5 February 2008

On 5 February, students from Campbell College in Belfast and the Wilma Rudolph Oberschule in Berlin came together in the British Embassy for a podium discussion entitled “Overcoming Divisions – Building Communities and Promoting Integration”.

Introducing the discussion, British Ambassador Sir Michael Arthur said that the topic held a particular significance for the participants, given the history of division in their respective cities and the increasing plurality of their societies as a result of immigration.

The panellists from Northern Ireland spoke first. They painted a mixed picture of social cohesion in Belfast. While sectarian violence had fallen dramatically in recent years, the city was still marked by ideological and geographical divisions. One participant could give an example of where he himself had been verbally abused on the basis of his Protestant background. But there was more to modern Northern Ireland than the historical differences between Protestants and Catholics: recent years had seen a large influx of foreigners into the city, with many Eastern Europeans in particular coming to Northern Ireland in search of work. Attitudes to foreigners in general were mixed. Historical feelings of allegiance sometimes translated into a hostility towards anyone seen as belonging to a different group. But there were also examples of compassion and hospitality. One participant mentioned a local campaign to suspend the deportation of a Nigerian woman who had fled her country to escape persecution.

The panellists from Berlin, one of whom was born on the day of German unification, considered themselves less affected by historic divisions. They saw the greatest threat to social cohesion and integration in the increasing ghettoisation of migrant communities. One participant saw this process as a vicious circle in which those with a migrant background took refuge in separate communities for fear of being discriminated against in wider society, thus reinforcing the kind of misconceptions and prejudices which led to discrimination in the first place. Some participants admitted that they would be afraid to go to some of the migrant-dominated areas of the city at night. Another participant said that crime levels were indeed higher in areas with a high migrant population, but that this was often due to economic hardship and the lack of prospects for young people. He said that many second generation migrants – i.e. those born in Germany to foreign parents - were disadvantaged at school because their parents did not understand the culture or sometimes even the language of their host country.

Childhood education – both at school and at home – was a recurring theme in the statements and the subsequent discussions. All sides could benefit from a greater understanding of other cultures and viewpoints, and language skills were seen to play a particularly important role in the integration of migrants. Events at government level – such as the reconciliation of the opposition parties in Northern Ireland or the introduction of the Immigration Act in Germany – were important, but did not necessarily change attitudes in the general population. A more direct effect could be achieved through grass roots initiatives which sought to bring together people from different backgrounds, such as youth clubs or sports teams. Both sets of participants seemed to see immigration as an inevitable process, but one which would have to be carefully managed if historical divisions were not to be replaced – or supplemented – by newer ones.