Schleswig-Holstein government unanimously recognizes Roma and Sinti

Roma immigrants protest in front of German parliament, demanding equal rights for German Roma.
(Image courtesy of Der Spiegel Online)

Yesterday, the German state of Schleswig-Holstein unanimously voted to grant Roma and Sinti ethnic minorities protection under the state constitution. German government officers are recognizing this legislative passage as a historic moment because, in previous years, the Christian Democratic Union shot down the measure. After much criticism within the government and from outside organizations, the CDU agreed to vote for the protection of these peoples when it resurfaced on the ballot. With the CDU for the bill, the vote to protect Sinti and Roma became unanimous.

Sinti and Roma have been protected by Germany's federal government since 1995. This passage, however, is completely new in the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Many Sinti and Roma emigrated to Western Europe from the Balkans, particularly from Macedonia and Serbia. One Roma spokesperson reported that many are leaving Eastern Europe to receive better federal care. Upon applying for asylum, a person could receive as much as €360 per month during the application process. Thus, the migration of Roma and Sinti to Germany has been labelled an economic migration. Because of this title, Christian Social Union member Michael Hartmann is urging German lawmakers to initiate a reform of the country's policies regarding immigration, particularly for economic reasons.

In the United States, immigration is a constant issue of contention. Especially in Southwest border states such as California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, the immigrants from Mexico tend to be treated as a nuisance to the country. Like the German Roma and Sinti groups, Latin Americans seem to be migrating for economic opportunities.

Despite these admirable causes, the U.S. federal government and state governments are still trying to crack down on border control and deal with immigrants who have come here illegally. It is currently being debated whether to grant recent illegal immigrants resident status and to then to tighten security around the border.

How would you propose immigration be dealt with in the U.S.? Is Germany's choice to grant asylum a good model with which to work? Would this protection be granted in the U.S.? Why or why not?

A German View of America's "Democracy"

How do German's view America's Presidential election? It seems the answer to that question would be "pointless". In an article published in Der Spiegel, they said "Democracy is about choice, but Americans don't really have much of a choice ... the people are helpless in the face of their power, as is the president". This article begins with a brief overview of some problems the East Coast has been facing in the wake of Sandy, and goes on to give a bleak view of our democracy. Later, the author mentions that "From a European perspective, it doesn't matter who wins this election. Only US foreign policy is important to us". This statement sends a very clear picture, if the previous writings didn't, of how Germans feel about American politics. And of course, if the message hadn't been clear enough, the article ends on a point of hopelessness, saying, "The downfall of the American empire has begun. It could be that the country's citizens wouldn't be able to stop it no matter how hard they tried. But they aren't even trying".

Is this true? Is America dying or is it just in the midst of a rough patch? Is there anything we can do to repair our reputation among Germany and the rest of Europe or are we forever going to be viewed as a failed democracy?

Gay marriage abroad: policies in Germany and the United States

Angela Merkel, DE Chancellor, is part of the Christian Democratic Union. (Photo courtesy of CNN.com)

According to CNN writers Grep Pleitgen and Janina Bembenek, the German high court has granted same-sex couples the same tax benefits of heterosexual couples. Over the past couple years, there has been a heated debate between Christian Democratic Union (CDU), headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the Liberal Democrats.

In the past, the Christian Socialist Union, a sister union to the CDU, has spoken out against equal tax benefits, saying that heterosexual couples receive those benefits because their relationship goes towards "making new life."

Much like civil unions in California and Delaware, German government officials passed domestic partnerships into law in 2001. Now, the Bundestag is permitting the same tax benefits for these couples at the urging of German liberals.

There is a similar situation in the United States. As the election closes in on U.S. citizens, the gay marriage debate is becoming even more heated. Religious groups are speaking out against same-sex marriage, citing the Bible as their moral reasoning.

In Washington state, Referendum 74 is up on the ballot. Should the bill be passed, gay marriage would become legal in Washington state.

Washington state candidates, Jay Inslee (left) and Rob McKenna (right). (Photo courtesy of KATU.com)

However, its passage depends both on the election of Republican candidate Rob McKenna or Democrat Jay Inslee. With much of Washington's gay population focused in Seattle, the King county vote will likely reflect their vote.

As a supporter of R-74 and a democratic voter, I can only hope that the United States government will turn in favor of supporting gay citizens' rights.

Racial Profiling: Germany vs. Arizona

In a recent ruling courts ruled against racial profiling based on skin color. After an incident where 26-year-old student refused when asked to show his identification on a train due to his dark skin color and was subsequently held at a police station, the student brought the case to court, suing for discrimination.  After a lower court deemed the police action acceptable a higher court overturned the ruling, saying that this action had gone against Germany's anti discrimination law. This case could set a precedent against racial profiling by the police.
   As a US citizen and resident of Arizona this case reminded me of SB1070, Arizona's recent illegal immigration law. This law, while it does not openly accept racial profiling, does promote it by allowing officers to demand immigration papers if there is reasonable suspicion that they are dealing with an illegal immigrant. The term reasonable suspicion basically allows the officer to decide who could or could not be illegal. In the case of Arizona, most illegal immigrants come across the nearby border with Mexico, thus making it extremely easy to suspect anyone of hispanic heritage of being illegal. In any case, I was glad to see that Germany has made it clear that requesting identification purely based on one's looks is not acceptable. I hope that Arizona can learn from this example and eventually follow suit.

"A Million a Day..."

"A Million a Day..." by Ana Sofia Knauf, Eunice Cheng, Magdalena Cooper, Andrew Johnson, and Amy Hartquist

Currently, German citizens of migrant background makes up 10% of the population, while immigrants without citizenship make up 8%.

In creating this cartoon, we wanted to comment about the tendency of "first world" countries, like Germany and the U.S., to willingly throw foreign aid money at "third world" nations. However, should the people of those nations immigrate to Germany, the migrant groups are treated as though they are unwanted.

What are your thoughts about this issue? Please feel free to leave comments below!

Global Power in Decline

This article from the Spiegel  looks at the October 22nd U.S. presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. The article states that both candidates failed to adequately adress many of the growing concerns of the American people such as climate change, the rise of Asia, education and infrastructure. More importantly, the Spiegel argues that neither candidate fully explained how they will deal with an increasingly outdated foreign policy at a time when American citizens are tired of being a world police force but still want to believe in American exceptionalism. Thoughts?