Neo-Nazis in Germany may be unified in their racism, antisemitism and hatred of foreigners. But these days, they do not all look the same.
No longer are right-wing extremists all wearing the Thor Steinar clothing brand, or sporting the skinhead look.
Observers of the far-right in Germany say that neo-Nazis are increasingly seen with piercings, graffiti-look tops, baggy trousers, mohawk haircuts and other accessories that might have led to them being beaten up by right-wing extremists only a few years ago.
Neo-Nazis are still able to recognise each other, says Frank Metzger, education expert at Berlin-based social watchdog group Agency for Social Perspectives. Subtle signs are now common, says Mr Metzger, including pins and pendants bearing the Iron Cross or the "Hammer of Thor", or the tartan-lined Harrington jacket.
But the fact that others do not recognise them can be very dangerous. Increasingly, neo-Nazi youths attending events or demonstrations will violently attack members of minority groups who never saw them coming, Mr Metzger said.
Another watchdog organisation, Last Stop for the Right Wing, has developed its own satirical answer to neo-Nazi fashion. The "Storch Heinar" clothing brand parodies Thor Steinar with its name, its logo - which depicts a stork laying an egg - and in the use of various other Nazi symbols, which are altered for comic effect. "We did it mostly to give people a chance to laugh at Nazis, but we also inform people about the strategies of the extreme right-wingers," said Julian Barlen, a co-founder of Last Stop for the Right Wing. The firm is based in the former East German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the right-wing extremist National Democratic Party of Germany has six seats in the state parliament.
According to the German Office for Protection of the Constitution, violent neo-Nazism is on the rise, although membership in some neo-Nazi parties has dropped.
The office's annual report for 2010, released in May, showed that the number of neo-Nazis with violent tendencies rose markedly in 2010, to a total of 5,600.
The number of people identifying as right-wing extremists dropped from 31,000 in 2009 to 25,000 in 2010. But violence-prone "autonomous nationalists" increased by 200 in 2010, to a total of 1,000.
"Sure, these modern neo-Nazis don't look like Hitler," Mr Barlen said. "They use contemporary music, they use stylish clothes, they do all these things to be cool. And while we think Storch Heinar is a funny answer to that, the subtext is always that young people should be aware of the strategies of the far right."Neo-Nazis in Germany may be unified in their racism, antisemitism and hatred of foreigners. But these days, they do not all look the same.
No longer are right-wing extremists all wearing the Thor Steinar clothing brand, or sporting the skinhead look.
Observers of the far-right in Germany say that neo-Nazis are increasingly seen with piercings, graffiti-look tops, baggy trousers, mohawk haircuts and other accessories that might have led to them being beaten up by right-wing extremists only a few years ago.
Neo-Nazis are still able to recognise each other, says Frank Metzger, education expert at Berlin-based social watchdog group Agency for Social Perspectives. Subtle signs are now common, says Mr Metzger, including pins and pendants bearing the Iron Cross or the "Hammer of Thor", or the tartan-lined Harrington jacket.
But the fact that others do not recognise them can be very dangerous. Increasingly, neo-Nazi youths attending events or demonstrations will violently attack members of minority groups who never saw them coming, Mr Metzger said.
Another watchdog organisation, Last Stop for the Right Wing, has developed its own satirical answer to neo-Nazi fashion. The "Storch Heinar" clothing brand parodies Thor Steinar with its name, its logo - which depicts a stork laying an egg - and in the use of various other Nazi symbols, which are altered for comic effect. "We did it mostly to give people a chance to laugh at Nazis, but we also inform people about the strategies of the extreme right-wingers," said Julian Barlen, a co-founder of Last Stop for the Right Wing. The firm is based in the former East German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the right-wing extremist National Democratic Party of Germany has six seats in the state parliament.
According to the German Office for Protection of the Constitution, violent neo-Nazism is on the rise, although membership in some neo-Nazi parties has dropped.
The office's annual report for 2010, released in May, showed that the number of neo-Nazis with violent tendencies rose markedly in 2010, to a total of 5,600.
The number of people identifying as right-wing extremists dropped from 31,000 in 2009 to 25,000 in 2010. But violence-prone "autonomous nationalists" increased by 200 in 2010, to a total of 1,000.
"Sure, these modern neo-Nazis don't look like Hitler," Mr Barlen said. "They use contemporary music, they use stylish clothes, they do all these things to be cool. And while we think Storch Heinar is a funny answer to that, the subtext is always that young people should be aware of the strategies of the far right."
Source: The JC.com
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Friday, 1 July 2011
Study: Racism in Germany Increasingly Mainstream
The report presented in Berlin this week was the second part of a study begun in 2006, which questioned 5,000 Germans over 14 about their views of right-wing extremism and concluded that one in four Germans holds xenophobic opinions.
Drawing on interviews with 60 of the initial participants, the survey aimed to establish the roots of prejudice by examining attitudes among people of various ages, social background and profession.
"We were interested in finding out what determines an individual's political opinions, be they far-right or democratic," said project coordinator Dietmar Molthagen.
"For this reason, we set out to examine the interviewees' opinions in the context of their lives," said researcher Oliver Decker.
Mainstream prejudice
He and Elmar Braehler from Leipzig University's Institute for Clinical Psychology and Sociology said their work revealed that racism in Germany is increasingly mainstream: in both eastern and western Germany and across the generations, the public has little compunction about expressing far-right beliefs.
Their conclusion is that the problem lies at the very center of society, undermining the theory that the breeding grounds for right-wing extremism are the parts of the country struck by unemployment and social decay.
37 percent of the population maintain that immigrants come to Germany "to exploit the welfare state," 39 percent think Germany "is dangerously over-run with foreigners," and 26 percent would like "a single, strong party that represents the German community."
The main targets of German prejudice are Turks and Russians, who are seen as parasitical and grasping.
Creature comforts
Drawing on interviews with 60 of the initial participants, the survey aimed to establish the roots of prejudice by examining attitudes among people of various ages, social background and profession.
"We were interested in finding out what determines an individual's political opinions, be they far-right or democratic," said project coordinator Dietmar Molthagen.
"For this reason, we set out to examine the interviewees' opinions in the context of their lives," said researcher Oliver Decker.
Mainstream prejudice
He and Elmar Braehler from Leipzig University's Institute for Clinical Psychology and Sociology said their work revealed that racism in Germany is increasingly mainstream: in both eastern and western Germany and across the generations, the public has little compunction about expressing far-right beliefs.
Their conclusion is that the problem lies at the very center of society, undermining the theory that the breeding grounds for right-wing extremism are the parts of the country struck by unemployment and social decay.
37 percent of the population maintain that immigrants come to Germany "to exploit the welfare state," 39 percent think Germany "is dangerously over-run with foreigners," and 26 percent would like "a single, strong party that represents the German community."
The main targets of German prejudice are Turks and Russians, who are seen as parasitical and grasping.
Creature comforts
However, researchers also identified the emergence of what they call "cultural racism" -- prejudices against marginal groups such as the jobless and the socially disadvantaged. This, the study suggested, reflected a strong pressure to conform to a perceived social norm and a condemnation of those who failed to do so.
With most of the participants saying they felt powerless to help define politics, the study also revealed a widespread disillusionment with democracy and democratic principles.
The findings suggested that most people supported democracy to the extent that it guaranteed personal prosperity, but in its absence, turned immediately to intolerance.
The researchers cited similar attitudes in the 1950s, when the economic miracle proved an obstacle to coming to terms with the past.
"The rapid accumulation of wealth in West Germany [in the post-war years] left no scope for reflection and shame," said researcher Oliver Decker.
Source: DW-World
Sentence in Racist Attack Slammed for Leniency - 11/27/2007
The attack on eight Indian men by a mob of Germans last August has resulted in the first conviction. An 18-year-old man has been ordered to pay €600 for shouting xenophobic abuse. A representative of the victims says the sentence is too lenient.
An 18-year-old German man has been ordered to pay €600 ($890) to a charity in the first conviction resulting from an attack on eight Indian menin August by a group of around 50 Germans, some of whom were chanting "Foreigners out!"
