When Integration Fails
From the Surely It’ll Never Happen Over Here Department comes news that all is not well in the state of Germany. Not only are its immigrants not integrating, but they are actively refusing to do so and are complaining that Germans aren’t laying out the red carpet enough. From The Local, but try to imagine an article like this appearing on the BBC. Scatter the words Britain, Luton and so on throughout this piece and see how it reads:
The vast majority of Turkish immigrants in Germany think their adopted country should do more to accommodate them, according to a new study released on Thursday. Forty-five percent of the Turks surveyed said that they feel unwelcome in Germany. But an overwhelming 82 percent said their host should do more to aid their integration.
The study said Turks were already engaged in many aspects of German society such working, paying taxes and being able to afford consumer goods such as cars. But mentally, there was still a huge gulf between Turks and their host country.
“This is a group of people who are deeply committed to their cultural and religious roots and Turkish values,” the study said. “And they are not fundamentally prepared to give them up.”
A damning report published in February found that although many Turks have been in Germany for nearly 50 years they are the least well integrated of all immigrant communities. Other recent surveys have shown that they are more likely to leave school without qualifications than the overall population, more likely to be unemployed and below the poverty line.
It couldn’t happen here, could it?
I worked with the Turks in Germany many years ago now and they were treated like 3rd class citizens even then. Each and every one of them worked as hard as anyone else although they seldom socialised. When I asked why the answer was they didn’t feel welcome. So I ensured they came to every wee celebration we had from then on in and that did help everyone. Since then I expect it’s the same problem as here, too many too quickly and too easy to claim benefits these days.
It was similar in this part of the world for Moroccans many years ago but I think that is the key….many years. Over time both sides mellowed and accepted each other. Those were the days of hard work and reward for those who put in the effort. Not now when its easier to ghettoise and sign on.
We are actually making it harder to integrate now, through a combination of making it not economically worthwhile and developing a culture of grievance and blame. The message from the Turks to you today that this article seems to show is that there wouldn’t have been a grateful thanks for your invitation any more.