Latest news with #Biodeutsch
Local Germany
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
'I've never felt welcome': Why immigrants are leaving Germany
A recent study suggests that one in four immigrants is currently thinking about leaving Germany – and that three percent (300,000 people) already have concrete plans to leave. We asked our readers, who are thinking of leaving Germany or have already made the decision go, to share their reasons. The responses we received from all corners of the country reveal disillusionment, frustration, and even despair. Discrimination and racism The most troubling aspect of the survey is the sheer number of respondents who cited racism and discrimination as a reason for wanting to leave, including a significant number of long-term residents who say the problem has become worse in recent years. Elvis, who has lived and worked in Germany for years, described 'blatant double standards in the working environment". "Germans are more attentive to Germans. When it comes to foreigners, they show open disdain and disregard,' he added. R Palany, a British national in Munich, described very similar experiences. 'Even as a senior executive with B2-C1 level German language skills at the German subsidiary of a major 'international' tech company, I faced overt and covert discrimination at work. READ ALSO: How foreigners view Germany's immigration crackdown "In the workplace, foreigners are tolerated at best and only up to mid-level positions. The more senior a foreigner is, the more the combination of gender, race and nationality becomes an issue." Advertisement 'Germany is a country where racism and discrimination is normalised in society,' said Rishabh Singh in Berlin, a view shared by many of our respondents. Barriers to integration It's a constant theme on the right of the political spectrum that immigrants fail to integrate when they come to Germany. Our respondents make it clear just how hard it is to feel accepted in German society. 'Despite being here for 15 years with a German-speaking job, I always feel I am still a foreigner and don't get a feeling of belonging,' wrote M.S., a naturalized German. 'Germany as a country isn't open enough to accept an Auslander (foreigner) as one of their own, regardless of how much time my family and I have spent here,' said Ravi Verma, a German citizen who has lived in Munich for 35 years. Another respondent, who lives in Karlsruhe and is originally from Lebanon, wrote: 'I've never felt welcomed, never felt I can be who I am, never felt Germans would like me to be part of their society.' Advertisement Many respondents believe the problem is becoming worse in Germany, rather than better. Selvaraj in Berlin talked about the 'resurgence of the far-right', as well as 'a glass-ceiling' for people who aren't ' Biodeutsch' (a term frequently used by the far-right to distinguish between Germans with and without a migrant background). READ ALSO: Biodeutsch: Why this is Germany's ugliest word of the year Professor Chris Houlding from Essen talked about a 'change in attitude" towards foreigners. 'My wife won't go out anymore as she cannot speak German due to a memory problem as a result of a serious car accident," he told us. "I have German citizenship. Things have become just about intolerable for day to day living. We own our own property and for some reason have been unable to engage electricians etc. We receive racial abuse in our own garden. It used to be our joy, but we rarely go out nowadays.' A man stands at an election campaign event of the AfD Brandenburg in Cottbus at the stand of the Young Alternative, the AfD's youth organization. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Frank Hammerschmidt In search of work One of the most common reasons cited for leaving Germany was the prospect of finding better job opportunities elsewhere. Several respondents pointed to stagnating wages in Germany, limited career growth, and a challenging job market for non-Germans. 'It's becoming too difficult to find jobs, or to keep them and be able to grow professionally. I feel there is some important level of discrimination against non-Germans. The cost of living is increasing, while salaries are stagnating,' said Nicolas, an Italian living in Berlin. An anonymous correspondent wrote about the 'lack of job opportunities despite the so-called labour shortage, particularly for qualified people. It always boils down to whether you speak fluent German or not, even for international roles.' Bureaucracy and living costs Daily frustrations are part of life in every country in the world. But there was a sense among our respondents that the obstacles to living a good life in Germany have become unmanageable for many newcomers. A senior software engineer from Cologne described integration as a nightmare because highly skilled immigrants aren't given enough support, citing 'too many one-sided efforts (on the part of the immigrant) and complicated processes". The complexity and high levels of taxation were also an issue for many, as were issues around healthcare. Advertisement 'Despite paying thousands of euros for health insurance, it's a nightmare to find an appointment,' wrote a correspondent from Stuttgart. Retirement plans also featured prominently in the responses. Several people expressed a desire to spend their later years in countries with a lower cost of living or better quality of life. 'Retirement in Germany is expensive. Living on investments without an income in Germany is hard,' said Joseph W. in Berlin. READ ALSO: Why German bureaucracy is so infuriating Another correspondent, based in Bremen, agreed: 'I arrived six years ago in Germany. I will retire in another seven. The pension I receive may not be sufficient and I may have to move to a cheaper country.' A call for change Occasionally, it feels as if there is a genuine mismatch between an individual and the country. It's hard to imagine the circumstances under which Matt from the UK could warm to Germany, for example. He said: 'The language is impossible. The culture is horrific. The people even worse.' Other readers mentioned family needs. 'We left due to schools,' wrote one respondent. 'My son has special needs that were a nightmare to manage in Germany.' While some have made the decision to leave Germany for the sake of their children, others feel they have to leave in order to look after their parents. 'Germany … only wants young workers but not their old parents!' wrote one respondent. 'I don't have fixed plans to leave,' added an American correspondent, based in Berlin, 'but since my mom can't join me here because I immigrated too soon, and she may need my help in old age, I may move to where she can be while I'm young. I would hate to get really established here, only to have to start again in my 40s or 50s.' Sk Rashed, a German citizen in Munich, agrees: 'I lost my father last year. My mother is a cancer patient and I can't bring her here – where she could spend time with her grandchildren – for the long term.' Others, such as Suresh Kumar in Hannover, simply miss their family and friends. Numerous respondents complained about the maddening bureaucracy in Germany and the lack of digitalisation. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT Sad to leave For most respondents to our survey, however, the tone was one of regret and sadness at feeling forced to leave a country they had once hoped to call home, as a result of 'overt and covert' racism, excessive bureaucratic hurdles, anti-family immigration policies, and the rising cost of living. There are also widespread fears that the situation will become worse in future, with correspondents citing the rise of the AfD (and far right attitudes more generally) and the possibility of military conflict. Advertisement Above all, however, is the sense that sincere efforts to integrate and become part of German society have been rejected (among naturalised German citizens as well as expats), leading some correspondents to conclude that – while a German passport is still worth having – the barriers to making a permanent home in Germany are simply too great. 'After I finish my studies, I'll work for a few years in Germany and probably get the passport and then leave for Dubai,' wrote an international student based in NRW. 'My reasons are high taxes, no social life, unemployment, hidden discrimination and no support provided to me as a student to utilize my full potential.' Thank you to everyone who completed our survey. Although we weren't able to use all the responses, we read them all and they helped inform our article. Please feel free to leave a comment below if you would like to add another opinion to the conversation.
