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It could’ve been me. Racist attacks on desis in Germany.

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Singh GorvindaSingh Gorvinda one of the injured.
Image from Spiegel online.

Browsing our news tab yesterday, I came across a chilling article about Indian tourists who had been attacked in Saxony, Germany. A group of desis who had been invited to a festival were literally hunted by about 50 people, who chased them into a pizzeria, where the hapless tourists tried to barricade the doors with tables. The police had to show up and stop the attack.

That could have very well been me. Towards the end of last year, I was fortunate enough to cross across the pond to take European delivery of a car. I picked up a few German words from the travel books that I had managed to procure before my trip and I had it all planned out. Four days in Munich, Germany, two days in Modena, Italy, and perhaps a few towns in Austria on my way back. A week before my trip, Germany passed a law making summer tires illegal if it snowed. Obviously, Murthy’s law kicked in and it snowed, so my sport tires were deemed almost useless. I realized that I was much safer on the more widely used A-Bahns and decided to avoid the Alps.

The trip was a combination of amazing and mediocre experiences.

Logically, the amazing experiences are the ones I always talk about: driving on the unrestricted stretches of the A-Bahn, the Mercedes Benz Museum, snow-covered peaks on the Swiss border, fairytale-like castles and finally, an eye-opening visit to a Holocaust memorial site.

Thankfully, the Mediocre experiences were few. They were not enough to outweigh my joy, but they did exist.

Munich (and for that matter Germany) is a divided city, like every other popular destination. There are the tourist spots, bustling with people from other countries and then there is the real Munich, the Munich reserved for the locals and in my opinion, there is a palpable difference.

This was apparent from the moment I arrived at the airport, after my baggage had taken a detour. The Lufthansa lady was helpful, but curt and similarly, every time I interacted with a local during my 10 day trip, I felt uneasy. Fueling my new car, asking for directions, even while ordering food, I sensed it over and over again. Beer mixed with Sprite did not help the cause. All I wanted was a side order of smile with my service, but I guess you have to pay extra for that. Just like I coughed up a couple of Euros every time I got water.

Language was a big barrier when you left the touristy parts of the city. If you strayed a couple of blocks, you were on your own. Being a vegetarian and having access to a car, I had to do just that, to trek to other parts of the city in search of better Indian food. These parts are normally not invaded by visitors and the streets reminded me of low-income neighborhoods. On top of all that, the Zoll tag on my shiny new car did not help me blend in.

After a few days I could pick out my fellow Americans as well as the more liberal and educated types, no matter where they were from. They smiled, spotted the Zoll tag, asked me where I was from and even helped me in figuring out if I was pumping Gas or Diesel into my car. Contrast that with the locals; they spoke only German, didn’t smile and just got on with their business. Every time I crossed a village or a town, I tried my best not to stop. I felt safer, happier and calmer “in the wild”. I felt more “at home” listening to Hip-hop on FM, even if it was briefly interrupted by German radio jockeys.

Mügeln is a small city, like the dozens I passed while exploring the country side. I was lucky, but as I read in this article, my fellow Indians were not. My suggestion to desis traveling in Europe: forget the infamous “Canadian flag on your backpack”-trick. Unless you are willing to drape it over you and cover your brown skin, it is not going to change a damn thing. Resist the urge to be “edgy” by avoiding the obvious path. Stick to the touristy spots and do not venture into the “real” city. Germany is very safe, safer if you don’t stray; there are amazing sights, scenes and smells, but no visitor wants to walk away with bitter memories. And do get some language lessons before you leave– it will go a long way in improving your experience.

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  • **sigh** I already miss Jihad Kibbani.
  • I still do not see as to what happened to the attackers. And yes a very belated apology.
  • Runa
    Update:
    Belated apology from Germany
  • Here is a news article that talks about what Marcus told us


    Young east Germans increasingly leave their home towns to move to cities in western Germany or elsewhere in Europe in search of jobs. Those left behind are often frustrated, angry and getting by on social welfare.

    Nationalist groupings, notably the National Party of Germany (NPD), are capitalising on this discontent, gaining a foothold in local councils and in regional parliaments and setting up their own training centres.


    From UB.
  • markus (yes, in deed, the east
    Manoj,
    sorry, I never said ALL the germans are xenophobic, but think about the following point: Nobody of the whole city of Mügeln was helping the indians, nobody (only the police, because its their job).