Indian attack victims Gurminder Singh (L) and Kulvir Singh pose for media at market in Doebeln August 22, 2007. German police say a mob who attacked eight Indians in eastern Germany on Saturday night could have had far-right racist motives. Three of the Indians required hospital treatment after 50 people attacked the visitors at a town fair and then besieged them in a pizzeria until rescued. Seventy police were required to disperse the mob. Photo Credit: Reuters/Hannibal Hanschke
Indian attack victim Gurminder Singh pose for media at market in Doebeln August 22, 2007. German police say a mob who attacked eight Indians in eastern Germany on Saturday night could have had far-right racist motives. Three of the Indians required hospital treatment after 50 people attacked the visitors at a town fair and then besieged them in a pizzeria until rescued. Seventy police were required to disperse the mob. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
The man had admitted shouting xenophobic comments during the attack in the eastern town of Mügeln, the Leipzig state prosecutor's office said. Prosecutors had demanded he pay €1,800 and may appeal against the sentencing, handed down by a court in the town of Oschatz.
The case made nationwide headlines and highlighted the problem of racism and far-right attacks on minorities in eastern Germany.
A 23-year-old man is expected to go on trial next week charged with smashing the window of the pizza restaurant where the Indian men sought refuge after getting into a fight during a street festival.
The court ruling against the 18-year-old was criticized by a representative of the Indian men. Marianne Thum, who works for a group that helps the victims of racist attacks, said: "This really makes me angry."
She said the €600 fine which the man has been ordered to pay to a children's charity was far too lenient, and she complained that the victims had not been informed that the court case was taking place.
She said the fine should have at least been paid to an organisation that combats right-wing extremism. "That might have caused the defendants some pain," she said.
Source: Spiegel
'Awareness of Ethnic Discrimination Is Low in Germany' - 08/29/2007
SPIEGEL ONLINE talks to racism expert Nicole Bosch about xenophobia in Germany and what can be done to combat right-wing extremism.
A new report on racism in Europe by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has revealed that racist violence is on the rise in Germany and that discrimination is commonplace. SPIEGEL ONLINE spoke to racism expert Nicole Bosch from the European Forum for Migration Studies in Bamberg -- which supplied the information about Germany for the FRA report -- about the new findings and how racism can be fought.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: In general, is the problem of racism in Germany getting better or worse?
Bosch: In 2006, the police registered the highest number of politically motivated right-wing crimes since 2001. In contrast to previous years, the 2006 figures also indicate a rise in the number of xenophobic crimes. (In previous years the increase was mainly due to rising propaganda crime figures). In 2006, 484 of the right-wing extremist crimes were registered as xenophobic and violent, compared to 355 cases in 2005.
However, the preliminary figures for the first half of 2007 indicate a strong decrease in xenophobic right-wing crime compared to the preliminary figures for the same period in 2006. Among the 723 xenophobic criminal acts in the first half year of 2007, 148 incidents were violent crimes.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: According to the FRA report, racist crimes increased in Germany in 2006. Does this mean that racism is becoming more of a problem, or does it reflect better reporting of crimes?
Bosch: The drastic increase, especially in violent crimes with a xenophobic background, cannot be explained by better reporting of crimes. The official criminal registration and definition system, the “Criminal Investigation Registration Service -- Politically Motivated Criminality,” (which keeps statistics on political crimes committed across the whole of Germany) had already been introduced as long ago as 2001.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is racism a particular problem in certain parts of Germany?
Bosch: Concerning the number of right-wing extremist violent crimes, the figures show that eastern Germany tends to be more affected by such crimes than western Germany. In 2005, the highest numbers of such crimes in relation to the total population were recorded in Saxony-Anhalt, where there were 4.29 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, and Brandenburg (3.78 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants), which are both in eastern Germany. In contrast, the western German states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate displayed the lowest figures, with 0.41 and 0.59 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively. However, these figures cannot simply be interpreted as meaning there is more or less racism in eastern or western Germany.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: How does Germany compare to other European Union members in terms of racism?
Bosch: Due to different laws, different criminal justice traditions and procedures, it is currently impossible to compare official criminal justice data on racist violence between EU member states. According to the FRA report, criminal justice data on racist violence and crime from a national source is only available in 11 member states. Germany belongs to the majority -- eight out of 11 member states -- which experienced a general upward trend in racist crime during the last five or six years.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is the average German sensitive to racism as a problem?
Bosch: Attitudes -- especially in an international comparative perspective -- are difficult to assess. For the German context, there are two much-discussed studies which examined xenophobic attitudes in Germany. According to the latest round of the longitudinal (i.e. long-term) Group-Focused Enmity Syndrome (GMF) survey conducted by Bielefeld University's Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence, the extent of xenophobic attitudes in 2006 remained at the level of the previous year -- after a constant increase between 2002 and 2005.
In November 2006, the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation released the results of a representative survey on right-wing extremist attitudes among Germans. That study categorized 26.7 percent of the around 5,000 people interviewed as xenophobic. The authors concluded that the phenomenon of right-wing extremism constitutes a political problem not only at the margins, but also in the center of German society.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Would a ban on the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) help to combat racism?
Bosch: By banning the NPD, the state would show that official institutions are fighting right-wing and xenophobic attitudes with all the means it has at its disposal. In this sense, a ban on the NPD could be one state measure to fight these tendencies.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What is the bigger problem: right-wing extremism and violence, or "everyday" racism (discrimination in employment, housing etc)?
Bosch: Right-wing extremism and violence are substantially threatening our societies. However these phenomena can not be seen without discrimination -- people suffering in different social fields. This is why FRA does not only monitor racist and xenophobic violence and crimes but also discrimination in the fields of education, employment, housing and health.
But the level of awareness of ethnic discrimination is low in German society. This lack of awareness is also due to the lack of information on the extent of discrimination in Germany. Systematic monitoring or data collection mechanisms on discrimination are not in place in Germany -- neither in the education system, nor in housing, nor in the sphere of employment. Although proxy data clearly show the disadvantaged position of foreigners in various social spheres, these statistics are hardly suitable for unveiling the “real” extent of ethnic discrimination.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Why is Germany "lagging behind" (to quote the FRA report) in implementing the EU Racial Equality Directive?
Bosch: The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) which was passed in Germany to implement the four EU equality directives (including the Racial Equality Directive) came into force on August 18, 2006 -- more than three years after the July 2003 deadline for the implementation of the EU Racial Directive. Germany's new specialised body for the promotion of equal treatment, the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency, which is part of the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, was only recently fully staffed. On the occasion of the first anniversary of the AGG, the heated debate about the act has started up again. In Germany, skepticism towards legal anti-discrimination regulations remains high.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What can be done to fight racism in Germany?
Bosch: The significant decrease of right-wing and xenophobic tendencies between 2000 and 2003 indicates that the effectiveness of the struggle against extreme right-wing, xenophobic and anti-Semitic developments depends on a combination of immediate state measures (e.g. law enforcement) and the long-term development of social control mechanisms in the society (e.g. awareness raising). It is essential that police authorities enforce the law by consistently registering and forcefully combating such incidents and that the perpetrators are punished adequately.
Furthermore, strong public condemnation of these phenomena by official figures, such as leading politicians and other opinion leaders, affects the perception of racism and xenophobia in the media and in society in general. In addition, the fight against xenophobia and anti-Semitism depends on the commitment and active involvement of civil society, particularly through local initiatives (e.g. round tables), projects and other activities (e.g. demonstrations against xenophobia and educational programs). These civil society activities strengthen mechanisms of social control and condemnation of right-wing violence, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.
In order to ensure the sustainability of the struggle against xenophobia and anti-Semitism -- and this seems to be a shortcoming in Germany -- respective good practice initiatives and projects (e.g. victims' support organisation) must be supported on a long-term basis and continuously institutionalised.
Interview conducted via e-mail by David Gordon Smith
Source: Spiegel
SPIEGEL ONLINE: In general, is the problem of racism in Germany getting better or worse?
