German Chancellor Angela Merkel: German Multiculturalism 'Utterly Failed'

[Dino Velvet]

http://www.foxnews.c...n-debate-heats/

Merkel: German multiculturalism 'utterly failed'

Published October 17, 2010
Associated Press


BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel's declaration that Germany's attempts to build a multicultural society had "utterly failed" is feeding a growing debate over how to deal with the millions of foreigners who call the country home.

Merkel told a meeting of young members of her conservative Christian Democratic Union that while immigrants are welcome in Germany, they must learn the language and accept the country's cultural norms — sounding a note heard increasingly across Europe as it battles an economic slump and worries about homegrown terrorism.

"This multicultural approach, saying that we simply live side by side and live happily with each other has failed. Utterly failed," Merkel said.

Merkel's comments were met with applause by the more conservative members of her party, but some Germans in cosmopolitan Berlin argued Sunday she was out of touch with the country's daily life.

"I think her statement is very black and white and does not reflect honestly the lifestyle people are living here," said Daniela Jonas, a German setting up a flea market in the city's diverse Kreuzberg district, where immigrants and native-born Germans live among each other.

Germany and other European countries have grappled with the idea of themselves as immigration nations and Merkel has long been skeptical of the country's attempts to build a multicultural society that includes its estimated 5 million Muslims.

Many immigrants speak little or no German, work in low paying jobs or live off of government handouts at the same time the country faces an aging population and a shortage of highly skilled workers.

"Germany needs more qualified immigration to maintain its economic advantage and deal with the demographic developments," Volker Beck, a lawmaker with the opposition Greens party said Sunday.

Merkel acknowledged in her Saturday comments that then-West Germany in the 1960s opened its doors to Turkish laborers who helped the nation rebuild from the ruins of World War II. Yet German politicians believed those laborers would eventually return home. Instead, many have stayed and their children's children are now starting families here.

A European Championship football qualifier between Germany and Turkey last week reflected built-up tensions. Star Germany player Mesut Oezil, who is of Turkish heritage, was whistled and booed throughout the game by Turkey fans — who outnumbered German supporters in Berlin's Olympic stadium.

The 22-year-old Oezil has become Merkel's poster child for successful integration, and Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in an interview Saturday that he supported Oezil's decision to play for Germany instead of his parents' native Turkey.

Gul also called on Turks living in Germany to learn to speak German "fluently and without an accent," but insisted it was up to German politicians to create the opportunities for its Turkish citizens to learn the language and integrate into society.

"That must begin in kindergarten," Gul told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. "I have told Mrs. Merkel that."

Last week, several German universities launched departments to train imams who would be able to lead prayers in German as well as Turkish. Most imams in Germany are sent from Turkey and speak no German.

Some argued Sunday that Merkel's comment makes them feel less welcome, and do nothing to encourage integration.

"It's a shame," said a man who gave his name only as Hakim, an immigrant from Morocco. "It is not good for the atmosphere in Germany and it is not a helpful comment."

___

Kerstin Sopke contributed to this report.

[russtafa]

All indigenous populations of Europe know multiculturalisim does not work

[hippifried]

They're Europeans. Whadaya expect? It works fine here. Maybe that's because we've never tried to "build a multicultural society". It just happened because peole came here from all over. It's still happening. We're not Europeans.

[Dino Velvet]

This part of Sweden is a giant toilet that needs to be flushed.

[circ]

Well put on your plumber gear Mario and get to work.

[trish]

Germany could try updating their citizenship laws. It's a bit two-faced to be touting live and let live side by side while generations of people who have worked and lived in the country still aren't citizens and still don't enjoy the full complement of rights that citizens have.

[notdrunk]

Germany could try updating their citizenship laws. It's a bit two-faced to be touting live and let live side by side while generations of people who have worked and lived in the country still aren't citizens and still don't enjoy the full complement of rights that citizens have.

Actually, the Germans did reform their citizenship law back in 2000 and 2005. The kicker is that you need to know German and you can't be on welfare. The article mentions a lot of immigrants hardly speak any German or they are on welfare. So, a lot of them are disqualified. It is rational for a country to ask perspective citizens to know the primary language and not leech off the system.

[trish]

Actually, the Germans did reform their citizenship law back in 2000 and 2005.

I didn't know. Thanks for the update. Good for them. So now they need to give it some time. Those kids born in Germany to non-German parents are only ten or eleven years old at most.

[hippifried]

So now what? The Germans going to start goosesteppin' again? They gonna start rounding up the folks who aren't German enough & ship them off to wherever?

I don't understand all this incessant whining about "multiculturalism" (whatever that means). I'm an American, where the more diversity you have in your personal mutt mix, the more bragging rights you get. Give me one good reason why anybody should worry whether the European version of klan/nazis' comfort & sensativities levels is disrupted by a lack of perfect whiteness & conformity. What a bunch of whiny punks.

[Coroner]

I didn't know. Thanks for the update. Good for them. So now they need to give it some time. Those kids born in Germany to non-German parents are only ten or eleven years old at most.

They´re much older than 10 or 11 years old. During the past weeks, few German politicians blazed up this immigration and integration debate, just following the actual European trend. This debate was particularly started by Thilo Sarrazin, a social democratic politician and former chief of the German Bank. After German president Christian Wulff said that "islam is a part of Germany", he was very criticized, especially by his own party, the conservative CDU. They criticized him by stating that islam cannot have the same rank as christianity in German society. Soon after that, another conservative, Horst Seehofer, said that "multiculturalism is dead" and Merkel followed him. In their opinion, there should only be a German dominant culture, based on Christian values, as they believe.
But they are completely wrong. First of all, the modern German society is based on the principles of humanism and enlightenment, not Christianity. In brief, Germany is a secular state and most of its citizens are undenominational. People that do not belong to any church make up the majority in Germany. Yet, religion still enjoys lots of privileges from the state and after Wulff declared islam a part of Germany, some of those islamic leaders there thought islam could get the same privileges. This cannot happen and the same should count for christianity. Your religion is your private matter and keep it out of schools, politics, science, work etc.

Those statements by some politicians were aimed towards Turkish immigrants and their descendants because they are the least integrated. Why? Well, along with former Yugoslavs and Italians, they were among the first groups to come to Germany in the 1960ies. The state of Germany needed cheap labor and invited all those people but the government never really cared about integration and social interaction between them and the German. While Yugoslavs, Italians or Poles are not that hard to be integrated, it´s not the same with Turks. Their culture is completely different and since most of them came from some really rural areas in Turkey, you can assume how conservative they are and this is why German society should have taken care to help their children becoming more cosmopolitan and educated. Actually, those among the earliest immigrants are the best integrated because since there were not many of their own in Germany, their children were growing with German kids and the results are different. Now, you have over 2 million Turks and they´re living in their own world. Germany failed to integrate them because they didn´t care while exploiting their cheap labour. Declaring a multicultural society dead and demanding further restrictions for immigrants is hypocritical and wrong but what´s to expect from the reactionary conservatives.
They also forget that the "German economic wonder" would never be possible without the immigrants. Conervatives are making trouble on both German and immigrant sides. They think they´re speaking for entire populations. Once again, Germany, like any other European country, must remain secular. Neither islam or christianity should be privileged. Education is the solution, not tradition.