Local Germany
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
German Chancellor suggests immigrants have 'imported antisemitism'
Following his first meeting as German Chancellor with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, Friedrich Merz gave a televised interview with US right-wing outlet Fox News in which his use of a controversial phrase raised eyebrows in Germany. Citing a report by Germany's Federal Association of Research and Information Centres on Antisemitism (RIAS) – which found an increase in antisemitic incidents in Germany in 2024 – the interviewer asked the chancellor what he was doing to address the issue. 'We are doing everything we can to bring these numbers down," Merz told Fox News. "We are prosecuting those who break the law, and frankly, we have a sort of imported antisemitism with this big number of migrants that we have within the last ten years.' Merz's reply appeared to put blame for increasing antisemitism on migrants who have arrived in the country during the last ten years. In particular, the phrase "imported antisemitism" has been highlighted as problematic by an independent German organisation that keeps track of words and phrases linked with xenophobia. 'Ugliest word of the year' Controversial in Germany, the phrase 'imported antisemitism' ( importierter Antisemitismus) received press coverage earlier this year when it was nominated as Germany's Unwort des Jahres -- in other words the ugliest word of the year for 2024. Every year, Unwort des Jahres – an independent, voluntary organisation – attempts to draw attention to the most discriminatory and malicious phrases which have sprung up or gained popularity in Germany. A jury of experts including journalists, linguists and rotating guests assesses thousands of public submissions -- this year there were 3,172 submissions nominating 655 different phrases, of which 80 were accepted by the jury. Germany's official Unwort des Jahres 2024 was Biodeutsch . READ ALSO: Biodeutsch - Why this is Germany's ugliest word of the year However, publicist and political scientist, Saba-Nur Cheema, and Director of the Anne Frank Educational Centre, Meron Mendel, chose 'imported antisemitism' as their personal Unwort des Jahres for 2024. According to the jury, the expression is used to suggest that hatred of Jews has become a problem in Germany due to the influx of migrants. The term is used primarily in right-wing circles to discriminate against Muslims and people with a migration background 'and to distract from their own antisemitism'. Advertisement Of 8,627 cases of antisemitism recorded in the RIAS report for 2024, 5,857 cases were classified as 'Israel-related antisemitism,' more than twice as many as in the previous year. RIAS defines 'Israel-related antisemitism,' as Jews in Germany being held responsible for actions of the Israeli government, the state of Israel being demonized, and its right to exist being denied (among other criteria). The report also recorded 544 individual incidents with a right-wing extremist background, the highest number since the nationwide comparison began in 2020. President Trump repeatedly criticised former chancellor Angela Merkel for her decision to welcome a large number of Syrian refugees in 2015 during his televised meeting with Merz on Thursday, a policy which Merz has also previously criticised.
Local Germany
27-05-2025
- General
- Local Germany
German word of the day: Biodeutsch
Originally coined in the 1990s as an ironic term for Germans without an immigrant background, biodeutsch has increasingly been adopted by racists and nationalists in recent years, with the intention of widening divisions between supposedly 'real' Germans and the rest of the population. At the beginning of the year, Germany's Unwort des Jahres organisation selected b iodeutsch as their non-word of the year for 2024 -- a title saved for the ugliest and most discriminatory phrases that become popular in German. Why do I need to know Biodeutsch? While we would not advocate using this word yourself, it's important to understand what it means to avoid any possible misinterpretations. The prefix bio , meaning organic, with its connotations of progressive and environmental ideals, can lead to misunderstandings. For example, at a BBQ or potluck, impressed by the range of healthy food on offer an ill-informed language learner could feasibly make the mistake of speaking in glowing terms about die Biodeutschen.. .when what they really mean is to praise the organic German foods ( die deutschen Bio-Lebensmittel ). How is it used? In practice, Biodeutsch is used by racists to differentiate themselves from Germans with an immigrant background. In other cases it is used by some Germans with an immigrant background as a disparaging term for Germans without an immigrant background. Regardless of their background, considerate German speakers tend to reject the term altogether. READ ALSO: Biodeutsch - Why this is Germany's ugliest word of the year Advertisement Biodeutsch in a sentence: Ursprünglich war der Begriff "biodeutsch" ironisch gemeint. Doch Sprache verändert sich. Mittlerweile haben Rechtsextreme das Wort übernommen. Originally, the term ' biodeutsch ' was meant ironically. But language changes. Right-wing extremists have now adopted the word.