Bosch: In 2006, the police registered the highest number of politically motivated right-wing crimes since 2001. In contrast to previous years, the 2006 figures also indicate a rise in the number of xenophobic crimes. (In previous years the increase was mainly due to rising propaganda crime figures). In 2006, 484 of the right-wing extremist crimes were registered as xenophobic and violent, compared to 355 cases in 2005.
However, the preliminary figures for the first half of 2007 indicate a strong decrease in xenophobic right-wing crime compared to the preliminary figures for the same period in 2006. Among the 723 xenophobic criminal acts in the first half year of 2007, 148 incidents were violent crimes.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: According to the FRA report, racist crimes increased in Germany in 2006. Does this mean that racism is becoming more of a problem, or does it reflect better reporting of crimes?
Bosch: The drastic increase, especially in violent crimes with a xenophobic background, cannot be explained by better reporting of crimes. The official criminal registration and definition system, the “Criminal Investigation Registration Service -- Politically Motivated Criminality,” (which keeps statistics on political crimes committed across the whole of Germany) had already been introduced as long ago as 2001.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is racism a particular problem in certain parts of Germany?
Bosch: Concerning the number of right-wing extremist violent crimes, the figures show that eastern Germany tends to be more affected by such crimes than western Germany. In 2005, the highest numbers of such crimes in relation to the total population were recorded in Saxony-Anhalt, where there were 4.29 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, and Brandenburg (3.78 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants), which are both in eastern Germany. In contrast, the western German states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate displayed the lowest figures, with 0.41 and 0.59 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively. However, these figures cannot simply be interpreted as meaning there is more or less racism in eastern or western Germany.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: How does Germany compare to other European Union members in terms of racism?
Bosch: Due to different laws, different criminal justice traditions and procedures, it is currently impossible to compare official criminal justice data on racist violence between EU member states. According to the FRA report, criminal justice data on racist violence and crime from a national source is only available in 11 member states. Germany belongs to the majority -- eight out of 11 member states -- which experienced a general upward trend in racist crime during the last five or six years.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is the average German sensitive to racism as a problem?
Bosch: Attitudes -- especially in an international comparative perspective -- are difficult to assess. For the German context, there are two much-discussed studies which examined xenophobic attitudes in Germany. According to the latest round of the longitudinal (i.e. long-term) Group-Focused Enmity Syndrome (GMF) survey conducted by Bielefeld University's Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence, the extent of xenophobic attitudes in 2006 remained at the level of the previous year -- after a constant increase between 2002 and 2005.
In November 2006, the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation released the results of a representative survey on right-wing extremist attitudes among Germans. That study categorized 26.7 percent of the around 5,000 people interviewed as xenophobic. The authors concluded that the phenomenon of right-wing extremism constitutes a political problem not only at the margins, but also in the center of German society.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Would a ban on the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) help to combat racism?
Bosch: By banning the NPD, the state would show that official institutions are fighting right-wing and xenophobic attitudes with all the means it has at its disposal. In this sense, a ban on the NPD could be one state measure to fight these tendencies.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What is the bigger problem: right-wing extremism and violence, or "everyday" racism (discrimination in employment, housing etc)?
Bosch: Right-wing extremism and violence are substantially threatening our societies. However these phenomena can not be seen without discrimination -- people suffering in different social fields. This is why FRA does not only monitor racist and xenophobic violence and crimes but also discrimination in the fields of education, employment, housing and health.
But the level of awareness of ethnic discrimination is low in German society. This lack of awareness is also due to the lack of information on the extent of discrimination in Germany. Systematic monitoring or data collection mechanisms on discrimination are not in place in Germany -- neither in the education system, nor in housing, nor in the sphere of employment. Although proxy data clearly show the disadvantaged position of foreigners in various social spheres, these statistics are hardly suitable for unveiling the “real” extent of ethnic discrimination.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Why is Germany "lagging behind" (to quote the FRA report) in implementing the EU Racial Equality Directive?
Bosch: The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) which was passed in Germany to implement the four EU equality directives (including the Racial Equality Directive) came into force on August 18, 2006 -- more than three years after the July 2003 deadline for the implementation of the EU Racial Directive. Germany's new specialised body for the promotion of equal treatment, the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency, which is part of the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, was only recently fully staffed. On the occasion of the first anniversary of the AGG, the heated debate about the act has started up again. In Germany, skepticism towards legal anti-discrimination regulations remains high.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What can be done to fight racism in Germany?
Bosch: The significant decrease of right-wing and xenophobic tendencies between 2000 and 2003 indicates that the effectiveness of the struggle against extreme right-wing, xenophobic and anti-Semitic developments depends on a combination of immediate state measures (e.g. law enforcement) and the long-term development of social control mechanisms in the society (e.g. awareness raising). It is essential that police authorities enforce the law by consistently registering and forcefully combating such incidents and that the perpetrators are punished adequately.
Furthermore, strong public condemnation of these phenomena by official figures, such as leading politicians and other opinion leaders, affects the perception of racism and xenophobia in the media and in society in general. In addition, the fight against xenophobia and anti-Semitism depends on the commitment and active involvement of civil society, particularly through local initiatives (e.g. round tables), projects and other activities (e.g. demonstrations against xenophobia and educational programs). These civil society activities strengthen mechanisms of social control and condemnation of right-wing violence, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.
In order to ensure the sustainability of the struggle against xenophobia and anti-Semitism -- and this seems to be a shortcoming in Germany -- respective good practice initiatives and projects (e.g. victims' support organisation) must be supported on a long-term basis and continuously institutionalised.
Interview conducted via e-mail by David Gordon Smith
Source: Spiegel
Racism On the Rise in Germany
The European Union has published a new report on racism in Europe. Germany comes in for criticism on several fronts, including violent crimes and discrimination against foreigners in the job and housing markets.
Racism has become a front-page issue in Germany in recent days after an apparently xenophobic attack on eight Indians in the eastern German town of Mügeln. Now a new European Union report on racism reveals the full extent of the problem -- and shows that everyday racism in the general population is just as much an issue as right-wing extremism.
Gurminder Singh was one of the victims of the recent attack in Mügeln. Just how big a problem is racism in Germany?
The "Report on Racism and Xenophobia in the Member States of the EU" was published Tuesday by the Vienna-based European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) -- an agency which was created on Mar. 1, 2007 to replace the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia.
The report shows that violent racism appears to be on the increase in Germany, with reported incidents of racist violence and crime increasing by 14 percent between 2005 and 2006, going up from 15,914 incidents in 2005 to 18,142 in 2006. However the report did say that the figures for reported crimes "should be interpreted with caution," as an apparent increase can reflect better data collection as well as real increases.
Crime with an extremist right-wing motive also showed an increase, going up from 15,361 incidents in 2005 to 17,597 incidents in 2006, a 14.6 percent increase. "The observation of this apparent upward trend in extremist activity in Germany is supported by reports of increased right-wing attacks noted by victim support organizations in eastern parts of the country," the report's authors write.
However the incidence of anti-Semitic crime in Germany remained fairly constant, with 1,662 incidents in 2006 compared to 1,682 in 2005.
The report also criticized several EU members including Germany for "lagging behind" in the implementation of the EU's Racial Equality Directive. The directive was introduced in 2000 and is the main EU legislation in the area of combating racism and xenophobia. Germany only implemented the legisation in 2006 and the bodies set up to combat discrimination were not fully operational by the end of 2006. Germany also failed to apply "a single sanction" or award compensation in cases of racial discrimination, "even though laws and procedures were in place."
"In Germany, skepticism towards legal anti-discrimination regulations remains high," commented racism expert Nicole Bosch from the European Forum for Migration Studies, which contributed to the FRA report, in an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE.
One of the areas where discrimination can be seen is laws regarding the wearing of religious symbols. The report gives the example of the decision by a court in Bavaria to upheld a ban on female teachers wearing Islamic headscarves in schools while allowing nuns to wear habits.
