www.wirmachendas.jetzt
#we’redoingit
Germany is a country of immigration
von Wir Machen Das
Migration – forced or voluntary – is the ur-narrative of humankind. Threads of migration over millennia have created the fabric of the world as we know it. There have been all kinds of knots, tangles and ruptures everywhere as people have moved, but essential and enduring patterns – social, cultural, political, economic – have also been woven. Germany is no exception.
Germany did not turn into a country of immigration in the summer of 2015. Nor did Europe become a continent of immigration because of Lampedusa and Lesbos. Europe has long been a locus of exchanges, with peoples and goods crisscrossing its landmass and shores, many coming from or heading to the other side of the globe. Throughout its history, as empires waxed and waned, as wars erupted and ceased, as economies thrived and stagnated, one thing above all has defined the continent: movement. Europe has always been in a state of flux, with ever-shifting borders and populations. Today, ‘united in diversity’ is the motto of the European Union, and the free movement of peoples one of its founding principles.
Similarly, the German Confederation of the mid-nineteenth century was an entity encompassing many languages and nationalities. Its regions were amongst the most diverse in Europe, multi-ethnic and multi-religious. Later, many thousands of Poles moved to the Ruhr area. Early in the twentieth century great numbers of Russians came to Germany – during the Weimar Republic there were enough to guarantee a readership for over eighty Russian-language newspapers. The false notion of an ethnically homogenous land was only propagated, and violently enforced, by the Nazis. Since the end of the Third Reich, many newcomers have settled in the country including, from the 1960s, numerous Turks who were decisive in achieving West Germany’s ‘economic miracle’. More recently, hundreds of thousands of citizens have moved to Germany from all over Europe and beyond. All this belies the attempts by some, including the former Helmut Kohl government, to dissociate Germany from its own migration reality. Indeed, Germans themselves have also long emigrated in great numbers. During the post-Napoleonic era in the early 1800s the wish to escape oppression and privation in Europe led many to Brazil, and millions more to America. It was ever thus, and remains so – 800,000 people left Germany in 2013 alone. Such strands of migration have always enriched the receiving country. Newcomers bring new energy, ideas, stories, images, hopes and possibilities into our midst.
Yet anxieties about ‘the other’ persist. This is most evident in the fear of those now arriving after fleeing war or want. There’s a sense that these people are ‘too strange’, ‘too different’ from ‘us’. Not only are these fears misplaced, they also stem from a failure to recognize that instances of estrangement and misunderstanding are part of being in a truly pluralistic society. Think of the rapper bewildered by the priest living one-floor above her, the charity worker who fights over a parking place with a preppy banker, the sausage-maker who shakes his head at the vegan. Think of yourself, of the people you dislike or disagree with, of the moments when anger has alienated you even from those you hold most dear. If belonging were contingent on sameness and agreement, none of us would ever fit in. Belonging is the end of an effort, an effort to understand and accept. The challenge is always how far are we willing to make the effort and extend the circle of empathy.
Refusing to engage with newcomers to a society, or even actively resisting their presence, diminishes all of us. At the state level, moves to tighten up asylum laws only constrict our imagination of how people can live together, thus limiting the possibilities for a just and inclusive society. It might feel better to hunker down in the comfort zone of the familiar, but the sense of security is false. True self-confidence in oneself and one’s values involves being able to step into uncertainty, reach out to others and try another way of doing things.
The newcomers may be on terra incognita, but we are on very old ground, fertile with the experiences of countless ‘others’ who came before. We have the extraordinary chance of continuing a different journey in familiar terrain, of seeing ourselves afresh through someone else’s eyes, of re-discovering what we have through what we share. We open ourselves to this new reality. We extend a hand to the newcomers. We write this chapter of the story together. Wir machen das.
Globalization has reached the next level. Previously, it was driven by technical progress and economic possibilities. And suddenly now there are people involved. They are stepping out from behind the data, facts, strategies and analyses – into the midst of our lives, the midst of our society. Politics and its consequences, along with its failures, are taking on physical form, here and now.
The action alliance WE’RE DOING IT is facing up to this irreversible development.
