Chancellor Angela Merkel's declaration that
Germany's attempts to build a multicultural society had "utterly
failed" is feeding a growing debate over how to deal with the
millions of foreigners who call the country home.
Merkel told a meeting of young members of her conservative
Christian Democratic Union that while immigrants are welcome in
Germany, they must learn the language and accept the country's
cultural norms - sounding a note heard increasingly across Europe as
it battles an economic slump and worries about homegrown terrorism.
"This multicultural approach, saying that we simply live side by
side and live happily with each other has failed. Utterly failed,"
Merkel said.
Merkel's comments were met with applause by the more conservative
members of her party, but some Germans in cosmopolitan Berlin argued
Sunday she was out of touch with the country's daily life.
"I think her statement is very black and white and does not
reflect honestly the lifestyle people are living here," said
Daniea Jonas, a German setting up a flea market in the city's
diverse Kreuzberg district, where immigrants and native-born Germans
live among each other.
Germany and other European countries have grappled with the idea
of themselves as immigration nations and Merkel has long been
skeptical of the country's attets to build a multicultural society
that includes its estimated 5 million Muslims.
Many immigrants speak little or no German, work in low paying
jobs or live off of government handouts at the same time the country
faces an aging population and a shortage of highly skilled workers.
"Germany needs mre qualified immigration to maintain its
economic advantage and deal with the demographic developments,"
Volker Beck, a lawmaker with the opposition Greens party said
Sunday.
Merkel acknowledged in her Saturday comments that then-West
Germany in the 1960s opened its doors to Turkish laborers who helped
e nation rebuild from the ruins of World War II. Yet German
politicians believed those laborers would eventually return home.
Instead, many have stayed and their children's children are now
starting families here.
A European Championship football qualifier between Germany and
Turkey last week reflected bult-up tensions. Star Germany player
Mesut Oezil, who is of Turkish heritage, was whistled and booed
throughout the game by Turkey fans - who outnumbered German
supporters in Berlin's Olympic stadium.
The 22-year-old Oezil has become Merkel's poster child for
successful integration, and Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in
an interview Saturday that he supported Oezil's decision to play for
Germany instead of his parents' native Turkey.
Gul also called on Turks living in Germany to learn to speak
German "fluently and without an accent," but insisted it was up to
German politicians to create the opportunities for its Turkish
citizens to learn the language and integrate into society.
"That must begin in kindergarten," Gul told the Sueddeutsche
Zeitung. "I have told Mrs. Merkel that."
Last week, several German universities launched departments to
train imams who would be able to lead prayers in German as well as
Turkish. Most imams in Germany are sent from Turkey and speak no
German.
Some argued Sunday that Merkel's comment makes them feel less
welcome, and do nothing to encourage integration.
"It's a shame," said a man who gave his name only as Hakim, an
immigrant from Morocco. "It is not good for the atmosphere in
Germany and it is not a helpful comment."