Discrimination in Jobs, Education and Housing
Discrimination is also seen in the job market. The report quotes research on second-generation Turkish-Germans carried out in 2006, which showed that "gatekeepers" such as personnel managers are "not only guided by relevant factors like education, qualification and work experience, but also by certain cultural stereotypes and prejudices towards Turkish migrants."
The report also said that significant discrimination in the housing market had been found in studies in Cologne, Hanover, Munich and Berlin.
Germany was also one of the countries singled out as having an educational system "that lead to a high concentration of disadvantaged and/or discriminated pupils in the lowest educational tracks." One reason for discrimination in education, the report says, is resistance to educating immigrant children in their native language. The report gives the example of the city of Dietzenbach in the state of Hesse which decreed German to be the single language in the 12 city nursery schools.
However the report did also single out a number of initiatives which were promising. A campaign in Berlin was introduced to encourage young migrants to apply for vocational training in the administration, police and fire services, while the state government in North Rhine-Westphalia has introduced an action plan to encourage young people with an immigration background to become teachers.
Large companies were also leading the fight against discrimination. In December 2006 the companies Deutsche Bank, DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche BP and Deutsche Telekom jointly signed a "diversity charter," where they commit themselves to promoting diversity in their companies.
As part of efforts to promote diversity, the German bank Commerzbank has set up a "silence room" in Frankfurt which can be used as a place of prayer for Muslim employees, while Deutsche Bank is establishing private worship and meditation rooms for employees of all religious beliefs.
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
New film uncovers racism in Germany
Is Germany a racist country? That is what a new documentary, Black on White, is trying to find out. Its findings are shocking. But, as Damien McGuinness reports, the filmmaker himself has been criticized by black Germans for his methods.
For more than a year, journalist Gunter Wallraff travelled across Germany wearing a dark-haired curly wig and with his white skin painted black.
Equipped with a secret camera, and calling himself Kwami Ogonno, he went to predominantly white areas to see how a black man with a foreign accent is treated.
The experience, he said, was even more depressing that he had expected.
"I hadn't known what we would discover, and had thought maybe the story will be, what a tolerant and accepting country we have become," said Mr Wallraff after a screening of the film Black on White in Berlin. "Unfortunately I was wrong."
Equipped with a secret camera, and calling himself Kwami Ogonno, he went to predominantly white areas to see how a black man with a foreign accent is treated.
The experience, he said, was even more depressing that he had expected.
"I hadn't known what we would discover, and had thought maybe the story will be, what a tolerant and accepting country we have become," said Mr Wallraff after a screening of the film Black on White in Berlin. "Unfortunately I was wrong."
Günter Wallraff was almost beaten up by Neo-Nazis after a football match in eastern Germany. Outside a small-town nightclub was told by a skinhead: "Europe for whites, Africa for apes."
But the film's most disturbing aspect is not the well-known racism of right-wing extremists, but rather the secretly-filmed reactions of everyday people - the landlady who says she could not possibly rent out a flat to a black person, or the shop owner who will not let "Kwami" try on an expensive watch, but willingly hands over the same watch to the next customer who is white.
Everyday abuse
For black people in certain parts of Germany such experiences are commonplace, believes Sven Mekarides, general secretary of the Africa Council in Berlin.
Mr Mekarides left his native Cameroon in 1991 and came to study in a small town in eastern Germany.
He says he and his fellow African students experienced racist attacks and abuse every day.
They were spat at, shouted at and beer bottles were thrown at them.
The worst attack took place in the eastern Berlin district of Lichtenberg in 2004, when Mr Mekarides and his girlfriend were surrounded by seven young men armed with knives.
"We soon realized that it was dangerous to travel in groups of less than three people. And we would never let any of the women go anywhere without accompanying them," he said in a Berlin cafe.
He says he and his fellow African students experienced racist attacks and abuse every day.
They were spat at, shouted at and beer bottles were thrown at them.
The worst attack took place in the eastern Berlin district of Lichtenberg in 2004, when Mr Mekarides and his girlfriend were surrounded by seven young men armed with knives.
"We soon realized that it was dangerous to travel in groups of less than three people. And we would never let any of the women go anywhere without accompanying them," he said in a Berlin cafe.
Since then, he said, the situation has not got much better.
According to the Amadeu Antonio foundation there have been 138 racially-motivated murders in Germany since 1990. And last year police registered 140 race attacks in Berlin.
"Those are only the most extreme cases the police know about," said Mr Mekarides.
"Every day we get calls from black people who have been falsely accused of stealing something or insulted on the street."
Clown in a carnival?
Although Mr Mekarides welcomes the discussion about racism the film has sparked off, he believes the filmmaker's exaggerated disguise confirms Europeans' worst stereotypes of an African.
According to the Amadeu Antonio foundation there have been 138 racially-motivated murders in Germany since 1990. And last year police registered 140 race attacks in Berlin.
"Those are only the most extreme cases the police know about," said Mr Mekarides.
"Every day we get calls from black people who have been falsely accused of stealing something or insulted on the street."
Clown in a carnival?
Although Mr Mekarides welcomes the discussion about racism the film has sparked off, he believes the filmmaker's exaggerated disguise confirms Europeans' worst stereotypes of an African.
"He just doesn't look like an African," said Mr Mekarides. "The wig, the make-up and the brightly-coloured shirt are all so over the top, he looks like he's a clown in a carnival.
"After he has washed his skin, he can forget the problem. But black people have this problem every day."
Some German newspaper commentators have accused the filmmaker himself of racism for acting out such a negative stereotype of a black person. The character of Kwami speaks broken German and is childlike in his ignorance of dangerous situations.
Anti-racism pressure groups, meanwhile, have complained that the filmmaker is paternally speaking for black people, rather than with them. Why did he not simply film the experiences of real black people?
"It was crucial that I take on these dangers myself," countered Mr Wallraff. "There's no way that I could delegate this role to someone else.
"I've been accused of being racist. But just imagine if I'd sent a black person into situations that I wasn't prepared to go into myself."
"After he has washed his skin, he can forget the problem. But black people have this problem every day."
Some German newspaper commentators have accused the filmmaker himself of racism for acting out such a negative stereotype of a black person. The character of Kwami speaks broken German and is childlike in his ignorance of dangerous situations.
Anti-racism pressure groups, meanwhile, have complained that the filmmaker is paternally speaking for black people, rather than with them. Why did he not simply film the experiences of real black people?
"It was crucial that I take on these dangers myself," countered Mr Wallraff. "There's no way that I could delegate this role to someone else.
"I've been accused of being racist. But just imagine if I'd sent a black person into situations that I wasn't prepared to go into myself."
Torture and prison
With a celebrated 40-year career of unearthing social injustice, it is impossible to doubt Gunter Wallraff's motivations.
In one assignment he went undercover as an anti-government protestor in 1970s Greece and was tortured and imprisoned.
With a celebrated 40-year career of unearthing social injustice, it is impossible to doubt Gunter Wallraff's motivations.
In one assignment he went undercover as an anti-government protestor in 1970s Greece and was tortured and imprisoned.
The film has won praise for starting a debate about racism in Germany. After a Q&A session with Mr Wallraff in a Berlin cinema, one young black woman said the film was "interesting, helpful and needed for Germany".
She said: "I've lived here all my life, and this is the first time I've ever seen an audience like this discussing this issue."
Racism is viewed as unacceptable by mainstream German society, and many urban areas pride themselves on a multi-cultural tolerant atmosphere.
But there do still exist so-called "no-go areas" - particularly in rural eastern Germany - which anti-racism activists advise non-white people to avoid.
Gunter Wallraff's film has already done a lot to spark discussion about racism. With an ageing population, Germany is now having to come to terms with being a country of immigration.
Clearly the debate is just beginning.
She said: "I've lived here all my life, and this is the first time I've ever seen an audience like this discussing this issue."
Racism is viewed as unacceptable by mainstream German society, and many urban areas pride themselves on a multi-cultural tolerant atmosphere.
But there do still exist so-called "no-go areas" - particularly in rural eastern Germany - which anti-racism activists advise non-white people to avoid.
