Re: just like its understood in current day Berlin that the Turks should stay in that one arrondissement I discussed earlier this week.
Reports in 2004
Christian Hall, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii
Little Istanbul in Berlin
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Though the future may look bleak for some, other German Turkish citizens are very successful and highly esteemed members of German society. Turkish-born Vural Öger made his living in the tourism industry and is now a prominent politician in Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party. Öger serves on the European Parliament alongside Cem Ozdemir and Feleknaz Uca, also German Turkish citizens. In the film industry, Turkish director Fatih Akin and a group of mostly Turkish actors won the Deutscher Filmpreis and other awards for the film "Gegen die Wand," which was one of the most successful German films in recent years. This film shows the challenges of Turkish residents who have grown up in Germany. There are many flourishing businesses, factories and shops that are run by German Turkish citizens. In the Kreuzberg area of Berlin the spectrum of Turkish culture in Berlin is omnipresent.
Despite Kreuzberg's merit as a cultural melting pot, its residents bear witness to a darker side of German society that manifests itself every year. On May 1, thousands of rioters and police fill the streets of Kreuzberg for what has become an annual event complete with burning cars, tear gas, looting, drunkenness and violence. This tradition began in 1987 with a conflict between police officers and a left-wing group known as the Autonomen. Though there have been many attempts on the part of the government to prevent the riots and maintain peace, Kreuzberg residents brace themselves each year and prepare for the inevitable. Though many cultures clash each May 1 in Kreuzberg, members of the large Turkish population in that area tend to be innocent bystanders rather than active participants.
"Kreuzberg is not only traditionally left wing but also the part of town where most Turkish immigrants live," said Marco von Müller, a 27-year-old Berlin resident. "However, they have nothing to do with the riots."
Though neo-Nazis often create problems concerning riots and street violence, von Müller sees the May 1 riots as an exception.
"Usually our troubles here have something to do with the (neo) Nazis, but on May 1st, they are our least problem. Every year, radical left wing extremists come from all over Germany to Kreuzberg (traditionally left wing part of Berlin) to fight," von Müller said. "Who are they fighting, you ask? The state, the government, capitalism, you name it. They feel like revolutionaries, I believe. It's bad. Better be out of Kreuzberg on this day."
Germany's Turks may be linked with poverty due to high unemployment, but neighborhoods heavily populated by Turkish residents are not necessarily the worst areas, von Müller said.
"There are areas in Berlin where Turkish people are the majority. However, I would not see those areas as ghettos or slums," von Müller said. "These people are not the poorest in Berlin."
Some Berliners feel that areas with large Turkish populations are fun, exciting and ideal places to live. Julia Dollinger, a 23-year-old student of English language and literature moved to Kreuzberg from Friedrichshain after she grew bored of the homogeneous nature of its residents. Living in Kreuzberg, Dollinger said, is a daily adventure.
"Living in Kreuzberg is very different, sometimes you feel like being on holiday because everybody around you speaks another language," Dollinger said. "Of course there are many cultural differences and some of them are sometimes really annoying. If you're wearing a short skirt you can't pass a group of young Turkish guys without getting a comment. But in total there are more positive things about living in Kreuzberg like cheap food, flats and bars, street markets with southern flair, and fantastic fresh vegetables and fruits."
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ifa.de |
