E-BOOK: Migration Biographies - Europe on the move December 2020 | Page 34

Programme Erasmus + Europe on the move : Migration Biographies Theses
3.5 . Touti ’ s life in Germany
3.5.1 . Integration
In 1982 Abdelhadi married Marianne and in 1985 applied for and obtained his German citizenship . Abdelhadi and Marianne ' s first child Sarah Maria was born in April 1985 . Their second child , Amin Maximilian , was born two years later in September 1987 . 48 Integration in Germany was made significantly easier by Marianne , Touti ’ s German wife , he experienced little or no difficulties with his integration , this may be due to the fact that from the beginning he was eager and ready to accept the German culture . This is also underlined by his own initiative to take and pay for German language lessons . He also looked for and found his first employment without the help of agencies or organisations . 49
In the rural area of Dachau , Abdelhadi was well received and accepted by the local residents from the beginning . It was necessary for Abdelhadi to learn German , but his children never learnt either of his mother tongues , Arabic or French from him . In the Touti ’ s home only Bavarian was spoken . 50
From a cultural aspect Abdelhadi and his wife educated their children European / Christian and not Arabic / Islamic . Although his children were both baptized and raised Catholic he himself still believes in his Islamic roots . In Germany , he has always taken part in German public festivals and holidays as well as celebrating the Christian Christmas with his family and friends . He considers Germany his home and has no intention of returning to Morocco or France permanently . He does however travel yearly to both countries to visit family . 51
3.5.2 . Racial Experiences
Abdelhadi did not encounter any major racial experiences after he moved to Germany . When he experienced smaller racial incidents he brushes it off by saying it was not that bad and that he simply ignored them . Once a French customer requested that only the German employees work on a project and not him , Abdelhadi is still not sure if this was because the customer may have felt uncomfortable with a Moroccan programmer . 52
4 . Racism : General
4.1 . France : effects and influences of immigration policy
After the Second World War , both the business community and the political community believed that the number of foreign workers in France should be significantly increased . Generally the total population density was low , in particular , the number of young men in France . 53 The French colonies benefited from the liberal immigration regime . 54 In the mid-1950s , the number of immigrants increased enormously , in the 1960s more than 100,000 people per year were immigrating to France . 55
In 1963 , agreements were signed with Morocco , Tunisia , Mali and Mauritania , which significantly increased the number of people allowed to enter France from these countries . Between 1962 and 1966 , 67,000 Moroccan workers went to France , which was the highest proportion from the four North African countries . 56
In the beginning , the immigrant was seen by French society only as a marginal phenomenon , the increasing immigration stream was neglected by interrelated political discussions and ignored by trade unions . French society remained aloft and largely closed to immigrants , economically they were seen as an advantage as they
48 Abdelhadi Touti-Written Interview-Germany-06.07.2019
49 Abdelhadi Touti-Written Interview-Germany-06.07.2019
50 Abdelhadi Touti-Written Interview-Germany-06.07.2019
51 Abdelhadi Touti-Written Interview-Germany-06.07.2019
52 Abdelhadi Touti-Written Interview-Germany-06.07.2019
53 Silverman , Maxim : Rassismus und Nation , Hamburg , 1994 , p . 48
54 Silverman , Maxim : Rassismus und Nation , Hamburg , 1994 , p . 51
55 Silverman , Maxim : Rassismus und Nation , Hamburg , 1994 , p . 52
56 Silverman , Maxim : Rassismus und Nation , Hamburg , 1994 , p . 53
[ 33 ]