Gunter Wallraff's film has already done a lot to spark discussion about racism. With an ageing population, Germany is now having to come to terms with being a country of immigration.
Clearly the debate is just beginning.
Source: BBC News
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
New Book Reveals Secret Meaning of Neo-Nazi Codes - 06/27/2011
If you were at a German soccer game and saw fans holding up the numbers 14 and 88 in cardboard numerals, you might imagine them to be, say, the shirt numbers of fans' favorite players. But you'd be wrong. In fact, the numbers hold a much more sinister meaning: They are actually neo-Nazi symbols.
It's just one example of how right-wing extremists in Germany use hidden codes to get around a legal ban on Nazi symbols such as the swastika. Very few people know the real meaning of such codes, says Michael Weiss, a German expert on right-wing extremism.
Very few people know the real meaning of such codes, says Michael Weiss, a German expert on right-wing extremism who is one of the authors of the brochure. Nordic-style symbols, as seen on the back of this man's jacket and as a tattoo on his arm, are also popular with right-wing extremists.
Openly Nazi symbols such as the swastika are banned in Germany. Neo-Nazis get around the law by using secret combinations of letter and numbers such as 14 and 88. A new book, "Das Versteckspiel" ("Hide and Seek"), explains the meaning of such codes. Here, a right-wing extremism with tattoos including the number 14 and the "white power" fist logo.
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Here, a right-wing extremist in Berlin wears a shirt featuring the inscription "Frontbann 24," the name of an organization that was banned in 2009. The name is inspired by a Nazi organization that was founded in 1924.
The ancient symbol of the triskelion is also used by right-wing extremists. The clothing label Fred Perry, which made the polo shirt seen here, has long been popular with skinheads of all political persuasions and is worn by some German neo-Nazis. The firm has taken pains to distance itself from the scene.
The number 8 is also a common neo-Nazi symbol. Extremists use it to stand in for the letter H, for Hitler. Here the combination spells out the word "hate." Max H8 is a German streetwear label.
Some neo-Nazis have co-opted imagery previously used by the left-wing. The flag symbols here looks similar to those used by German anti-fascists.
The demonstrator holding the bullhorn is sporting the Black Sun or sunwheel symbol, which is popular with neo-Nazis, on his vest (2006 photo). The man on the right appears to have pieces of adhesive tape on his hoodie, which he could be using to conceal banned symbols.
Some neo-Nazis have taken to wearing the kaffiyeh scarf (seen on the right), a symbol of Palestinian nationalism, "as a symbol of struggle against Israel," says Weiss.
Here, a right-wing extremist (holding flag) has clearly been inspired by Adolf Hitler's personal look. The man next to him is wearing a T-shirt from the clothing firm Masterrace Europe, whose products are worn by neo-Nazis.
Thor Steinar is one of several German clothing labels associated with neo-Nazis.
Thor Steinar is one of several German clothing labels associated with neo-Nazis.
... to these left-wing demonstrators protesting against a neo-Nazi rally in Dresden.
Weiss, who has been researching right-wing clothing and symbols for 10 years, is one of the authors of a new brochure titled "Das Versteckspiel" ("Hide and Seek"). The publication, which is aimed at teachers, social workers and youth group leaders, is designed to raise awareness of right-wing codes, which are often displayed at football games. "We want the soccer teams and the major fan clubs to be able to recognize the codes," Weiss told SPIEGEL.
Secret Codes 'Everywhere'
The brochure, which is published by a Berlin-based anti-racism group, Agentur für Soziale Perspektiven, lists 150 codes that are used by right-wing extremists, including certain clothing labels such as Thor Steinar and letter and number combinations. According to Weiss, the number 14 is a reference to the so-called "14 Words," a phrase coined by the American white separatist David Lane ("We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children"). The meaning behind "88" -- often found in conjunction with 14 -- is slightly more complicated. Here, the number eight stands for the eighth letter of the alphabet, forming "HH" -- an abbreviation for "Heil Hitler," a phrase which is banned in Germany. Similarly, the number 28 signifies "BH," standing for "Blood and Honour," a far-right network that was banned in Germany in 2000.
The secret code numbers can be found "everywhere," says Weiss, including on license plates, tattoos and on signs at football games. "There are fans who travel 400 kilometers (250 miles) to a game just to hold up the four numbers that form 1488," he says.
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, estimated that in 2009 -- the most recent year for which figures are available -- there were 195 far-right organizations in the country with around 26,000 members. The agency can shut down Kameradschaften, gangs or brotherhoods which are deemed violent. But many other groups in the neo-Nazi scene -- such as rock bands with suggestive lyrics or clothing companies with coded symbols -- often fly under the legal radar, provided they don't openly display symbols like swastikas or explicitly support Adolf Hitler or his party.
Borrowing Symbols
The number of codes has increased since the first edition of the brochure was published in 2001. That publication only listed around 100 symbols. "The image of neo-Nazis is much more diverse today," says Weiss. Right-wing extremists used to wear bomber jackets and have skinheads, he explains, but now their style incorporates elements from pop and rock culture. "Now they have piercings," he says.
Similarly, old symbols are given new meanings, Weiss explains, giving the example of the kaffiyeh scarf, a symbol of Palestinian nationalism. "That is used nowadays simply as a symbol of struggle against Israel," says Weiss, pointing out that neo-Nazis ignore the broader meaning of the garment when they co-opt it as a symbol.
The increasingly diverse image of right-wing extremists mean that neo-Nazis can often blend in at left-wing demonstrations or in a sports stadium, Weiss explains. "The problem is that many of these people no longer stand out."
Source: Spiegel
Neo-Nazi Victim Battling to the Death - 09/29/2006
By Roman Heflik in Birmingham
Noel Martin plans to take his own life in less than a year. Just over 10 years ago, a neo-Nazi attack left him paralyzed from the neck down. He plans to fight right-wing extremists to the very end.
Noel Martin has already chosen July 23, 2007 to be the day he dies. On that evening, his pulse will gradually slow down until it stops completely. He has decided to die as a result of a lethal blend of drugs -- administered in Switzerland by Dignitas, an organization that offers its clients medically assisted suicide.
Noel Martin has only 297 days left. But time, he says, is also limited for the neo-Nazis who ruined his life.
Martin publicly announced his decision in June, 10 years after the attack that left him paralyzed and destroyed his will to live. He plans to celebrate his last birthday -- he'll be 48 –- and then drink the cocktail that will put him out of his misery.
He has 297 days left.
The attack occurred on June 16, 1996 in Mahlow, a town in the former East German state of Brandenburg where the dark-skinned, Jamaican-born Briton was employed as a construction worker. A stone crashed through the windshield of his car and Martin's car veered off the road. He remembers seeing a tree careening towards him and jerking the steering wheel.
And then, a thud. Darkness.
When Martin woke up, he was lying on his back. He heard a voice. "Can you feel my hand on your leg?" it asked him. "But you're not touching my leg," Martin replied.
"I am not a part of life. I just exist"
Two young Germans, Sandro R. and Mario P., had thrown a lump of concrete at Martin's car. They were 17 and 24 years old at the time and their motive was "explicit xenophobia," as a court later determined. They were sentenced to five and eight years in prison. Noel Martin never got an apology, but by now he doesn't care any more. "It would be a waste of time. God will take care of them," he says, "life will take care of them." Both of his attackers are now free. But Martin is still imprisoned –- in his own body.
The attack left Noel Martin paralyzed from the neck down. "I am not a part of life," he says, 10 years and three months later, "I just exist." At home in Birmingham, he leans his heavy head against the headrest of his giant wheelchair. He fixes his weary eyes on his interviewer. "Everything has to be figured out by your head. It's torture, mental torture," he sighs. Martin will never be able to move his arms or legs again and he'll never be able to feel what his fingertips touch. He'll never have sex again, never go to the toilet by himself. Nor will he ever feel his own heartbeat.
Martin feels comparatively happy this afternoon. He was up at 8:00 and it only took until noon for him to be washed, massaged, and dressed.
