tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950796.post6660664000998244676..comments2024-01-14T22:18:06.542+01:00Comments on Jewels in the Jungle: Race and Politics in the Shadow of Davos 2008 - Germany & SwitzerlandBREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668844948345978806noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950796.post-2620582669072925282008-01-30T15:29:00.000+01:002008-01-30T15:29:00.000+01:00Correction re: Rührpot in GermanyAbout 05:30 this ...Correction re: Rührpot in Germany<BR/><BR/>About 05:30 this morning while deep in sleep I realized that I had made a mistake about the Ruhrpott being a string of industrial cities along the Rhine river in Germany. Yes, I sometimes dream about my blog like writers and journalists dream about their books or news articles.<BR/><BR/>1. The Ruhrpott is not along the Rhine river but instead is a large area in central Germany that is bordered by three rivers: the Ruhr, the Rhine, and the Lippe.<BR/><BR/>2. The river Ruhr is spelled with a "u" and not an umlaut "ü".<BR/><BR/>3. It is true that the Ruhrpott (Rhine-Ruhr area) in Nordrhein-Westfallen (North Rhein-Westphalia) is the industrial heartland of Germany, an area with a population of more than 5.3 million people, the fifth largest urban population in Europe.<BR/><BR/>You can read more about the "Ruhrpott" (a deragatory term) at Wikipedia under "Ruhr area" (a more appropriate term).BREhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09668844948345978806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950796.post-11567393705589393952008-01-29T16:43:00.000+01:002008-01-29T16:43:00.000+01:00E-nyce, you are not accusing me of being "biased" ...E-nyce, you are not accusing me of being "biased" in my reporting about race and politics in Germany are you?......:-) I do get your point and you are right in that there are and have been a number of government, civic, and grassroots efforts from the German people and foreign residents who live in Germany to combat racism and xenophobia. I'm certain that the same is true for Switzerland and other European countries.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately as several press and media reports point out and independent studies confirm, racism and xenophobia is on the rise at an alarming rate all across Europe at the beginning of the 21st Century. It makes one wonder if more can be done to combat the problem and if so, then what should be done and who must take the lead in each society?<BR/><BR/>When one carefully reads the feedback from the Spiegel Online readers almost all "foreign" commenters point out that they have great friendships with some Germans and have had many positive experiences here that help to counteract the racism and rejection that they have encountered. I can testify to that fact based upon innumberable examples from my own life experiences amongst the German people for more than two decades.<BR/><BR/>I try hard not to accuse or condemn any nation or people of being "racist and xenophobic" because such a statement would be untrue and in my case a betrayal to those people from other nations, cultures, racial and ethnic groups who have shown me great kindness, respect, and yes even love. You cannot paint an entire people with the same brush unless you yourself are a damn racist.... or a damn fool!<BR/><BR/>Therefore, I will take your advice and be sure to point out examples of both civic and government-sponsored efforts to reduce xenophobia and racism in Germany during our planned Black History Month in Europe Carnivale 2008.<BR/>----------------------<BR/><BR/>Michael, what you doin' over here Dude? I thought that you would still be under heavy fire from your readers and commenters at The Assault on Black Folk's Sanity. Welcome back and hoping that you are doing well.<BR/><BR/>Re: German Poles in the "Ruhrpot" (English translation = industrial cities along the Rhine river):<BR/><BR/>Polish surnames in Germany are quite common,especially when one remembers that Germans had settled (and conquered) lands as far east as the Baltic States and Western Russia (see Kingdom of Prussia and East Prussia at Wikipedia). As you correctly point out, people were moving back-and-forth across that vast kingdom to carry out trade and seek new opportunities and adventure for more than two centuries. I'm sure that many people were fleeing all sorts of persecution in the eastern lands during the 17th-19th centuries as they migrated West into what is today modern Germany.<BR/><BR/>Mike, you may have read that I've promised to help organize another Black History Month blog project and you are welcome to join us if you have the time. Drop me a line (email) or leave a comment if you want to work with us on this challenging but fun effort next month (Feb-March 2008).