the german issue

yesterday, i read an article in spiegel online that i quite liked. the author, david crossland, has commented on the recent spate of events in germany, which illustrates germany's attitude towards foreigners. you can access the article here : http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,529322,00.html
he had also invited foreigners living in germany to share their experiences.
of course i pitched in...

I read Mr Crossland's opinion piece and I do agree that Germany needs to change its attitude towards foreigners.
I am a student from India currently pursuing my Master's here. I have been living in Germany for two years now – 11 months in Cottbus, and the rest in Berlin. While it is true that I have met some wonderful human beings in my two years here, it is also true that by and large we, the foreigners, are regarded way too suspiciously. Fortunately for me, despite my dark skin, I have not faced any pushed-into-a-corner kind of incidents that I keep hearing about. That may be because I take things in my stride, go out of my way not to offend people or simply because I choose to ignore most of the times. But I have been around couple of times when the ugly face of racism was bared to one and all. And every time I am shocked anew before a helpless rage takes over me, which I need to glaze it over with indifference for my own survival here.
Once in Cottbus, during a hip-hop night at a student bar, which of course attracted the black students from our university, someone threw a stink bomb inside the bar forcing all of us to run towards the exit, eyes hurting and throat clamping over the nauseous gas. While we were waiting outside for the smell to diffuse, a man with his hood up ran up the stairs screamed "ausländer raus" and ran away before we could react. One amongst us! And the other time, a club in Prenzlauer Berg, the happening district of Berlin, denied us entrance because there were three black people amongst us (well, four if you count me). We were just told that they have the right to deny anyone they want and that the club is filled to its capacity. The funny part is they did not even try to wait for us to leave out of sight to let others in. The message was clear: if you have a problem with that, it is your problem!
It would be easy to handle if it is only a certain bunch of people – say the neo Nazis – out to get you. What makes it difficult is the fact that the average people that you meet have so many prejudices against you that everything you do, even before you do, is written on the debit side of the balance sheet. If my friend, who is white, crosses a street when "ampelmannchen" is glowing red, she is in a hurry. And if I do the same, someone is waiting to say "schwarze schlampe" or something similar.
And you would think that in a university, the hallowed institution where things are supposedly being taught to expand the scope of a human mind, things might be different. But oh no! It gets worse there. You have to start battling prejudices from the word go. If you come here from a developing world, you are here to squander the precious resources of Germany, while all along you wanted to stay back by hook or crook. Even our request for a urlaub semester, almost a birth right of German students, is regarded suspiciously.
Don't get me wrong. I am not trying to say I have nothing but bad experiences in Germany. I have had times when the unexpected generosity and helpfulness of strangers reduced me almost to tears. To be fair, perhaps, things are not so different anywhere else. Perhaps, they do have a reason to believe what they believe. But it does annoy me to see the governing system, whose duty it is to reduce friction and help people coexist, to build a bridge and educate people that bad experiences are isolated experiences and not a collective identity, dig a shit hole instead.
I came here with an open mind and I see what I see. Tomorrow I will leave because I can afford to. But I see around me a lot of people who will hang on, despite racism, despite prejudices, despite everything. Well excuse us if we are only human beings yearning for a better life. And if something is not done right now, I am afraid it may be too late. History already showed us what could happen if we let malcontent grow.