Friends are writing from
around the world: distressed, confused, and saying they are experiencing a
continual sense of dread. A dear friend from the States wrote about what it is
like to wake up every morning to the "the horror show of Reality TV invading
the White House". We are all frantically trying to figure out what is real
news and fake news and who offers an infallible source of the former.
It is not enough to
consume facts through watching television reports or reading newspaper
articles. Germans love to do this. They love the idea of being
"informed". Which is not a bad thing to do, but it does not mean that
we can base all our opinions and beliefs on things we read. It is not enough to
watch on the side-lines. If there is something monumental happening in the
world, it is not possible to wait and see. We all must take steps forward and enter
into the confusion and chaos.
When the refugees started
coming into Germany two years ago, it was quickly evident that we were living
in historical times. I, like many million others, were aghast at the plight of
the people and yet fearful about what it would mean to let them into our
borders. During the first year, there were daily reports about the ongoing
events and, overall, many of the reports were positive and hopeful in their
tone. They applauded Merkel for her (unfortunately one of the few EU members)
humanitarian act of letting the refugees into our borders.
Yet, as you can imagine,
many Germans had serious trepidation about these developments. And since both
my husband and I are immigrants, many of the conversations we had with friends
and colleagues was about this new influx of immigrants. It was a draining time.
Trying to convince others that millions of refugees should or could be allowed
to come here. Eventually, I began to lose my patience during these
conversations. Because they were only intellectual debates. None of the people
I was talking to had any personal contact with refugees themselves. They
arguments were based on facts from television reports or third-person anecdotal
information.
So, I became rather
radical in my strategy. If someone started talking along the lines, "we
just can't let them all in", I would ask them bluntly how many refugees
did they know personally and what were they doing to positively make the lives
of these people safe. You can say, I just got fed up with talk. This meant many
of my German friends and colleagues relationships became somewhat distant. I was
so passionately moved by the plight of the refugees and didn't want to hear
from others that it wasn't our problem.
This was not a good
development. It created an Us and Others mentality in me. Us being immigrants,
new and old. Them or others, Germans and German bureaucracy. Not good. It
created a situation where I was living in a bubble. And look what happened
during the last American presidential election...
Now, two years on, I have
become convinced that the best ways way to partake in conversation in these
times is to share our personal stories, as well as reliable as facts. I believe
the media, as well as us consumers, should be providing the answers to these
two questions:
"What do I believe to
be true?" and "What have I experienced concretely that has led me to
this belief?".
Here is one such belief I
have developed about the "refugee situation" in Germany.
I believe...
We can allow more refugees
into our country and we will survive economically.
Why concretely...
I have lived in Germany
for nearly 35 years and we have faced numerous momentous social-political
changes during this time. Each and every one of the changes has created a more
robust democracy and, overall, we have continued at have a strong economy.
I came to live in German
in the baby years of the EU. A time when American and Russia were the only two
major political powers contending for influence. The EU became another such
power. A second change happened when the Berlin Wall collapsed. We managed to
create a unification of state with millions of people whose only commonality
was their language and history 50 years old. Another such example of massive
change occurred when Germany signed the Kyoto Agreement. The daily practices of
individuals and compliance of industries to environmental restrictions have
shifted greatly over the years.
Nowadays, I am back to
talking to Germans about the refugees living here. I can do it now with more
patience and persuasiveness. It is a long-term process and it is good so. It
shouldn’t be easy, otherwise it would not be real.
Most of the conversations
I have about the "refugee situation" though are directly with those
who have come here from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and some of the other seven
countries the US President is so interested in banning from his borders. They
are lively conversations filled with fascinating perspectives, laughter,
heartfelt debate, and often as not, tears. My heart is filled with stories of
their lives before war, their experiences coming over here, and their struggles
to stay in this country and build of life which is safe.
A place safe from hunger
and strife, it is the least we should give them for having lost so much.