Mornings aren't always this easy. Sometimes his ulcers bleed and bleed, until his dark face goes ashen and his eyes fall shut from sheer exhaustion. Sometimes his nurses slap his face to wake him up again. They have to slap his face –- that's the only part of his body that Noel Martin can still feel.
Losing control of your body hurts
On this particular afternoon, the idea of death seems absurd. Warm rays of sun shine through the garden window, casting patterns of light on the living room carpet. He looks around at the gilt moulding between the high ceiling and the green walls, at the heavy wooden furniture, the red leather couch and his television. There's a little fire place built into one wall. His huge old desk is covered with photo albums and sheets of paper. Dozens of birthday cards line the cornice along the wall. The room is full of life. This is Martin's kingdom. This is where he spends almost every day.
His wheelchair is in the middle of the room. His nurses have dressed him in black trousers and a casual black sweater. His roundish paunch protrudes underneath the sweater. "I used to be fit," Martin says. "I used to run in the mornings. Then I would do sit-ups. I did kung-fu and boxing too." Today he's plagued by chills and hot flashes. His broad shoulders have gone slack. He still has some control over his right shoulder –- which allows him to operate his wheelchair with a joystick and use his phone. Apart from that, Martin needs the assistance of his eight nurses for everything else.
They keep an eye on him 24 hours a day. Even now, a small woman with a blonde ponytail is standing in the doorway. "Cath, give me some wine please," Martin says. The nurse reaches him a glass of chilled white wine. He drinks it through a straw. "Good. Give me a cigarette please," he says. Cathy puts one in his mouth and lights it. Martin takes a drag. Then Cathy removes the cigarette from his mouth –- until he wants to take another drag.
This constant dependence on other people is agony for Martin. "I can never be alone." The self-confident man suffers from his loss of control. Suddenly he twists his face into a grimace –- he can't stand it anymore. "Cath, scratch please." The nurse wipes his face with a towel. This will happen about 10 times before the afternoon is over.
"You can't suffer every day of your life"
Jacqueline, his strong-willed wife, used to take care of him. She died of cancer six years ago. Two days before she passed away, they married at Jacqueline's sickbed -- after having lived together for 18 years. Martin says he spent 36 hours with her after their marriage before she fell into a coma. "I miss her every day," he says. His voice, which normally sounds so resolute, cracks. He can see her grave outside in the garden.
After the attack, he promised Jacqueline to try and hold on for eight years. On the evening of July 23, 2007, 11 years will have passed since the event that changed his life forever.
Martin's announcement that he plans to commit suicide has caused an uproar. The phone rang constantly for days. "The only one who didn't call was God," he jokes. Countless journalists asked him for an interview and outraged Christians urged him not to commit such a sin. But Martin says he doesn't need their advice. "Cath, cigarette please." He takes a deep drag and says that "99 percent of them" would already have "ended it all" years ago, in his situation. What does he think about other handicapped people who want to "end it all"? "Suffering is individual," he replies. "And you can't suffer every day." No, he says, he's not afraid to die. "No one escapes death anyway." He seems relaxed now –- almost cheerful. These are thoughts he has often thought.
Neo-Nazis are already celebrating the imminent death of the man they despise in their Internet forums. After all, the attack gave rise to an unprecedented campaign against xenophobia. Citizens in Mahlow spontaneously started up a local project called "Tolerant Mahlow." Martin returned to the city in 2001 and he called on its citizens to continue to stand up for the rights of others. He also established a charitable foundation against xenophobia.
Right-wing extremists, for their part, see it as a provocation that he is still alive. One of their Internet forums features a post by a neo-Nazi urging Martin to burn himself alive on a market square, noting that this would save money. The author of the post adds that he would be "happy to donate the gasoline." What does Martin think about the neo-Nazis? "Foolish people who know nothing about life. They love white skin, but they lie down in the sun to get a tan." He says to let them talk –- after all, there is such a thing as freedom of speech. "I wasn't afraid of them then, and I'm not afraid of them now," he says.
Noel Martin hasn't yet turned his back on life
Black people still aren't safe in Brandenburg today, 10 years after the attack on Noel Martin. "The government should make sure everyone can go wherever they want and be safe," he says. Martin knows how far-reaching the problem is. The first time he heard the word "nigger" was decades ago, back home, in the British industrial town of Birmingham.
And so Martin wants to make the most of the time that's left before the evening of July 23, 2007. His nurses, Cathy and Charity, spread out sheets of paper on the carpet. Martin discusses his appointments with the two nurses and makes a few phone calls. He hasn't turned his back on life yet. He's working on his book and in October he has a meeting with Brandenburg's governor, Matthias Platzeck in London. Later, he wants to return to Mahlow another time.
"I want to tell people they should stop apologizing for their past. They should just teach their children the value of life," he says. He's sure to receive public attention now –- and Martin is using it to support his foundation and other projects.
The right-wing extremists may well celebrate his death as a late triumph, but Noel Martin takes a very different view. "I have some bad news for those people," Martin says. He raises his head and his voice as if he were preparing to give a speech: "Of the 6 billion people in the world, 5 billion are people of color. Sooner or later they'll all mix." He grins. "Who knows? Maybe the children of these Nazis will marry a black man or a black woman one day?"
He likes the idea. The Nazis are running out of time –- with or without Noel Martin.
Source: Spiegel
Neo-Nazis Cut Swastika Into Woman's Hip - 11/26/2007
Yet another far-right assault in eastern Germany: Police are hunting four men who sliced a swastika into the hip of a 17-year-old woman after she tried to stop them harassing a six-year-old girl. Witnesses have been slow to come forward.
German police say they have received two leads but have made no arrests yet in the case of a 17-year-old girl attacked by four far-right youths who cut a swastika symbol into her hip in the eastern town of Mittweida this month.
The men had been outside a supermarket pushing and harassing a six-year-old girl from the former Soviet Union. The teenager shouted at them to stop and they responded by turning on her. They threw her to the ground, three of them held her and the fourth cut the 5 centimeter (2 inch) Nazi symbol into her thigh with what she said was an "object similar to a scalpel."
He also tried to cut a Germanic symbol into her cheek but she defended herself so violently that they failed, police said. Police have located a 19-year-old suspect but so far none of the people who witnessed the attack have come forward to testify and the local court has refused to issue an arrest warrant against him because of a lack of evidence.
Photofit picture of one of the assailants based on the victim's description.
Mittweida's mayor Matthias Damm plans to write to residents living in the area where the attack happened calling on them to testify. The victim said many residents watched the attack from their balconies.
The attack happened on Nov. 3 but the teenager didn't report it until nine days later after she had told her mother who went to the police with her. Police believe her story because a medical examination concluded that she could not have cut the swastika herself, and the six-year-old girl corroborated it.
"A medical examination found that the injuries sustained by the 17-year-old cannot have been self-inflicted," a police spokesman told SPIEGEL ONLINE.
Police said on Sunday they had received two leads from the public after they released photofit pictures of the attackers. The victim said two of the attackers had badges bearing the letters NSDAP, the acronym of Hitler's Nazi party, on their bomber jackets. The mayor of the town of 16,000, located in the eastern state of Saxony, condemned the attacks and called on the inhabitants to work with the police to find the perpetrators
.
"The young woman deserves the highest respect for showing such courage," the mayor's office said on the town's official Web site. "We call on the citizens of our town not to look away when such incidents happen, to show courage and to work with the police."
Eastern Germany has become notorious for the high number of racist assaults on minorities there since unification in 1990. The relatively strong support for far-right groups and political parties in the east has been attributed to the region's economic decline and to the failure of the Communist regime to nurture a public sense of responsibility for the crimes of the Nazis.
Several racist assaults have attracted nationwide media coverage this year including one in August when eight Indian menwere beaten up and chased by a group shouting "Foreigners out!" in the town of Mügeln.
