Turkish immigrants today live in what social scientists consider a parallel society, and still score lowest in education and affluence.
According to the German Centre for Studies on Turkey, 30 percent of Turkish immigrants in Germany live below the poverty line.
Meinhard Miegel, former director of the Institute for Economy and Society, says 'education is the only way for immigrants to enhance their chances to become full-fledged member of German society.' Miegel urged German authorities to make education the cornerstone of a new immigration and integration policy.
One consequence of Sarrazin's remarks has been the creation of a new immigrant party. Freelance journalist Vlad Georgescu has set up the United Immigrants Party because 'immigrants have become again the target of German racist jingoism among politicians.'
Georgescu said Sarrazin should immediately be removed from office at the Bundesbank. The bank's president Axel Weber called Sarrazin's remarks 'questionable' and said they did not fit into the organisation's code of conduct.
But Sarrazin can only be fired in case of a criminal offence. A police spokesperson in Berlin said the remarks were being investigated. The SPD Berlin centre is considering expulsion of Sarrazin.
© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service