    But the problem is, really just a few of the german citizens have sympathy for foreigners, this is what the other bloggers did mean, there was no trouble with the germans, but nobody was really friendly, nobody was giving them a simple smile or something.

    I live in germany, believe me, I KNOW WHAT THE MOST TALKING ABOUT THE WORLD WAR II or similar things. And believe me this also: Not in every cause,you can see it on their hailstyle or their army-boots, in their words and thougts and how they do (or not do, Mügeln) you see it.

    If I travel to Paris or other european citys I see and feel the difference.
  • Manoj,
    Please list another country where foreigners were chased by people in such large numbers and beat up. I'm not talking about being beat up by a couple of thugs. I'm talking of large crowds of around 50 people. When a couple of people do it, it's an isolated incident. When a large crowd does it, I'm sorry to say that is a reflection on the society in general, or at least that town or state.
  • trouble mongers are everywhere whether it is Germany or India or US.


    Manoj: I agree with this statement, but when you are a traveler, you assume that the entire country is safe. Most often you will find people living in the country get into trouble, not tourists, well unless they do something very offensive. That is what is weird about this case.
  • manoj kumar jaiswal
    I was and I am still shocked about these horrific manhunt in Mügeln.I am an Indian leaving in Germany for past four years and shock to see news and readers comments. For me, Germany is as safe as other European cities. I am stunned that people link this incident with xenophobia and whole country as a racist. Please stop horrifying comments. trouble mongers are everywhere whether it is Germany or India or US. Lamenting each and every German for the wrong did of few trouble mongers not going to help anybody. Such kind of problems needs to take care in sensible way.
    Thanks/
  • The beer is god, (if you choose the right brand)


    Truer words were never spoken. No need for apologies. I may have to conduct some research to support that hypothesis.
  • Runa
    The beer is god


    Ok now that is a Freudian slip definitely !

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...
  • The beer is god, (if you choose the right brand)


    I drank raddler, thinking it would be good. I did not know that they mixed sprite with it. :) Now I know, next time, I will check before ordering beer in Germany.
  • markus (yes, in deed, the east
    Sorry, I dont mean, the beer is GOD,I mean the beer is GOOD...*lol*
  • markus (yes, in deed, the east
    Santosh,

    yes, I really mean EAST Germany. You think in the year 1990 east and west germany became the same? Far away!

    For example:

    If you live in east germany, and you have a job like a plumber, a mechanican, a electrican or something else what to do on buildings, there is a big problem to do your job in your own city or 20 miles away. There are no much work in the east.
    In the west, there is the money, there is the business, there growing the buildings to the heaven...

    And so is it for very much of the east german workers normally to leave their families monday mornig about 3 or 4 AM, driving the damn AUTOBAHN to the west, and working there for a half of the money, what a seriuos west-worker is getting for the same job.

    And this is what the people in east germany makes angry, this is what destroys families, but of course: IT IS NOT A REASON TO DO VIOLENCE TO FOREIGNERS !

    East and West Germany, this will take a long, long time to be really the same...

    But, dont be scared about the things I wrote, if you want to visit germany, it is possible, I think the danger of being a victim of xenophobic violence is in the big citys like berlin, stuttgart, munich, frankfurt/main not so big, but in the small citys, especcially in the east of our country is it not secure for foreign people.

    And Santosh, be careful on the Autobahn. Sometimes is is a normally highway, and a few seconds later is it the hell on wheels - look everytime in your left mirror...

    The beer is god, (if you choose the right brand) Hasseröder, Becks, Radeberger, Lübzer, Sternquell, dont buy it on ALDI or such low-price-stores
    the quality is not the same....

    Greetings from EAST-Germany ;-)
  • Markus: Thanks for the comment. And I agree with your theory on education and it playing a big role.

    Getting you a job and helping you make money could be the major aim, but education opens up your mind to thinking and treating people as human beings.

    But having said that, I always assumed that people in the west had a broader knowledge of the world, were open hearted and welcomed other cultures. I guess I was wrong.
  • shlok
    Santosh,

    These old-school white folks really dislike Indians coming to the Edison area. You have to see how unsettling their comments are on the editorial pages of my newspaper.