Source: Spiegel
Indian Student subjected to racism in Germany
As told by the victim Dr. Rajamohan Durai:
In 1974 I applied to take the Hauptdiplom examination. A month before the exam I had an attack of writer’s cramps and I could not write. The doctors who treated me said it was a psychogenic reaction probably caused by some incidents of racist prejudice shown by some university staff. I requested the university to permit me to do doctorate directly under the exemption rules cited above, since I could take oral examination. I was forcibly exmatriculated from the university on the ground of long illness whose end was not foreseeable.
The University misrepresented some incidents so that the Govt.Doctor concluded that I am a psychiatric case. I underwent the humiliating experience of staying in the government psychiatric hospital for a week to prove that I am neither insane nor an addict. Prof.Dr.Spiegelberg not only faulted the government doctor's report but also subtly hinted that the University is to be blamed. One would think such things happened in a fascist regime.
Why this discrimination between Indians and the British? British Universities treat Indian degrees as equal to their own. But Germans treat us as inferior! This is nothing but racism. How could the university judge my qualificational equivalence after refusing to examine me orally?”
Please visit the link below to read further: Google Sites
An Indian opinion and experience of racism in Germany
I am a US citizen of Indian descent and speaking for my circle of friends who are also of Indian descent. We all believe that Germany is not a conducive environment for foreigners.
One of my friends has over 30 patents and is the chief engineer for a multi-100 million dollar high tech company he helped build. When he was asked to move to Hamburg to take over a division there, he was met with such hostility by highly educated employees and thinly disguised racial insults that he declined the job. The division was shut down a little later. It would be a stretch to say this was the reason but his presence would have given the division a fighting chance. Racism hurt everybody here, the German citizens who lost jobs, my friend who could not experience the pleasure of living in Germany which he was looking forward to.
I personally have been to over 56 countries on business and only in Germany have I ever been asked for my passport while walking down the street. Immigration officers have also been much ruder than in other European countries. As a result, I no longer fly through Germany if I can avoid it and do not plan on expanding into Germany. I am just a small blip on the economic radar for Germany but there are 200 million successful Indians or people of Indian origin who would like nothing better than to have a profitable and mutually beneficial relationship with Germany's people.
My friends of Chinese origin share the same view and there are probably as many of them if not more.
- Sameer V.
San Jose, CA, USA
San Jose, CA, USA
-As told to SPIEGEL Magazine
Source: Spiegel
Pregnant Woman Hospitalized in Racist Attack - 12/03/2007
The eastern German city of Magdeburg saw a series of hate crimes over the weekend. Suspected right-wing extremists attacked five Iraqis -- including a pregnant woman -- and four Africans in two separate incidents, and a Jewish community center was also vandalized.
A 20-year-old pregnant Iraqi woman was among several victims of what were believed to be racially motivated attacks in the eastern German town of Magdeburg this weekend.
A group of Germans attacked five Iraqis on a night bus on Saturday night, police reported Sunday. The group of two women and three men were verbally abused as they were getting on the bus around 10 p.m. A German man punched one of the woman in the face at the bus stop, and a second man pushed her against her two-year-old child's stroller. The woman, who is pregnant, had to be taken to hospital suffering from abdominal pain, police said. The police detained two suspects but later released them.
In a second attack, three men and a woman from Niger were allegedly harassed and racially abused by three men who are believed to be German. A fight developed, during which two of the Africans were injured. A passerby alerted the police who came and broke up the fight. A police officer who tried to detain two of the suspects was attacked and injured by the group of assailants, which had grown to six or seven people, and the two suspects managed to flee. The group split up before additional police could arrive.
In a third incident, a Jewish community center in the city was vandalized on Sunday. An intercom box was torn off the wall of the building, causing €300 worth of damage. Police have not ruled out an anti-Semitic motive.
Germany's domestic intelligence service, which monitors far-right activity, is investigating all three cases.
The incidents are merely the latest in an ongoing series of attacks on foreigners in Germany's economically deprived eastern states. An attack on eight Indian men by a mob in the town of Mügeln made headlines around the world in August 2007. More recently, four men carved a swastika into the thigh of a 17-year-old woman after she tried to stop them harassing a six-year-old girl in the town of Mittweida.
Source: Spiegel
Indians Express Concern about Visiting Germany - 08/29/2007
The attacks on eight Indians in eastern Germany 10 days ago shocked many back home. Now the German embassy in New Dehli is being inundated with calls from prospective visitors to Germany who want to know what risks they face.
Following the vicious attack on eight of their compatriots in eastern Germany just over a week ago, Indians planning a visit to Germany are concerned about the risks they may be facing. Many have been contacting the German embassy in New Dehli to find out exactly where so-called "No-Go" areas they should avoid are located.
Their anxiety follows events in Mügeln, a town in the Eastern German state of Saxony, on Aug. 19, when eight Indians were chased and attacked by a mob of over 50 people shouting "Foreigners Out!" during a street party. The eight men eventually found refuge in a pizzeria, but the crowd broke inside and began beating them. It took 70 police to disperse the crowds.
Mügeln was the scene of an attack on eight Indians on Aug. 19. Now their compatriots want to know where else to avoid in Germany.
In the aftermath of these ugly scenes the Indian government expressed its alarm to the Berlin government. "We have requested that the German authorities take action to address this issue and prevent future incidents of the kind," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said in a statement last week.
Volker Kauder, the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, is currently in New Dehli for talks with the Indian government and he admitted that the events in Mügeln were viewed with much concern there. Speaking to the Rheinsiche Post newspaper he said: "Our embassy has received many inquires about where the so-called 'No-Go' areas for foreign visitors are in Germany." Kauder pointed out that Indians are, however, making an effort not to play up the incident: "The Indians recognize that these events in Mügeln are not the rule in Germany." Kauder added that Chancellor Merkel's clear condemnation of the attacks had done a lot to calm the situation.
According to Saxony's state prosecutor, 82 witnesses have so far been interviewed in connection with the Mügeln attack and the police confirmed on Tuesday that they are investigating seven suspects. The state police chief Bernd Merbitz told the Associated Press that the actions had not been committed by a particular extreme-right group. Nonetheless, he said, the chanting of slogans such as "Foreigners Out!" and "Germany for Germans" constituted a xenophobic criminal offence.
The incident has prompted some politicians, including the leader of the Social Democrats Kurt Beck, to call for the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) to be banned. A 2003 bid to do exactly that failed due to strict legal obstacles to banning political parties in Germany. Since then the NPD has managed to enter two state parliaments in eastern Germany: Saxony in 2004, with 9.2 percent of the vote, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in 2006 with 7.3 percent.
Mügeln Mayor Slammed for Trivializing Racist Attack - 08/31/2007
Two weeks after eight Indians were attacked by a mob in the Eastern German town of Mügeln, its mayor can't see what all the fuss is about. Leading politicians are shocked that he continues to downplay the incident and there are calls for his resignation.
The reverberations following the racist attack on eight Indians in the Eastern German town of Mügeln two weeks ago are still being felt in Germany. Politicians from across the spectrum reacted with anger after Mügeln Mayor Gotthard Deuse complained that a media campaign had been whipped up against the town and criticized leading politicians for their "malicious" comments. His own party, the business friendly Free Democrats, is distancing itself from him and there are calls for him to resign.
Mügeln Mayor Gotthard Deuse feels his town is the victim of a poisonous media campaign. As far as he is concerned there's no right-wing extremism in the town.
There was widespread revulsion in Germany and beyond after eight Indian men were chased through the streets of Mügeln by a mob of 50 people on Aug. 19. The men took refuge in a pizzeria as the crowd chanted "Foreigners Out!" and "Germany for Germans," before breaking in and beating up the men inside.
In a classic example of pouring oil onto the fire Deuse, in an interview given to the right-wing Young Freedom newspaper, complained about the rush to judge his town in what he called a "media campaign." He completely denied that there was a problem with right-wing extremism in the town and accused politicians like Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee -- who is also responsible for overseeing development in former East Germany, of making uninformed "populist" comments about the attacks.
Tiefensee had already warned against belittling the events in Mügeln and he hit back at Deuse on Friday, telling the Rheinische Post that "citizens and groups had to be courageous in tackling extreme-right tendencies. Looking away and downplaying the problem is exactly the wrong thing to do."
