Germany forum < Racism in Germany - how bad is it?

  • So

    posted by Deleted user in Germany forum 

    I am living in Germany since a few years ago now, and although the colour of my skin is white (I am Spanish) and so I haven’t lived frightening situations as the ones explained before, I have also lived different situations in which I have felt strongly discriminated.

    Apart from living in Germany, during precedent years I have also lived in different European countries, and I have to say, that I have never felt so discriminated as I do in this country.

    The first big point would be the language. Germans don’t like it if you are not able to speak their language (at all or not good enough). Several times I had to hear comments such as “We are in Germany and so German has to be the language spoken”, and what really shocked me, is that those comments came from people with very different backgrounds that were also very young! I also thought that mainly people with low education would be the ones having such a point of view, but they aren’t the only ones.

    They seem to don’t understand that we are in the 21st century and people travel (for A or B, whatever the reason is). Such an experience can just enrich the “foreigner”, having to integrate him/herself in different cultures with different languages and ways to do. It is such a wonderful experience that is a real shame when those kind of ignorant people screw it up that way. However, probably most of those people have never spent time abroad and so don’t know what they are missing and how strong can such a experience make you.

    How many times have we heard politicians on TV giving speeches about integration problems in Germany? I completely agree with a comment posted by someone before. The integration problem in Germany comes, not only from the difficulties foreigners can have integrating themselves, although from the problems Germans have to integrate them!

    When looking for a job by example, no matter how prepared you are, how many languages you speak or how much experience you have. If you are not German you won’t have half of the chances.

    That is such a pity. There is people with lots of knowledge that, because of this problem (needing a long time to learn the language, having a different skin colour or being from somewhere else), have no chances to show who they really are and what are they capable of.

    I have the feeling that if you are not able to speak proper German, Germans think that you are stupid and unable. The same if you haven’t been born in this country.

    Of course I agree, if you live in Germany you have to speak German and stick to their ways to do, but if since the beginning they are rejecting people that way, they don’t give them the chance to integrate (it is not a matter of two days, learning is a process), and so they create this uncomfortable situation in which their hate for foreigners increases, and the racist feeling perceived by foreigners arises.

    With all this I am not saying that all Germans act that way, because they don’t. I am just referring to this kind of people (which are the ones we are talking about).

    Neither I say that in other countries this problem doesn’t exist, but that would be a different matter to discuss in another forum which talks about something else.

    I am just giving my point of view based on my personal experience and related with how I feel living in Germany.

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