WE’RE originally 100 women from the worlds of art, academia and public life. We’re now a growing alliance of numerous initiatives, individuals and institutions. We are united by the common goal of facing up to the challenge of worldwide migration with humanity and expertise.
DOING means: every one of us doing what he or she can do. From folding clothes to lobbyism, from class action lawsuits to sea rescue, from providing a bed for the night to construction projects, from legal advice to language support, from cultural participation to finding jobs and from personal statements to broad-based media campaigns.
IT is a movement away from pity and opinion, aid and defence mechanisms towards a culture of sharing and self-determined shaping of our world. Whether that happens without, with or against political institutions, changes every day anew in practice. We’re not afraid because we have a plan. And we’re prepared to adapt that plan to changing conditions whenever we need to.
Heike-Melba Fendel
Autorin und Inhaberin einer Künstler- und Veranstaltungsagentur,
Prof. Dr. Julia Eckert
Sozialanthropologin,
Stefanie Lohaus
Journalistin, Herausgeberin des Missy Magazins,
Prof. Dr. Tania Singer
Soziale Neurowissenschaftlerin und Psychologin. Direktorin am Max-Planck-Institut für Kognition und Neurowissenschaften,
Annika Reich
Autorin,
Priya Basil
Autorin und Gründerin von Authors for Peace,
Dr. Ines Kappert
Direktorin des Gunda Werner Instituts der Böll Stiftung,
Prof. Katharina Grosse
Malerin,
Dr. Marion Detjen
Zeithistorikerin und Autorin,
Prof. Dr. Sabine Hark
Soziologin, Gender Theorie,
Shermin Langhoff
Intendantin des Maxim-Gorki Theaters Berlin,
Christina Clemm
Rechtsanwältin,
Prof. Michelle Howard
Architektin,
Luzia Braun
Journalistin und Filmemacherin,
Bettina Khano
Bildende Künstlerin,
Tanja Dückers
Autorin und Journalistin,
Annemie Vanackere
Intendantin des HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin,
Suse Marquardt
Casterin,
Karin Graf
Literaturagentin,
Nicole Hackert
Galeristin,
Selmin Çalışkan
Generalsekretärin von Amnesty International in Deutschland,
Emily Dische-Becker
Journalistin,
Kathrin Röggla
Autorin, Dramatikerin, Essayistin, Vize-Präsidentin der Akademie der Künste,
Prof. Dr. Katharina de la Durantaye
Rechtswissenschaftlerin,
Alison Smale
Chefin der International NYT in Berlin,
Christiane Teichgräber
Dipl. Sozialwirtin, Expertin für CSR und Fundraising,
Theresia Enzensberger
Journalistin, Herausgeberin von BLOCK,
Prof. Dr. Christina v. Braun
Kulturwissenschaftlerin, Filmemacherin, Vize-Präsidentin des Goethe-Instituts,
Prof. Dr. Hanne Loreck
Kunsthistorikerin, Theorie und Gender Studies,
Sonja Anders
Chefdramaturgin und Stellvertretende Intendantin des Deutschen Theaters Berlin,
Lanna Idriss
Bankdirektorin BHF und Gründerin von Gyalpa,
Elisabeth Ruge
Autorin und Literaturagentin,
Anke Domscheit-Berg
Publizistin, Internetaktivistin,
Mechthild Holter
Inhaberin der Agentur Players für Regisseure, Autoren und Schauspieler,
Annett Gröschner
Autorin,
Dr. Hella Dietz
Soziologin,
Dr. Catherine Newmark
Journalistin (Deutschlandradio Kultur, Philosophie Magazin),
Elke Schmitter
Journalistin und Autorin (Der SPIEGEL),
Dr. Adania Shibli
Autorin,
Prof. Dr. Isabell Welpe
Betriebswirtschaftswissenschaftlerin,
Erika Hoffmann
Sammlerin,
Katrin Göring-Eckardt
Politikerin,
Prof. Dr. Jutta Brückner
Regisseurin und Drehbuchautorin,
Nora Bossong
Autorin,
Sally McGrane
Journalistin und Autorin,
Susanne Gretter
Lektorin,
Cordelia Dvorak
Dramaturgin, Regisseurin, Ausstatterin und Produzentin,
Sandra Meisel
Bildende Künstlerin, Frauen-Kunstprojekt „Der Strich“,
Lisa D.
