Creating Failure

Why are immigrants the last resort when filling jobs? When you have an aging population, such as Germany’s, where 200,000 people retire from the work force every year who cannot be replaced, what’s the solution? Well, one thing is certain: “older German workers should not be overlooked in favor of immigrant laborers… [and] immigrants should not be considered ‘until we have done all we can to help our own people to become qualified and give them a chance’”, says Chancellor Merkel as reported by Deutsche Welle. Help them become qualified? Are immigrants so repulsive that you would rather spend extra money on training older people who will be retiring much sooner anyway as opposed to people who are possibly already qualified? Does anyone else find themselves smacking themselves in the forehead in response to this utter crap?

            The new national policy now, as stated by the Chancellor, is that immigrants must learn German. Hmm. What an amazing concept! Is that something that needs to be told to these people? Just coming to Germany to work in the first place will give them the incentive to learn the language because it is in their own self-interest to do so. If they don’t learn it, they probably won’t get a job in the first place. So what good does it do to make this some kind of compulsory policy from the government? Language learning is not an issue where you need a hard-line approach.

            Immigrants would not be coming to Germany unless there was work to be had so there is no need to pretend they are not needed. Besides, feeling as though they are a part of the society will naturally persuade them to integrate without any problem. However, statements like the ones Angela Merkel made—as a government official no less—are what segregate people in a country. Germany is a country with a majority of Christians, but what good does saying that it is “a Christian nation” do? This implies only that you won’t tolerate those different from you. If they are following the laws of the land, then it will not matter. Declaring this distinction simply creates separation in your society and resentment by otherwise law abiding people. As a leader of her country, Merkel should be showing everyone the right path towards peaceful cooperation instead of establishing unneeded division. Any “failure” in multiculturalism is generated by Merkel’s own policies.