    But just yesterday, as an Indian couple (actually interracial -- wife Asian) was walking in to a Indian grocery store, I watched as this old white man began yelling racial slurs to them. You know that same old, "go back to your country, we don't want you here, %#*%$* Indians taking over" stuff. The couple opted to ignore and went inside the store. The guy kept yelling and spit on their Mercedes widshield well after the couple left the parking lot. Of course, there are more details, but you get the basic jist.

    I was agreeing with Markus, because I thought he explained the psychological reason for this sort of behavior correctly. You get frustrated when life sucks (it sucks even more if you don't recieve education) and it's very ususal behavior to blame it on immigrants. It's a common trend in almost all countries and very much the case throughout American history.
  • Shlok,
    Are you speaking of the dot-busters?
  • shlok
    Markus,

    Very keen observation from your part in your third paragraph. Similar is the sentiment against Indians in Central New Jersey, U.S.
  • Jihad Kabbani
    Mr. Jihad Kabbani had to go goodbye. He told us to inform everyone else to keep it clean, on-the-topic and not post one fictitious NSFW link after another or they would be banned like he was.

    Love,
    The Moderators
  • Markus,
    Interesting comments and frankly Germany seems like a scary place to me - autobahns and cold beer be damned.

    By the way, East Germany??? Seriously?? Are we back in the 1980s??
  • chica
    Santosh:

    The reason he has said East Germany is because there is still a strong cultural divide between what used to be East and West Germany (i know, because I lived right there on the dividing line for many years about a decade after the wall had fallen). The people in the East are generally more (highly) xenophobic, have produced the most welfare-recipients after the post-soviet recovery from all the ex-eastern nations, highest unemployment, high ignorance and violence levels (scaring potential investors off and leaving blocks and blocks of offices/homes empty and unused), and ridiculously high unemployment as a result. They also vote in scarily high numbers for the nazi / right-wing parties. Btw, not just dark-skins or blacks get beaten up, also long-haired or so-called hippy types get beaten up (maybe not as often as dark-skinned people). That should tell you the utter stupidity the region suffers from.

    I have met many Ossies (easties) of late who are perfectly 'normal' in their mindset, meaning they travel, they are friendly and open-minded and they just want to be part of the human race and live their lives as best they can. Unfortunately, they are still in the minority (but there is hope!).

    For those of us outside, we may think of Germany as one country, but within there are so many types ... the saxons (sachsen-anhalt) are the worst in terms of nazi-lowbrain thinking (and that is where those people got beaten up) - and they have the highest unemployment also and vote the most for the right-wing parties. The peoples in the western states are usually a bit more educated and polite, if only for commercial purposes (business yes, socialising usually not) and the southerners generally have a superiority complex (being the most prosperous and productive Germans) and while unfailingly polite can be extremely rude and racist, without realising how rude and racist they are being (e.g. they may compliment you on your ability to use a vaccum cleaner or other mod-cons as though it were an accomplishment for a dumb animal-like darkie) People from Berlin and Hamburg (as with any cosmopolitan metro on our planet) are generally easiest to integrate with, as people in metros generally tend to be less homogenous as a population and have usually travelled a fair bit, enjoy and have access to various cuisines (the best way to learn about other cultures!) and can usually speak a second language to some extent (making it easier to welcome foreigners into the fold).

    There are many wessies who say "build the wall again, and this time build it 5 meters higher". This should tell you about the cultural divide between east and west. Finally, I would like to thank MARKUS for witing such a lovely and informative post, it's much appreciated...
  • Chica,
    Appreciate you taking the time to explain some of these intricacies of German life.
  • Markus (East Germany)
    hi everyone,
    sorry, but my english is very bad, so I hope, you understand me.

    I'm very sad about the things, they happend in germany with your people.

    I think, the problem with the people in germany is the following:
    In every class (in the school) are people with a higher IQ, and of course a lot of people with a lower IQ.
    The higher go to the "gymnasium" (in your country college) and get a good job, or got to the university.
    The lower ones, maybee the "dumbs" get no job or not the right for them, or they quit her education.
    (in east-germany we have about 25-30% people without job)
    If the dumb ones have no jobs, they think not "Oh, I am a so bone idle", no! The think "the foreigner is guilty, that i have no job!"
    For them is it much easyer to say, another one is guilty, then themselves.

    And if these people are alone, nothing will happen, because the are cowards, but when they two, three or more, and the victim is alone... everything can happen.