<BR/><BR/>Are you sure? Yes I'm sure. Tight restrictions and heavy editorial oversight will be in place for all "contributions" to the BHME Carnivale in order to keep everyone honest and at their best. That includes you Yale, Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge radicals and history hacks too.BREhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09668844948345978806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950796.post-78142160687293295432008-01-29T06:32:00.000+01:002008-01-29T06:32:00.000+01:00""Germany is not a country of immigration," Well, ...""Germany is not a country of immigration," <BR/><BR/>Well, that's actually something former Minister of the Interior Zimmermann said in the early 1980's. A lie as always. Germany has <I>always</I> been an "Einwanderungsland". Just ask all them "Germans" in the Ruhrpot with all them Polish names.Michael Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14542253904917878025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950796.post-29078121025233090772008-01-28T21:21:00.000+01:002008-01-28T21:21:00.000+01:00BRE, thanks for the leads. In fact, I already knew...BRE, thanks for the leads. In fact, I already knew about them and have used them, particularly about Black/African's contribution to European history and culture. I think I first reached your blog, in 2005, on a related topic. Ha! I've been reading Spiegel, in English of course, since I was 8! (Well, the pictures anyway. Right next to the issues of National Geographics.)<BR/><BR/>Extensive German history does indeed make its way to the more-West. It's just that it doesn't merge into popular mindset, just sits in the halls of academia.<BR/><BR/>This is not surprising, 'cause, as I noted, in the US some states try to remove or minimize certain "unsavory" moments in our history. Texas (you know, that state where Curious George was once governor) comes up in the news every few years because the education review committees "forgot" to include in history texts topics like slavery, and Spain/Mexico as original foreign settlers of the American West; and *including* the continual myths about the Alamo.<BR/><BR/>It's easy to list examples of intolerance. It's much more difficult to find stories of people fighting against their own culture in order to promote the interests of other cultures.<BR/><BR/>Which leads to my request:<BR/>I'm hoping that this year's focus of Black/African Month <B><I>includes</I></B> how Europeans themselves are fighting to ensure that such history is included into the public discussion and hopefully into the education system.E-Nycehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11702951992655517234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950796.post-61940933384135246502008-01-28T13:43:00.000+01:002008-01-28T13:43:00.000+01:00Dear Lesley-Ann,Consider it a GO. You, I, and hop...Dear Lesley-Ann,<BR/><BR/>Consider it a GO. You, I, and hopefully other blog authors in our neck of the woods will team-up for Black and African History Month in Europe Carnivale 2008. It should be great fun for one and all just like last year.<BR/><BR/>I will be in touch with you ASAP so that we may arrange a "call for papers" and decide how we want to distribute the work (central hosting site and/or cross-posting to our respective blogs). The editor/publisher of the popular African Loft blogger community has offered his support if we decided to go ahead with the project this year.<BR/><BR/>So yes Darling, it's a Go! It is a Must Do thing!BREhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09668844948345978806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950796.post-77103536053516199372008-01-28T09:48:00.000+01:002008-01-28T09:48:00.000+01:00I would love to do a Black History Month tribute.....I would love to do a Black History Month tribute...I'm open to cooking something up together for sure, or at least coordinating our efforts in some productive way. <BR/>Keep up the Excellent work! I feel so blessed to have your work to touch base with, to inform and educate. I feel very lucky. <BR/>the lab.blackgirl on marshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03497832506757310228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950796.post-60345725692837942482008-01-27T17:48:00.000+01:002008-01-27T17:48:00.000+01:00Aw shucks, you guys are making me blush and that's...Aw shucks, you guys are making me blush and that's tough for a black man to do. Thank you for your nice compliments and continued support, thank you very much.<BR/><BR/>E-nyce you brought up some good points. In regards to how German youth (and adults) are educated about their history here is my point of view:<BR/><BR/>True there is a great deal of focus on the subjects of WWI and WWII in the German education system, German literature, cinema, radio and television productions. Some of the best film doucmentaries I have ever seen about WWI and WWII, the German Wehrmacht (military forces), and the NS regime (National Socialist Party, aka Nazis) were produced and aired right here in Germany.<BR/><BR/>I'm afraid that many of these film and television documentaries never make it across the Atlantic to U.S. and Canadian audiences (not sure about Mexico, Central and South America). This is a pity because the German documentaries about these terrible wars (including the historical periods before and after the wars) reveal oft times astounding information that must be invaluable for historians and the global public in gaining a better understanding about the 19th and 20th centuries here in Europe.