Posts filed under ‘International Issues’
Turning German, I think I’m turning German? I don’t really think so!
This post is guest blogged by kate hers, an expatriated artist living in Berlin, on her experience as an immigrant in Germany. I met kate on my trip to Berlin in June and after discussing her experiences in Berlin, I asked her to share her story on our blog.
Berlin boasts an international, cosmopolitan, and “multi-kulti” population. More creative artists and entrepreneurs are moving here from abroad every day. But even with Berlin’s historical struggle with topics of race and ethnicity, this so-called “multi-kulti modernization” does not mean that the people who live in Berlin are any more educated, tolerant, or culturally sensitive. While the city has a lot of opportunities for artists and creative people, the real disadvantage I face as a person of color is racism and, even more insidious, a gendered racism tied to my status or imagined position as an Asian woman.
Ironically, many German artists claim that Berlin is a tolerant and diverse city. I always agree but only in relationship to other German cities; it cannot compare to cities like Los Angeles or New York. If I end up moving back to the United States, this lack of real tolerance and understanding will, without a doubt, be my reason. I have had my fill of experiences with racism – from ignorant, foolish, “well-meaning” comments to a run-in with violent Nazis on public transportation where almost everyone looked away and did nothing.
In Germany, there was no civil rights movement, no identity politics in the 90’s, no proud to be “hyphenated-German” campaign. Either you are a German or you are a foreigner. It does not matter what passport you carry or where you were born. In order to be considered German, you must be ethnically German, i.e. 100% Caucasian-German. In addition, people like me don’t get to be both American and Korean; I can be only one or the other. This is symptomatic of the fact that many Germans make little distinction between an individual’s ethnic, racial, cultural, and national identities. I am forced into an easily understood category and am interrogated about this category at least every other day. Germans like order. Germans like reliability. Germans like to know where my parents are from.
Interestingly, of the huge numbers of Americans (of course here I mean the Americans of European descent, since the majority of Germans don’t consider me truly American) immigrating to Berlin, more than half of them do not learn to speak German. One would assume that this would be viewed, on a political level, as a failure to integrate. But this reluctance to assimilate is never discussed. What is discussed is the lack of German language proficiency in Arab and Turkish populations. What does this double standard say about German values?
In October 2010, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany’s attempts to create a multicultural society had “utterly failed.” This only added fuel to the already contentious debate started by the controversial book, “Germany Does Away With Itself,” written by the economist and politician Thilo Sarrazin.
I agree with Merkel that multiculturalism as an integration strategy or ideology has not succeeded in Germany (at least not yet), but I found her claims problematic and misleading because the term “multi-kulti,” as it is used in Germany, does not equate to multiculturalism as a political movement developed in the United States. The implication that Germany tried to create a multicultural society is deceptive. As migrant workers were called to work in Germany in the late 1950s, citizens of diverse cultures settled here and set up their own communities. Germany never “attempted” a multicultural society, it just happened. Where the German government failed though, was in its ability to create integration policies that would diminish ghettos and encourage native Germans to respect immigrants and accept their cultures as part of a shared cultural identity.
The current political reasoning places the entire responsibility of integration on the immigrants and rests the blame for a failed multicultural state on their so-called resistance to assimilate. Even the United States, with its long history of immigration, continues to struggle with multiculturalism as a political movement – minority ethnic groups, gays and lesbians, women, and religious groups are still discriminated against. Many of these conflicts have little or nothing to do with language. Yet the dominant culture can be intolerant of difference. The failure explanation – that because immigrants do not integrate and do not learn German, is too simple. What about the responsibility of the dominant cultural group – ethnic Germans – to ensure the success of multiculturalism?
One of the areas that can be improved is the education system. Students are never given the tools necessary to deal with issues of nationality and immigration. Leaving school, they lack the fundamental vocabulary used to discuss ethnicity, race, culture, and nationality. All they have are shady notions of what make us different and the dangerous stereotypes passed down from generation to generation.
For real multiculturalism to work, distinct ethnic or religious groups need to be treated as equals to the mainstream culture without promoting any specific groups as superior or inferior. Multiculturalism has failed in Germany because it was never given a chance. Though distinct ethnic communities may choose to stay in their separate ghettos, who can blame them? Immigrants can be harshly discriminated against in Germany and as an immigrant, albeit a very unconventional immigrant, I speak from personal experience.
Where can I begin with my encounters with racism? Rather than count the number of times people have yelled unintelligible sounds at me, which I can only assume the verbal assaulter thinks he is mimicking a tonal language like Chinese or Vietnamese or relate the numerous times I have had to explain where I am “really” from, I prefer to discuss the more treacherous, complicated, and remarkable incidents.
