Land of opportunities
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At an office in Frankfurt, Germany’s commercial capital, a group of South Asians – mostly Indians with a few from Nepal and Bangladesh – had gathered to interact with a group of visiting journalists – seven from India, and one each from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal to share experiences of living and working in Germany.
I was among the group of senior journalists sponsored by the German Federal Office and hosted by the Goethe Institute on a familiarisation tour to promote migration to Germany for students and professionals. Germany is offering thousands of jobs and particularly tapping South Asians, to fill a shortage of workers to feed its growing economy.
In the 1970-1980s, Germany was one of the countries that attracted refugees fleeing the war in Sri Lanka. Subsequently, there was a clampdown and migration was strictly monitored and controlled. Often getting a visit visa was a challenge, it’s the same today but the rules have been relaxed as Germany has become a country encouraging migration for study and work.
While some level of German language proficiency is required, non-English-speaking Germany is competing with countries like the UK, US, Australia and Canada to attract students and migrants with a slight advantage: the UK, Australia and Canada have put a cap on foreign student enrolments due to pressure on housing and other issues. Germany on the other hand welcomes any number of foreign students who are allowed to get a job after graduation and apply for citizenship after four years.
Currently there are 27,190 Sri Lankans living and working in Germany, and that number is said to rise substantially in the coming years. In fact, there was a Sri Lankan student going to Germany for studies on my flight to Germany last week.
For the record, another country that is inviting migrants is the United Arab Emirates which has introduced several long-term residency initiatives such as 10-year visas and 5-year visas for investors, students, professionals and entrepreneurs
As I sat down to write a piece on migration following a hectic six days in Germany visiting the cities of Berlin, Gottingen (a small town of 120,000 people and known as an academic city of excellence), and Frankfurt, the home phone rang. It was my friend Pedris Appo – short for Appuhamy, retired agriculture expert who does farming. “I say…..I tried calling you last week but a recorded message said you were abroad. Where were you,” he asked
“I was in Germany on a study and familiarisation tour,” I said. “Why….what’s happening in Germany?” he asked again. “Germany is encouraging migration for work and study and the authorities wanted to explain to a group of visiting journalists the benefits of living and working there,” I said.
“But aren’t immigration rules very strict in Germany particularly for Sri Lankans where we have to submit all kinds of documents just for a visit,” he asked. “Well it appears to be more relaxed as long as you have all your documents,” I said.
We also discussed the ‘elephant in the room’ – the rise of the Far-Right Alternative for Germany party which is anti-migration and had some success in recent elections. “This was a question that we raised at most of the meetings we held but the message was that this won’t be a major issue in the policy on migration as the fact remains that Germany is short of one million workers a year,” I said.
Just as I walked into the kitchen to get my mug of tea, I heard the conversation of the trio under the margosa tree. It was nice to listen to them after a week’s absence and hear what gossip they were up to this week.
“Damitha Abeyratne niliya masivili naganawa eyawa sajabey nama yojana laisthuwen makala kiyala. Eie danney nae (Actress Damitha Abeyratne is complaining that her name has been erased from the SJB’s nomination list, I wonder why),” said Serapina.
“Eh pakshaya athuley dabarayak thiyena nisa wagey (This is because there seems to be a tussle within the party),” noted Mabel Rasthiyadu.
“Damitha matha-kedathmaka kenek wunata, avashya thawakayak thiyenawa thava kanthawanta deshapalanayata athul wenna (While Damitha may be a controversial figure, there is a need for more women to come into politics),” added Kussi Amma Sera.
With regard to Germany, meanwhile, there is a demand for doctors, nurses and IT professionals. We met Filipino nurse Lian Tiamzon who came to Germany four years ago during the COVID-19 crisis. She has friends and relatives in Germany, one of whom is a nurse. She said the media in her country regularly spoke of the nursing opportunities in Germany.
There is a nursing culture in the Philippines where young people get trained and go abroad. “I came through an agency and they paid me, as there is huge demand for nurses. In Germany, you don’t need experience to work as a nurse. There are university graduates who have no knowledge of nursing before coming here. Most nurses from the Philippines are happy and content. Now they have dual citizenship,” she said, adding that Germany is attractive as in the US, for example, you need a driver’s licence amidst lots of regulations.
In Germany, language may be a challenge but it’s easy to work here, she said.
The group of journalists was shown various places of historic interest in Berlin, like ‘Checkpoint Charlie’, the checkpoint between the East and the West in an earlier divided Germany and part of the Berlin Wall among other sights. One of our meetings with labour authorities was held in German dictator Adolph Hitler’s former propaganda office.
Germany is experiencing a shortage of workers because women, even among immigrants, are having fewer babies and the population is dropping as there are more deaths than newborns. Without immigration you cannot keep the population stable, experts told us. The pension age has risen to 67 years from 65 years to retain more people in the workforce but the new pensionable age was vociferously opposed by unions.
A drop in population means the number of employed persons who fund pensioners is rising. For example, in 2000 the number of persons in the workforce required to pay one pension was five persons; in 2010 it dropped to three persons and in 2040 it would be just two persons, a much bigger burden on working people – which means that by 2040, two people have to pay taxes equivalent to that paid by five people earlier to fund one pensioner.
There is a huge lack of cultural integration but it’s getting better with Germans accepting foreigners while earlier this was not the case. A lot of people go through a culture shock – new houses, new streets, new buildings….all different to their home country. Yes, there are thousands of refugees from West Asia and Ukraine but unlike refugees from places like Syria (estimated at 1.3 million in 2023), Ukrainians can get jobs in Germany as they are skilled.
As I penned my final words for this week’s column, Kussi Amma Sera walked into the room with a second mug of tea, asking: “Sir, Germaniya kohomada (Sir, how was Germany).”
“Hondai, hondai (Good……good),” I replied, preparing to watch the pre-election developments with the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) eyeing a majority in Parliament. Not an easy task!
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