    The next problem is the generation of their parents.
    they not better than themselves.

    I think, much (I dont know how much) of the 50-60 years old people in germany dont feel sorry about the world war II, they are only angry, that germany lost this war.

    There is no remorse.

    I'am a german too, I'am 32 years old, but I'am without racism.

    Nationality does not matter for me, and I frequently visit other countrys, and all the people there, they was friendly to me, althoug they know that I'am a german.

    Everyone can nothing else do, as teaching his children, that every people on the world have the same rights, no matter what the color of their skin is, or which language they speak...

    You are frome india? You are welcome! But I am afraid to say germany is not a secure place for people whit another skin color then white. Sad but true.

    Greetings, markus
  • Seems to me like Liam could do with some exposure to other cultures.
  • Jihad, Liam and Boggy: If you guys are willing to discuss things, you are welcome here.

    Instead if you guys want to spew xenophobic comments, ignorance and want to pursue your own agenda, I am going to have to ask you to leave.

    Do not say or do anything that your mother would not approve of.
  • Runa
    Liam,

    We are here because you were there.

    I will listen to your xenophobic rants when you make up for the British/Dutch/French etc colonizing millions in the 3rd world.

    Jihad's rants were bad enough. Now we have to listen to the likes of Boggy ("I hate liberals and display my ignorance about India") and Liam ( " I am Xenophobic and disoplay my hatred openly")
  • Liam:

    You contribute nothing meaningful to our culture


    You are joking, right?
  • Boggy
    Runa,
    Good point.. I remember not being able to get a taxi in Paris, but a young girl (foreigner - born in Ukraine) help me with her fluent French and forced one of the taxi drivers to get me where I needed to go.
    For turists - one advice - learn 2-3 simple phrases in the native language and SMILE. People (at least most of them) will respond with a similar kindness.
  • Liam Connaughton
    I just can't understand why people can't live in their own country. We in the West owe the 3rd world people squat! You contribute nothing meaningful to our culture and we don't need or want your huddled masses!
  • chica
    nice...after building most of your prosperity on ill-gotten gains (go to other countries, loot and murder the population, then walk away with property and mineral rights that continue to bring you wealth while the true owners of that land starve (think Africa)) you want to talk about how you don't owe anyone anything? The least you owe is an apology! The most you owe is turning your brains on, opening your heart, and oh yes, reading up on the official statistics to see what exactly immigrant populations in the west produce in terms of tax revenue. Have a nice day!
  • Boggy
    Ok,
    It is amazing how YOUR racist mind works Jihad. Why, I ask WHY do you have to suffer and LIVE among these racist people? Any intelligent person would pack their bags and move back HOME back to INDIA or ... wherever you come from.
    Liberals (the true bigots) find any way to blame somebody else for their own shortcomings - example? The person that complains about not being treated extra special because ... she would not learn German or French or Polish or Turkish or ... you get my drift.
    There is plenty of evidence in the press that folks in India, Pakistan and other countries are as fascist as Germens or English - read the press (Google will help with this). I do read plenty articles where "tolerant” Indians or Pakistanis attack Christians. Tell me why you don't talk about them?

    I hate racism and bigotry, but I am not going to try to create yet another class of victims, who... insist to continue being victimized. Why? Maybe it is NOT that bad. Maybe it is NOT that often as the liberal media would want us to believe?

    Also, who says that the racist a right wing? Most of them are extreme leftist, who are lazy, don't want to get a job, and blame everybody else (foreigners) for their poverty...

    BTW, I live in US and I am a foreigner. I am sick an tired of everybody (including English, Germans, and Pakistanis and Indian’s, and Mexicans) who complain about their host countries, but STAY there. I LOVE it! If I did NOT, I would have left it long time ago. I treat people as individuals, and yes, I discriminate with whom I prefer to be with ( I don’t have liberal or communists as friends for example),but this is MY right, and it is YOUR right to do the same. The difference is one – I DON”T complain if somebody doesn’t like me – I accept it.
    Greetings.
  • Runa
    Question:
    Why is Jihad demanding compensation for Asia from England in Germany?

    As regards the remark that the French are worse: I don't know. At the touristy places in Paris and outlying areas the French are every helpful and polite to tourists /obvious foreigners.I think its an outdated myth- I know they used to be very insular but times have changed ...

