anders deutsch

In Germany you have to speak German. Otherwise you cannot be 'integrated'. Thus one school in Berlin has implemented the rule that even in the breaks the only language allowed is German. All supposedly for the benefit of the students, of whom three quarters in this school have a different mother tongue. The conservative politicians from all parties, media people and who else has power in this country all seem to appreciate this approach, at least in principle. Hardly anybody seems to listen to those, who know something about education. All those approaches which support multilingualism in schools and thus cater for the diversity of the students are ignored. We are in Germany, and one has to speak German here.

But don't be deterred by this. If you speak English, everything is fine. Than you can go to an international school, and the use of English is even approved off. It is just that we do not like people to speak Turkish ....

Exactly 31 years back the German state aknowledged me as one of its subjects.

I was born in Germany already a few years earlier. But being the daughter of an 'Indian' father, the 'German' mother did not pass on her citizenship to me. The ius sanguinis applied only to paternal blood.

In the year 1975 the German state was forced to change this discriminating - against 'German' women - legislation, I suddenly had 'German' blood in me and was issued the corresponding passport.


Somehow so far I paid not enough tribute to this important day, my birthday as a 'German'. I want to change this now. Especially as all of Germany talks at the moment about who should (nobody really knows) and who should not (definitely the Muslims) get the German citizenship. And I do not want to seem ungrateful.

More on the topic in my M.A. dissertation on urmila.de. I have to add that many years have passed since I finished my M.A. It is not quite the newest research.