Tiefensee pointed out that the radical right was stronger in the former East Germany than it was in the West. "There is an historic lack of exposure to immigration and cultural diversity," he said, while admitting that the difficult job market plays a role in radicalization. But the Social Democrat politician insisted that this didn’t justify "threats and acts of violence against foreigners or anyone else."
Deuse, who has been mayor of Mügeln for the past 17 years, had already insisted that there was no far-right scene in the town. In his interview he complained about the "poisonous" attacks on the town and accused some politicians of not knowing what they were talking about and of being either ignorant or "deliberately malicious." He regretted that Germans were not allowed show their own national pride and said "I am proud to be a German."
Leading politicians from the Social Democrats (SPD) and Green Party have demanded Deuse resign as mayor, while his party has tried to distance itself from the mayor and his remarks.
SPD member Sebastian Edathy, who is chairman of the parliamentary domestic affairs committee told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung "Mr. Deuse should ask himself whether he can be of any more use in his position. I have my doubts." Green Party parliamentary leader Renate Künast declared: "The mayor of Mügeln has to go!" The Left Party's deputy parliamentary leader Bodo Ramelow said that he had the impression that the mayor was "xenophobic deep down."
As for the FDP, General Secretary Dirk Niebel said Deuse is responsible for his own words and insisted: "There can be no relativization when it comes to acts of violence and xenophobic attitudes. That is the basis of an open-minded and tolerant society for all democrats."
Source: Spiegel
Source: Spiegel
Severe Anti-Semitism Hits Youth Football in Germany - 06/01/2007
By Heike Baldauf
They were two teams of 14-year-olds. But that didn't seem to matter. Right-wing fans rained anti-Semitic and racist insults down on a youth-league game in Eastern Germany last month. Police are investigating, but it's far from an isolated incident.
The Ascension Day holiday was to be a big day for the football community in Wurzen, a small town of 15,000 near Leipzig in former Communist-ruled East Germany. The local junior league had a match scheduled with a team from the industrial city of Chemnitz, formerly known as Karl-Marx-Stadt and located near the Czech border.
A number of fans had found their way to the stadium and by the time the whistle blew for kick-off, they were in high spirits, swilling beer and chanting supporters’ songs. The usual horde of young neo-Nazi skinheads and xenophobes were in the stands, looking for trouble.
Assistant referee Henry Lickfeldt elected to call the cops after the match due to the racist epithets rained down on the players from the stands -- and from some of the players themselves. The two Vietnamese-German players Hoang Long, 14 and Le Duc Huy, 14, got the brunt of it.
Then the taunts began. The fans struck up a welcoming chorus for the visiting junior soccer team: “We’ll build a subway from Chemnitz to Auschwitz…” You "Fiji pigs," they yelled at two 14-year-olds who were subbed in. You "foreigner pigs!" They made monkey noises every time they touched the ball. They also targeted the 14-year-old goalkeeper from the visiting team: "Jewish pig, go fuck your Jewish mother," they yelled.
'They're Making Us Look Like Such Monsters'
The crowd didn't just target the visitors. A linesman flagged an offside call, earning him a torrent of abuse including: "Get it right, Jew, or we’ll come and pull your foreskin off."
Despite a number of attempts by the referees to get the crowd under control, the insults continued.
The kids from Chemnitz were not to be put off their game, eventually winning 2-0. But referee Christine Weigelt was not going to let matters rest there. From notes made during the game, she compiled a report on the anti-Semitic and racist abuse and handed it to district police chief Bernd Merbitz.
Her deputy referee Henry Lickfeldt added his protest. But some sport functionaries sided with the rabble, branding Weigelt and other accusers as liars tarnishing Wurzen’s reputation. Sports Association President Heiko Wandel said Weigelt had lost control of the match: "They’re making us look like monsters," he said. "We’ve got Vietnamese and Russians among our players. They should stop putting on such a show."
Many of the insults also came from the players on the field. Indeed, one player from the Wurzen team was barred from playing while the league looked into accusations that he had racially assaulted a Chemnitz player with a Vietnamese background. Wandel was not impressed. "That is going too far," he said. "I'll cover for him. He promised me that he didn't say anything. One is allowed to insult the Germans, but as soon as a Vietnamese is insulted, it is exaggerated."
The Vietnamese boy in question, son of a communist-era immigrant family, was given a red card just as the game was ending for shoving the player he accuses of having insulted him. "I would like too apologize for doing that," the boy said later. "But I won't put up with remarks like that." On the other side of the ball, a father of one of the Wurzel players apologized to the Chemnitz team for the insults.
Far Right Fixtures
But how could such a thing happen, and that at a children's league game? That is exactly the question that Harald Sather, chairman of the Committee of Referees in the state of Saxony is asking. "We have to get to the bottom of all this," he said. "Abuse is going too far. Foreign players deserve respect. How could this happen at a juniors’ game?"
For Germany’s amateur sports world, the involvement of 12- to-14-year-old kids in incidents during the game at Wurzen is a worrying new trend, while abuse by far-right fans at soccer fixtures in East Germany is a fact of life. After major disturbances in amateur football in Saxony last February, 60 matches were cancelled on a single day as a punishment.
Police have promised to press charges. But Germany’s Federation of Active Soccer Fans claims no police action would have been taken had referee assistant Lickfeldt not taken the initiative to call the police. Indeed, after the game, Lickfeldt says that the referee supervisor from Wurzen said he had seen nothing out of the ordinary and warned the referees against filing a report. He also says that the Wurzen trainer told him: "If you write something, then play it down. The German Football Association has their eyes out for such things."
Martin Endemann from the fans' association says that is what normally happens. "Referees often look the other way in such situations in order not to have any trouble. We have seen this again and again over the years." His group, based in Hanau in Western Germany, is running a campaign against intolerance and xenophobia in the country's football stands.
Wurzen -- which has 1,700 unemployed among its 15,000 residents and is famed for a cookie factory, the poet Joachim Ringelnatz and a mail-order firm specializing in far-right music and clothes -- was put on the map by its neo-Nazis and anti-Semites after communism collapsed in 1989. Skinheads and hard-right thugs chased Portuguese workers through the streets and attacked a hostel for asylum-seekers in the 1990s.
Wurzen’s mayor Jürgen Schmidt, a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic party (CDU), is keeping silent about the Ascension Day soccer match. He happens to be vice-president of the Wurzen club and shares a council administration table with local functionaries of the far-right NPD party.
Source: Spiegel
Neo-Nazis Attack Theater Group in Eastern German Town - 06/12/2007
A group of actors were beaten up by neo-Nazis in the eastern German city of Halberstadt and have accused the police of being slow to respond. The region's premier says he is appalled by the attack.
A group of actors who were attacked and injured by neo-Nazis in the eastern city of Halberstadt on Friday night have accused the police of handling their case too hesitantly.
The theater group of 14 actors were on their way to a pub after a debut performance on Friday when they were attacked and beaten up by eight far-right youths. Several of the victims had teeth knocked out and required medical treatment for broken noses, injured ribs and jaws and eye injuries.
Far-right extremists attacked the actors because one of them had a punk hairstyle, newspaper reports said.
Police failed to arrest the 22-year-old main assailant even though he returned to the scene while the victims were being questioned, a regional government official said. "The man was checked by police but released before they found out about his prior convictions," Rüdiger Erben, interior ministry secretary for the state of Saxony-Anhalt, told Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
The man, a known neo-Nazi, was arrested again on Sunday evening. Police are still searching for seven other assailants.
A number of people witnessed the attack and did nothing to help. The theater group had just finished a performance of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and one of the actors had a punk hairstyle in keeping with his role. That appears to have been enough to provoke the neo-Nazis they came across, newspaper reports said.
The premier of Saxony-Anhalt, Wolfgang Böhmer, said he was appalled by the case.
"It's a sad fact that far-right extremists are becoming increasingly brutal. If people are attacked and injured just because of their appearance it's an appalling crime," Böhmer said.
Source: Spiegel
Source: Spiegel
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