Everybody knows that immigration gives rise to strong emotions in many people – good emotions as well as less admirable ones. Precisely for this reason we must talk as openly as possible about it – and as calmly and realistically as possible.
Often there is too much that remains unspoken. Often we lead illusionary debates rather than tackling the broader and more fundamental topic of harmonious coexistence.
We have to find answers to the right questions:
• How best to live in harmony with the people who are legal long-term residents in Germany and who want to stay here?
• How should we treat those whom we only want to take or can take for a short time?
• How should we cope with the problems that concern many people in our country?
• What can and must we require of those who want to live and work long-term in Germany?
• What are the demands we have to make on ourselves?
We need a public discussion on these issues that reaches far beyond the ranks of the parties. We need to talk about immigration and coexistence in Germany – about the opportunities and difficulties that it brings – with all groups of society and all institutions.
And we must act without fear and without illusions.
We can only act successfully if we overcome two attitudes that are far too widespread:
We must overcome uncertainty and fear, which can lead to xenophobia, hatred and violence.
We must overcome a blind xenophilia, which denies that there are problems or conflicts when people of differing origins live together.
II.
A simple truth must first be recognized: the fact that people of different origins and cultures live together in our country will not change. Integration is therefore the task that we must approach jointly if we want to live together successfully and peaceably.
We have lived for too long in the belief that all this is just a temporary condition.
This belief is illustrated particularly clearly in the word "Gastarbeiter", "guest worker". This word was coined to make clear that these people were guests, and would go home again after a certain period of time.
We have long known, however, that most people who come stay – and we have for too long closed our eyes to the fact that this has a number of practical consequences.
The guest workers stayed – most of them to the benefit of us all:
Without workers and employees from other countries many sectors of business would be facing great difficulties. Men and women holding foreign passports have now founded tens of thousands of small and larger enterprises. They provide jobs and training places.
print version
return to list
previous document