    There is no defence for beating up tourists so Jihad just give it up won't ya?
  • Jihad: Seriously? The English did a whole bunch of things that was unacceptable, but they also left us (Indians) with a working phone, railway system and English.

    Without all that, I am not really sure that India would be where it is.

    I never claimed that all Germans were racist, I just did not feel the warmth that I have felt in other places including Paris. People seemed much friendlier and approachable.

    Anantha: I am sorry about your friend. I am not sure that anyone should impose English, but even when language is a barrier (Often times is, in South Florida) people at least smile and you feel welcome. That is essentially what was missing.
  • NRITechie
    Indian government must definitely send strong signal to german government. What a shame on germans. Even I heard germans are racist.
    I would never goto germany for sure.
    Jihad..what you are trying to prove here ? Whether germans learn Hindi and visit India? I would say Indian govt should pass a law such that if german citizens want Indian visa then they should pass Hindi test to get the visa.
  • Jihad,
    So why did people from your beloved Germany attack these Indians? Because they did not speak German? I'm sure it happens with foreigners in most countries but seems like, lately, Germany is at the head of the pack.

    And please don't insult our collective intelligence by referring to something that happened 50-100 years back when discussing an incident that happened less than a month ago.
  • Pondatti
    WTF? Fascist England?

    Oh, like Germany is a more comfortable place for a desi to be...please.
  • Jihad Kabbani
    I have been living in Germany since 12 years and I fully understand the german culture and their psychology.

    The reason that your friend found NO friends in the Lab probably related to the absence of the knowledge of German language. If you go to france, it will be worse there because the french are very very proud of their language and they would expect you to learn french and speak french rather than speaking english.

    So this problem related to the absence of conversational knowledge of german. But it does not mean that this kind of thing will happen everywhere.

    In Fascist England, on the other hand, things are really bad. Take the example of your own Shilpa, who was abused as, POPPADUM, which has now become an insulting way of describing the Indians. You would not have any such problem in germany.


    Furthermore dont forget that it was the Fascist English who looted the Asian subcontinent and not the Germans. Fascist England is still occupying ireland, gibralter and falklands, which shows that it is a terrorist country.


    Irish, spanish and argentinians, all hate Fascist England.




    Jihad Kabbani,
    Chairman,

    COMPENSATION FOR ASIA FROM FASCIST ENGLAND

    Postfach : 102023
    50460 Köln
    Germany

    Fascist_England@yahoo.com
  • After a few days I could pick out my fellow Americans as well as the more liberal and educated types, no matter where they were from.

    From what I hear from friends, you probably got to talk to a minority. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine, a PhD student in my univ got a chance to be an exchange student in a German Univ for a month and a half. She tells me it was pure hell because she did not know the language and even in the same lab, people made no attempt to help her fit in. She says they used to have a hour long research meeting everyday, which she had to attend too. But no one made an attempt neither to speak English nor to translate for her. All she caught in the conversations between the other people in the room (while she remained silent) was her name from time to time, which left her terribly depressed cos it was apparent that they were talking about her and her work. The only friendly face that my friend met in that lab was the student that our univ had hosted just a few months earlier.
    I am not saying that they should impose English upon their citizens, but the kind of experience that my friend went through is almost unfathomable in a research lab that has links to a number of similar labs in the world and is known to be one of the best of its kind.
  • Jihad Kabbani
    NAZI LONDON
    NAZI LEEDS
    NAZI LIVERPOOL
    _______________________


    I have been living in germany since 12 years and I never had any problem.


    Germany is a very safe and good country for the foreigners and is much better than Fascist England which is full of nazis and criminals. More than 99% english are born nazis and fascist london, fascist leeds and fascist liverpool are the biggest nazi cities of the world. Nazi England killed over 83 million people in asia and africa during the colonial terrorism and looted over 900,000 trillion euros from asia and africa. Germany never did any of it to asia and africa.


    British press in fascist london is giving this incident a maximum coverage in order to give germany a bad name. British press should concentrate upon their own nazi london, nazi leeds and nazi liverpool before spreading propaganda against germany.



    Jihad Kabbani
    Chairman,

    COMPENSATION FOR ASIA FROM NAZI ENGLAND

    Postfach : 102023
    50460 Köln
    Germany


    Fascist_England@yahoo.com
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