<BR/><BR/>The historical archives in Germany about these periods are extensive and include precious eyewitness accounts from people who lived through these wars and the aftermath. Many of these witnesses are now quite elderly or have died. For example, Spiegel Online reports in their latest edition that the last known German WWI veteran has just died in Hanover at the age of 107 years. Spiegel also published an article about the recent discovery of mass graves in Poland and the Ukraine and Belorus (Belorussia) that have been identified by a few remaining elderly (and very brave) eyewitnesses in these countries. These eyewitnesses were children at the time of the mass murders (10's of thousands of people, maybe more) and they have been silent about these events for more than 60 years. The fear that drove them into such a long silence was not of the Germans but of their own countrymen! Here is the URL link to the magazine's online archives about World War I & II:<BR/><BR/>http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,k-6695,00.html<BR/><BR/>If you review my posts about black and African history in Europe (Feb-Apr 2007) and the post dated October 2, 2007 titled "Black Women Speak Out Against Racism and Discrimination in Europe" you will see that a German history teacher and German university student are less than impressed with how the sensitive issues of race and ethnicity in Germany and the historical role that minorities and "foreginers" have played in German history is handled by educators and the media here. This of course is not only a problem in Germany but is a relatively widespread problem throughout Europe.<BR/><BR/>Black History Month is coming up in February and I plan to write and publish new posts on the subject then. Hopefully my close buddies Lesley-Ann (Black Girl on Mars) in Denmark and Adrianne up in Sweden and other blog authors in Europe and elsewhere are also planning to write on the subject of black and African history in Europe next month. If so, let me know and we can do a Mardi Gras thing, a Fat Tuesday black history blog carnivale.<BR/><BR/>Lastly, drill down into the Spiegel Online International archives for more information about German history, politics, news and stuff. The English language version of Der Spiegel has been online for a couple of years and the magazine's archives should be quite extensive. Just click on the English language category headers at the top of the magazine's homepage and dig, dig, dig.BREhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09668844948345978806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950796.post-80229152714541149912008-01-26T18:55:00.000+01:002008-01-26T18:55:00.000+01:00As usual, thank you for the work that you do. This...As usual, thank you for the work that you do. <BR/>This all sounds so resoundingly familiar. In fact, I was on a right-wing site the other day and wasn't surprised that it used Denmark as its shining example of a nationalist and anti-immigration country. Sigh. <BR/>Keep up the GREAT work & once again, thanks for the work that you do. <BR/>Best, <BR/>blackgirl on marsblackgirl on marshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03497832506757310228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950796.post-29767939088920868622008-01-26T18:48:00.000+01:002008-01-26T18:48:00.000+01:00BRE, you never have to apology for not posting oft...BRE, you never have to apology for not posting often. You're reports are always very in-depth, giving us much to review and consider.<BR/><BR/>To many these stories of intolerance in Europe may seem new and shocking. But only to those who have not lived there. I've heard such stories since the 70s, although always people said the intolerance was lighter than that in the US at the time.<BR/><BR/>I wonder though: Is only half (less than half?) of the story being told?<BR/><BR/>In Germany, where even primary school students are taught direct truth about WWII and the Holocaust (unlike in the US, where some states do not include slavery in their history textbooks even for secondary school), I would imagine that an "intolerance for intolerance" is fostered, if not culturally then institutionally.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps you can give a report on how Germans are themselves fighting discrimination?<BR/><BR/>As to der Schweis, well, it took them 50 years to join the UN. Maybe in another 50 years they'll join the 21st Century. They not completely hopeless, I hope.E-Nycehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11702951992655517234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950796.post-1936175033255130002008-01-24T23:19:00.000+01:002008-01-24T23:19:00.000+01:00Very interesting roundup.I followed the story in S...Very interesting roundup.<BR/>I followed the story in Switzerland. It was all very depressing, but nevertheless <A HREF="http://koluki.blogspot.com/2007/10/first-black-citizen-elected-to-swiss.html" REL="nofollow">this</A> happened there!Kolukihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04635805676701525012noreply@blogger.com