Intercultural interferences while living long in Germany!

Hi subresh and welcome to Expat.com!

Francesca

Hi, thanks for sharing your thoughts, I have read from your profile that you have studied in Stuttgart, are you still there?
Do the other expats from India talk about a xenophobic attitude against them or against foreigners in general?
It's something that really interest me. I am Italian and I have left Germany four years ago (almost five), after having been there for 4 years. Overall I cannot complain about the time I spent there. My experience is relating to the time before the financial crisis and I think that might affect what other Indians are experiencing. However, as an Italian, I have needed to work on my being accepted in Germany. There are wonderful Germans that will love to hear that you come from Italy, others instead consider you part of a German minority that in general did not make it in Germany. But that's history and I don't think you can relate this behavior to attitudes against Indian people. Please tell us more.

Hi Alberta,

being old, time has become a precious commodity for me, I could not reply earlier, sorry.

Just now I updated my profile, I did study but did not complete due to financial situation those days.  India gave me best basic education and Germany gave me the best technical education for my career.

We Indian expats do talk about Xenophobic attitude of Germans towards us and towards colored foreigners in general but we do that only when we are among us. We Indians generally have this 'no problem' mentality and if asked we used to say 'excellent' 'no harassment' ' absolutely no racism' etc. This is not intentional lying but attitude or behaviour.

There were few foreigners and very few Asians in Germany when I landed here during early 70's (before you landed in the world ;-) Those days people here were curious and friendly. When I visited the family of my German girl friend in a village near Freudenstadt (black forest) neighbours visited them to see a real Indian! Internet and Mobile Phones did not exit then.

Today 16 million people in Germany have an inter cultural background and of course the world financial crisis cause tension, misunderstanding, impatience, jealous etc. that leads to xenophobia. This slows down the development of inter cultural society and that is future.

You are Italian and European and of course you would not practically experience xenophobic behaviour in Germany but we do, we are not suffering or frustrated but worried about the present development.

Thanks for your interest in this subject, feel free to comment or question.

Regards
Suresh

BTW: coloured women experience more negative behaviour towards them than men but complain less about that than men ;-)

Hi Subresh,

I am a German who has lived a large part of his life in Asia. Here's my take on the subject:
It is human to be afraid of the unknown. People who look and behave differently automatically represent this unknown. Therefore some degree of xenophobia existed in all cultures at all times, and it always will.
I found Germans not worse in this aspect than others. They are probably a bit more reserved (not just against foreigners, but everybody they don't yet know), but mostly open up once you take the first steps towards them. They will then be glad you did, because they can't.
Xenophobia also has another side: Foreigners who become disheartened by the additional effort needed to live in a strange environment, who stop trying this first step, develop a negative attitude and withdraw into their own, private world apart from their host country. Ghettos (physical or mental enclaves - read some of the many expat forums where only complains are posted!) are a sign of this happening, and again existed in all cultures at all times.
It's best to stay positive, open and treat all strangers (no matter if German, Asian or others) as friends you don't know yet.

Good luck!

Thank you Beppi for your kind comments. You are an asiogerman, I think,  because you inherit and carry both  the cultures with you. I like your self definition as world citizen. They same way I consider myself as well. Humankind is one family (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam) – my people used say.

I agree to your points, also that mostly negative experiences are narrated but these have to be told and communicated to understand each other better for a better future.

While travelling abroad ( I mean outside Germany) I promote and say positive things about Germany and represent the good values of Germany and its people. Strange isn't it.

What misunderstanding did you experience in Asia? This would interest me and how you managed with it.

Cheers

Suresh