Nov. 2009 – While leaving Eberswälder subway station in Prenzlauer Berg with my half-Asian half-German partner, we unintentionally cut someone off while crossing the street. The so-called injured party got extremely angry and called us fidschis. A “fidschi” is a derogatory term used by Germans for an Asian person, typically used to describe those of Vietnamese descent who hang around certain subway stations selling illegal cigarettes. My German passport carrying companion turned and calmly told him in native accent-less German to piss off. Surprised the man proceeded to get irate, yelling more racial slurs as his friends held him back from attacking us. Evidently this fidschi slur first made its appearance in the GDR to discriminate against migrant workers from Vietnam. Ostensibly referencing the Fiji Islands, it is emblematic of how ignorant a large population of Germany is about the difference (never mind between single ethnicities) between Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Dec 2009 – I was at a café in Prenzlauer Berg with all Asian female friends, two from Korea and another who had grown up in Germany. A middle aged German man approached me while I was ordering cake. He asked me where I was from, to which I replied the United States. When he asked me the annoying question, “Where are you really from?” I sighed and said, “Where do you think, North Korea?” in a cheeky, sarcastic voice. His reaction was to grab my breasts. Shocked, I shouted obscenities to which he was surprised and he put his hands up to his face to protect himself. I regret that I did not call the police and press charges against him. At this moment, just having moved to Berlin two months earlier, I was feeling vulnerable and did not want to call attention to myself.
June 2011 – I was in Metro, a large wholesale market in Germany, like Costco or Sam’s Club, helping out a friend to promote his Chinese restaurant. Cooking live and giving out free samples of several items on his menu, my job was to inform the visiting customers that they could try the food out for free. A Metro worker announced to a customer, that there was free Asian food available that day. Then the customer laughed, “But if I eat the Asian food, will I get slanty eyes?” I rushed up to her to exclaim how offensive and racist her language was. This woman was surprised I found it offensive, and then asked how else could one describe Asian eyes, because they were really slanty! I controlled myself and informed her in my broken German that all eyes are shaped differently and why should Caucasians eyes be the standard shape to which all others should be compared. She was open enough to listen to my observations, but it was obvious she didn’t understand – she said it wasn’t meant to be taken in a mean way and that ‘slanty’ was the acceptable terminology for Asian people’s eyes in Germany, and is therefore not racist. After I found out she was of Arabic descent, I kind of just gave up. My belief that other people of color should be more sensitive to these issues has been proved wrong time and time again.
November 2010 –I was riding on the S-Bahn going a few stations north of Gesundbrunnen with a foreign female friend from Argentina. While buying tickets, we saw four men yelling at a man and his small son on the platform several meters from us. The man being verbally attacked was of Arabic descent and the four other men were Caucasian. One of the Caucasian men, who seemed to be leading the group, threw his beer bottle on the platform not far from where the Arabic man was standing. As the train entered the station, we ran to get on, being careful not to sit in the same car as these savage men. It didn’t matter. After we took our seats, they came into our car, intentionally sitting diagonally from us. We concentrated on our conversation, thinking it was better to ignore their presence. All of a sudden, a half-full beer bottle was thrown against the compartment glass wall next to my head. I screamed. The leader of the group started yelling at us. My friend bolted from her seat and I followed her. He started to chase us through the cars, shouting about foreigners and communists. At the end of the train, we cowered next to two young men not knowing what to do, hoping their presence would protect us. The perpetrator kept ranting and raving and coming closer until he was standing a few feet from us. Finally, a middle-aged man spoke up and told him to stop. The neo-Nazi spat on him and left. This experience is the most horrifying and shocking to Germans, many who ignorantly believe Asians are not discriminated against or experience little racism because we are the model minority (a “positive” myth that is similarly perpetuated in the United States).
(I refer to these men as neo-Nazis based on their behavior, not necessarily based on what they look like since they were not of the skinhead variety. Rather, these men looked preppy. According to reports, neo-Nazis have changed their style to fit into the mainstream.)
What kind of backlash can we expect after politicians have made declarations about the ‘costs’ of multiculturalism? Not surprisingly, my dreadful neo-Nazi encounter took place in November of 2010, just two months after the publication of Sarrazin’s book. To be sure, Berlin, the artist’s paradise, has its darker side, especially if you are non-white or you come from an undesired country. I want nothing more than to see a thriving, diverse Germany that embraces and utilizes the cultural capital of all its citizens and residents, regardless of the color of their passport or their skin. In the meantime, it is best to be informed and on guard. ♦
kate hers is an American visual artist who has lived in Berlin for 2 years and has integrated as much as she can. She speaks German, likes currywurst, organically composts and is always on time. However, she doesn’t like to follow the rules and gets reprimanded routinely by the natives for jaywalking. Her new work, Dr. Rhee’s Kimtschi Shop seeks to dismantle outdated and essentialist notions of a fixed cultural identity – while celebrating cultural tolerance and engaging conversations of multiculturalism in Berlin. She is also a founding member of usartberlin, a creative networking organization for Americans living in Berlin.
Recent Comments