Frankly ... integrated  Marital Tips for a German-Turkish Agreement

Germany is a country of immigration and has been for over sixty years now. On the 60th anniversary of the labour recruitment agreement between Germany and Turkey, our new columnist Sineb El Masrar asks how relations between German, Turkish and German-Turkish citizens have evolved over time.

After corona is before the German-Turkish Recruitment Agreement. In a word, it’s time for another jubilee: the 60th anniversary of this special arrangement between the two nations. If this were a marriage, the two parties would now be celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary. Considering how many Germans and Turks have toiled side by side in deep, dark, dusty coal mines and how much pressure this special relationship has been under for over half a century, the image of a diamond, which is formed under pressure, strikes me as quite apt. Because even though here in Germany we tend to see only the downside of this relationship, there’s a lot to discover there in private, economic and cultural terms. Being an optimist myself, I like to go treasure-hunting. Give it a try yourself sometime.

I’m a big fan of all these labour recruitment deals, and I laid out the case for celebrating them back in 2010 – and not without reason. Then again, there’d be no end to the jubilees, and the next ones up are already just around the corner. In 2023, for example, we could celebrate the 60th anniversary of the German-Moroccan-Korean agreements. I wonder what those celebrations might look like? And what other European country has this three-way combination to offer? In 2024 it will be bicultural again, namely German-Portuguese. In 2025, are we going to commemorate German-Tunisian relations with a weisswurst-and-harissa eating contest? Any volunteers? Step right up! And in 2028, we’ll dig out some more clichés and dance to Balkan pop in honour of the recruitment deal with former Yugoslavia. And before our European neighbours from Italy, Spain and Greece feel affronted, we will be sure to toast those jubilees with ouzo and dance flamenco, eat pasta and pizza till we’re bursting at the seams.

The secret to a successful marriage

To stick to the marital metaphor, there’s no denying that Germany was pretty polygamous under Chancellor Adenauer. After all, Germany walked down the recruitment aisle with Catholic Italy back in the “square” 1950ies. And these two lovebirds will be celebrating their platinum anniversary in four years with all their grandchildren who live in or commute between Germany and Italy. So if you're wondering what the secret recipe is for a long-lasting marriage – besides biting the dust before your partner does, of course – you might consider not looking too closely at your partner when they’re canoodling with someone else on the side. But since polyamory is a controversial subject to say the least, I'd better quote "Old Fritz" (Frederick II, the Great, King of Prussia) without further ado: "Soll jeder nach seiner Façon glücklich  werden! " (Let every man seek heaven in his own fashion. Or in modern parlance: whatever floats your boat!)  

I view the history of German immigration as a success story largely because I give more weight to its successes. They show the bright sides of these migration flows. But this shouldn’t blind us to the reality of past – and in some cases present – social ills, to the insults, social pressures  and disrespect visited upon the children of immigrants and refugees in particular. And then there are all the psychological scars inflicted on them by their own families. To heal the wounds, we need to talk to and listen to each other. There’s more that unites us than divides us, and once we’ve understood that, we can jubilate together to our heart’s content!
   

November 2021