Modeschöpferin und -aktivistin,
Inga Humpe
Sängerin, Komponistin,
Tina Mendelsohn
Journalistin, Filmemacherin, Moderatorin von Kulturzeit,
Gudrun Gut
Musikerin, Produzentin,
Shelly Kupferberg
Kulturjournalistin und Moderatorin,
Antje Ravic Strubel
Autorin, Übersetzerin,
Erica Overmeer
Fotografin,
Sophie Zeitz
Übersetzerin,
Ulrike Demmer
Journalistin,
Kerstin Meyer
Spezialistin für Entwicklungspolitik,
Prof. Karin Sander
Bildende Künstlerin,
Susanne Pfeffer
Kuratorin,
Anna Sartorius
Grafikerin,
Dr. Angelika Taschen
Verlegerin,
Claudia Müller
Filmemacherin,
Judy Millar
Bildende Künstlerin,
Prof. Monica Bonvicini
Bildende Künstlerin,
Rebecca Raue
Bildende Künstlerin,
Mascha Jacobs
Journalistin, Herausgeberin von Pop. Kultur und Kritik.,
Silvia Bovenschen
Autorin,
Sarah Schumann
Malerin,
Aysun Bademsoy
Filmregisseurin,
Dr. Charlotte Seither
Komponistin,
Maria Cecilia Barbetta
Autorin,
Katharina Teutsch
Freie Kulturjournalistin,
Prof. Dr. Laura Bieger
Amerikanistin,
Dr. Annette (Katinka) Bagwathi
Sozialanthropologin und Kunsthistorikerin (HKW Berlin),
Andrea Hannah Hünniger
Freie Kulturjournalistin, Autorin ,
Olga Grjasnowa
Autorin,
Andrea Sartorius
Restauratorin,
Maria Eichhorn
Bildende Künstlerin,
Katrin Greiling
Designerin,
Dr. Zaia Alexander
Autorin und Übersetzerin,
Vanessa Stern
Schauspielerin, Komikerin,
Friederike Heller
Theaterregisseurin, Dramaturgin,
Dr. Julia Voss
Journalistin (Kunstressort der FAZ),
Dr. Bettina Springer
Kuratorin, Kulturwissenschaftlerin und Unternehmerin,
Carolin Paulus
Politikwissenschaftlerin und Beraterin bei Christian Boros/Boros GmbH,
Claudia Voigt
Kulturjournalistin, Autorin (Der Spiegel),
Marion Ackermann
Direktorin der Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen ,
Lena Bopp
Journalistin (Feuilleton der FAZ),
Julia Schramm
Politologin, Autorin,
Sookee
Rapperin,
Dotschy Reinhardt
Jazzsängerin und Autorin,
Lina Muzur
Programmleitung Aufbau Verlag,
Bassant Helmi
Deutsch-arabische Industrie- und Handelskammer,
Iris von Tiedemann
Coaching for Female Leadership Qualities,
Nesrin Thomsen
Human Rights Watch,
Uta Grosenick
Verlegerin,
Barbara Gross
Galeristin,
Ulrike Draesner
Autorin,
Miriam Seyffarth
Kulturwissenschaftlerin,
Elisabeth Wellershaus
Journalistin,
Prof. Leiko Ikemura
Bildende Künstlerin,
Marianne Goebl
Design Managerin,
Margarete Stokowski
Autorin,
Prof. Dr. Angela McRobbie
Kulturtheoretikerin,
Christiane zu Salm
Unternehmerin, Sammlerin,
Philomene Magers
Galeristin,
Judith Orland
Campaignerin bei Oxfam,
Cécile Calla
Journalistin,
Theresa zu Eltz
Regisseurin,
Dr. Helga Lutz
Kunstwissenschaftlerin,
Jen Allen
Kunstkritikerin,