Inspiring and poignant – the German contribution to sustainable diversity - by Nicola Scicluna


A display on Oldenburg's refugee past in the Museums
I was deeply impressed by Migrationszentrum project which showed what can realistically achieved for new citizens.  In this vast and busy centre, refugees from all over the world were busily engaged in vocational training. The complex contained a carpentry workshop, a hairdressers and a second-hand clothes shop where clothes were processed, packaged and resold (a realpolitik exercise in commerce).The cooks, accountants, salespeople, gardeners, warehouse manager, all jobs were undertaken by refugees in-training each supported by German lessons, a work coach, occupational therapist, social worker and psychologist.  Migrationszentrum cannot choose who it takes on, and so not all will make it to employment or be able to adjust well, but they have an outstanding chance.  
There were several arts projects on the go into which we were immediately inducted (planting a seedling, signing our names on an installation).  The atmosphere throughout was one of happy, purposeful productivity, we heard stories from refugee men and women from all over the world and we gave them our blessing.
This flagship project, one of three in currently in existence, will be repeated across Germany.  It shows what can practically be done with and for refugees.  Part-financed by the state, the centre will have to drum up finance to ensure its survival beyond its initial three-year tenure.
A huge investment and mobilisation of resources?  Certainly.  But then Germany has learned from experience about investing wisely at the start to avoid future issues.  “We won’t let that happen again.  We won’t let (our migrants) become a parallel society”  said the manager of the local InLingua language school.  Having won the state contract for getting, en masse, the latest citizens up to a basic level in German, he was referring to the ‘guest worker’ programme of the 1970s relating largely to Turkish men who came to work in Germany without rights or citizenship.  This created a generation of alienated, segregated people, setting up social problems in the country for years to come.
This attitude of clear thinking and accountability went through the whole system in our German experience.  For example, in the earthy professionalism of the ladies of ProConnect.  Not every refugee could be helped into work, but they’d give it their best shot.  Educating employers, identifying compatibilities, helping professional refugees to find equivalence for their qualifications (Germany is tough on compliance), they were a cheery user-interface of cultural inclusion.    If I were a refugee, I’d want someone like them to help me.
This compassionate and pragmatic response to migration felt like cultural maturity.  It is a refusal to turn away from facts and responsibilities, shunning the ‘sugar highs’ of populism and planning for the long haul.  It is of course informed by the darker notes of Germany’s uncomfortable past, and our hosts took us there too.
German Memory Culture keeps memories of the Holocaust or ‘Shoah’ alive by passing down testimonies from generation to generation.  As the last survivors die out, Memory Culture aims to ensure that this is not forgotten.
In sum, for me our German experience was both inspiring and poignant.  At what price cultural maturity?  Can other countries learn from the German experience or do we have to go half-way to Hell to find out for ourselves?

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