Press Releases

DMW International—The world needs passion and diplomats must live this passion. Diplomats representing diplomatic interests are always foreigners—regardless of where they are. They have to respect the local culture and the people they meet. This is their duty. It is also the basis for them being heard in the first place and being able to function as service providers.

We all show our diplomatic side in our everyday lives when we respect people from other nations, overcoming our egocentricity to get along with them. It is the appreciation of our fellow human beings and the expectations we have of them in return that distinguishes us from animals.

We must overcome the obstacles of yesteryear and make up for the historical prejudices of the past. Xenophobia has been passed on from generation to generation, yet reason tells us that we cannot do without foreigners.

In Germany, there are currently about 16 million people with a migration background, many of them second or third generation. The Rat für Migration (Council for Migration) was set up to take account of this development. This nationwide alliance of scientists has been critically monitoring policy in this immigration society of ours for 16 years.

The next Federal Government is being asked to reform migration and integration policy within the framework of contract negotiations. We need to redefine ourselves as an immigration society.
We support the foundation of a separate Ministry of Migration to ensure that human rights are observed at all times in Germany. We support the removal of responsibility from the Federal Ministry of the Interior and an end to the de facto treatment of immigration as a security problem. We support the move away from a defense policy to a multi-dimensional policy of integration, a profitable culture of welcome.

Every democratically-minded citizen can point out examples of discrimination in the areas of education, employment, allocation of university places, training, housing etc.
This is a wake-up call for education because tolerance can be taught and the ability to make people feel welcome in Germany can be learned. The present half-hearted policy of integration has been closely scrutinized on many occasions, but no real changes have taken place.

It is, without a doubt, difficult to get on with "Germans", and those who do deserve our respect! The educated German citizen is not only needed on poll day, but every day. We can only hope that the results of the latest studies will lead to change: "The standard of general education of German citizens is only average." Now should be the time to find a solution, to learn from migrants in order to develop and improve, and in doing so free ourselves from the unsatisfactory educational results that are clearly inadequate.

DMW, The Chairman and Directors, October 10, 2013