Today I am pleased to present a guest post. It was written by a student who has just begun her Master’s study in England. For most of this year she interned with me because of her interest in intercultural awareness education of adults. She has written about a topic of importance to everyone interested in globalization and cultural integration. This is a politically-charged topic throughout the western world. In Germany it has spawned a new political party of isolationists. Great Britain is moving toward Brexit and the US government is taking controversial steps to block uninvited immigration from Latin America.
Here is one person’s experience and opinions about immigration into Germany:
When the refugee crisis in Germany peaked in 2015, I was participating in the Erasmus exchange programme in Poland. I was enrolled to earn a Bachelor’s degree at Passau University. I followed the news and talked to friends back in Passau to know the current status. I felt helpless. Not because I didn’t know what to do and how to help, but because I was too far away to do anything. When I came back to Passau in the spring of 2016, everything was already organized. The allocation of the refugees and a lot of different voluntary help was operational to secure a smooth arrival and integration of the refugees. There were German language lessons held by students, meetings where refugees could tell their story and get in touch with German people, cooking evenings as an exchange between German culture and the culture of the refugees, and much more. These different projects were a great opportunity to get involved with refugees and a good way to make them feel welcome and heard.
In 2015, the peak of the refugee crisis, over 890,000 people came to Germany from war zones such as Syria in search of a better life. It caused organizational and logistical problems for German citizens and political problems for the government officials in power. Where should all these people be sheltered? How to manage the integration? And as three-fifths of the incoming refugees were under 25, a big question was how could we integrate all these people on the labour market. From 484,000 job-seeking refugees, only 37,500 found a job and 179,000 are registered as unemployed.
People who leave their home in the hope of a better and safer life are very often traumatized by the war in their home country as well as the arduous journey to a safe place. No one, not even those who operate the integration programmes takes the psychological aspect into account. When they arrive in Germany, the first thing refugees must focus on is being granted the right to stay in Germany. This is a process which can take several months, during which they live in uncertainty and are unemployed.
There are a few programmes (developed by the Bundesamt für Arbeit - the German federal office for employment - together with municipalities, schools and other organizations), which help with the integration of refugees in the labour market. Most refugees find jobs through the help of acquaintances and friends rather than through government help programmes. Businesses and administrations could be much more active in their search for foreign labour. Even if a refugee has high school or university qualifications, it can be a problem to get the permission to work in one’s own technical field in Germany. Much paperwork is required to get an academic degree accepted, which can be very discouraging for most of the refugees whose lack of German or English language can be a further burden.
So how could we turn this whole complicated procedure in something more accessible and easier for all concerned? There is a good example of an integration programme[1] [2] called Kommit, proposed by the BAMF (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge – the German office for migration and refugees), which is organised in four phases. The first one consists of learning German (up to the level A2: an ability to deal with simple, straightforward information and begin to express oneself in familiar contexts.[3]) and taking part in an integration class. An extension of the integration class and practical work are part of the second phase, as well as continuation of the language class. In the next phase they propose entry into graduation-oriented continuing education. The last step consists of getting the refugees further job-oriented practice and in the best-case scenario an apprenticeship. Through 2021 a number of 120,000 training places can be sponsored. This programme is implemented by various businesses as a condition to be hired. The only problem is that the programmes might not be promoted enough and therefore not well known.
Businesses should not be shy about recruiting refugees as employees. Most refugees are hard-working and grateful for the opportunity to start a new in a safe country. Employers could propose consultations for refugees, giving them advice about the integration process and helping them to find a suitable programme, or even create their own in-house programme.
Currently the number of new refugees arriving in Germany has decline to around 150 refugees[4] arriving per month, trying to pass the border at Passau, 60% of them are deemed ineligible for refugee status and are refused entry into the country. In the city of Passau itself, the integration of refugees is working very well. There are new businesses opening, new cultural associations and refugees finding jobs or starting studies at the university.[5] As my bachelor thesis was on the topic of integration of refugees in Germany, I dealt a lot with this topic. I had interviews with social workers who were responsible for young refugees between 12 and 18 years old and learned a lot about the challenges and problems of their integration in German society. This whole refugee crisis showed me how important solidarity and mutual understanding is. Only if we try to understand each other’s perspectives will there be fewer misunderstandings and therefore fewer conflicts. I was encouraged in my decision of studying intercultural communication because I believe that I am able to make a difference, even if it will be a small one, in helping individuals to better understand other cultures.
- Alexine Zapf
Alexine Zapf is currently studying intercultural communication at the University of Sheffield in England. She completed a Bachelor’s degree in European Studies at Passau University in her home country of Germany. She is very passionate about the topic of cultures and spent her Erasmus semester as an exchange student in Poland and also made an internship in a publishing house in Moscow. She enjoys working out and cooking in her free time.
All references are in German:
[1] https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwipx5PbiJzeAhVHbFAKHd-qBQYQFjAAegQICRAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dgb.de%2Fthemen%2F%2B%2Bco%2B%2B5ce03fc0-7762-11e7-a774-525400e5a74a&usg=AOvVaw1JOBmKAzEOvCngKzhVkZMz[3] https://www.examenglish.com/CEFR/cefr.php.
[4] https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/asylstreit-cdu-csu-passau-1.4017891