Together against right-wing extremism  [05.02.24]

Our democracy is a gift. But we must not take it for granted. That is why several hundred thousand people across Germany are demonstrating against the rise of far-right forces. How should we show our colors at the University of Hohenheim? How are international students doing at the moment? Jason Wenzig from the AStA and Uttej Chadaravalli, Master's student from India, talk about this with the Online Courier.

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Hello Uttej, hello Jason. Nice to see you. However, our topic today is terrible.

Right-wing extremist views seem to be gaining more and more popularity in Germany. Jason, you are a member of the Student Parliament and the AStA Department for Political Education. How are you concerned about this development?

Jason: We are appalled by it. As a student representation in committees and Student Parliament, we stand for diversity, democracy and the free exchange of opinions.

We are politically neutral: that means it doesn't matter whether someone is politically left-wing, right-wing, liberal or ecological, or doesn't want to be pigeonholed in any of these categories. We are committed to ensuring that all opinions are heard.

However, there must be no room for extremism, racism, hatred or hate speech. Neither here at the university - nor in our society. When I hear about the delusions of some people who hallucinate about deporting people with a migration background en masse, I honestly feel sick.

Above all, however, we are very concerned that such ideas seem to be creeping into the center of our society and that a party like the AfD, which deliberately seeks proximity to right-wing extremists, is gaining more and more supporters.

This is why we support the demonstrations that are currently taking place. As student representation, we also want to take a clearly visible stand on this issue in the future, including via our social media channels.

Of course, we are particularly thinking of our international students here in Hohenheim when it comes to this topic. That's why we suggested inviting one of them to this discussion today.

That was a very good idea! And thank you Uttej for joining us today and contributing your perspective.

Jason just mentioned media reports about the Correctiv investigation. It was about a secret meeting of neo-Nazis, AfD politicians and entrepreneurs to plan how people with a migration background could be driven out of Germany. Did you follow that?

Uttej: Of course. Even internationals who don't regularly follow the German media have noticed. Many are deeply unsettled. And not just internationals. I recently had a conversation in the TMS café with a student who was born and raised in Germany. She is also worried about the future because her father is an immigrant.

But first of all, I would like to say something else: I got to know Germany in a completely different way. I am enthusiastic about German culture. And I'm really in love with the University of Hohenheim. I wish the university to be a part of my special moments in my life in the future.  

If you ask people in my home country, India, what they associate with Germany, the Nazi past and the Second World War are certainly still among the involuntary associations.

But now people also think of the Germany of today: a cosmopolitan, economically successful country with a very low crime rate that has managed to face up to its own past and learn from it. That impressed me and was one of the reasons why I decided to study here.

So it's all the worse that you're now experiencing a time when right-wing extremist ideas are apparently gaining a foothold in wider circles again.

Jason, was there actually a particularly key moment for you when you thought to yourself: Oh well, our democracy might be more vulnerable than you thought?

Jason: Hm, key moment, I don't know.

thinks about it.

Of course, the latest media reports shake you up or when you realize that the AfD, which increasingly radicalized over the years, now has a realistic chance of becoming the strongest force in a federal state.

But the worst thing is that there is no single key moment. Everything is more of a gradual process. The development didn't come out of nowhere. And of course it's not just limited to Germany. In other European countries, right-wing extremist and populist forces are even stronger in some cases.

That must be a warning to us. The big demonstrations by civil society should have taken place much earlier. The student representation in committees and Student Parliament has also said little about the issue in recent years.

Perhaps this is because we grew up in a situation in which democracy and the rule of law were something we took for granted. The idea that it doesn't have to stay that way for all time is disturbing - and we somehow push it away for a long time. This makes it all the more important that things start to move now.

The motto of many demonstrations sums it up for me: Never again is now.

Uttej, would you still recommend friends in India to come to Germany to study?

Uttej: Well, I'm a bit ambivalent about that.

For me personally, the positive experiences outweigh the negative ones. For me, Germany has generally lived up to its good reputation. Not always, not everywhere. But most of the time. Especially here at the University. Hohenheim is definitely a safe space for us internationals. That doesn't mean that it's easy to arrive here and make German friends. But that's another topic.

However, the current developments in Germany are also frightening for me. Nobody knows how things will develop. So I would advise friends not to be naive and to find out exactly what the current situation is. And they should definitely also pay attention to where exactly in Germany they want to go. The mood varies greatly from region to region.

There can also be a big difference between urban and rural areas. A few months ago, I was at an excursion in Leipzig and had accommodation in a rural area on the outskirts of the city. A group of soccer fans there gave the Hitler salute at a bus stop as if it were the most normal thing in the world. That really shocked me at the time.

But I would also tell my friends in India that I took part in a demonstration on Schlossplatz in Stuttgart with thousands of people from all walks of life who didn't want Nazis to come back to power. And that these demonstrations are taking place all over Germany.

Finally, let's talk briefly about the University of Hohenheim. How do you think we should best respond to the current developments?

Jason: My hope is that we here in Hohenheim all stand together as a community against this development.

That's why I think it's good, for example, that the University management has already published a statement on the topic. As I said, we on the student representation also want to comment on this more often in future. It will be a specialization of our AStA department in the coming semester and there will certainly be campaigns or events.

Above all, however, I believe that we should take this as an opportunity to really live our values in everyday life on campus. We should embrace international students and international researchers and employees even more and show them that they are welcome here.

Uttej, you described the University of Hohenheim as a place where you feel very comfortable and safe. Nevertheless, you also briefly mentioned that it is not easy for internationals in every respect. Would you like to tell us more about that?

Uttej: Gladly. But as I said, this is not about a fundamental criticism, but about how it could be even better for us internationals.

Today I've really arrived at the University of Hohenheim. I'm a member of various groups, such as AKN, Greening Hohenheim, FRESH, to name but a few. I've made friends and feel noticed on campus. That feels incredibly good.

But it was a hard road to get there and unfortunately many international students don't manage to leave their bubble.

What would help you?

Uttej: Of course we have to take action ourselves. But it would definitely help if there were a few more encouraging signals to us from the university management as well as the university community: Hey, we're interested in you, it's great that you're here, come and join us! And I would appreciate this not just during tragic political events that happened recently from right wing extremist party AfD.

We have the Welcome Week, and we have the International Office as a point of contact. That's wonderful. But in everyday life, it often feels like you don't really exist for many people on campus.

In the early days, I found this extreme reserve almost hostile. Today I know better. It's a question of mentality. Germans don't find it easy to approach people openly, it's nothing personal. I am now friends with people who I initially mistakenly thought did not like me.

If we are serious about diversity at the university, we should probably give ourselves a jolt and approach each other more often.

Uttej: That would be a very good start, yes. Of course, that also applies to us internationals.

And it would be nice if there were more opportunities on campus during the semester where internationals were explicitly invited and had the chance to make contact with Germans in mixed groups. Institutionalizing the diversity in some major and minor aspects of university could be an asset.  

Of course, we also must overcome language barriers. We make an effort to learn German, but we often have to rely on you to speak English.

Unfortunately, there are also many other barriers for us. For example, the student representation is almost exclusively made up of German students. As a result, we internationals don't even notice many things. For example, many don't even know that the AStA is also a point of contact for them if they have problems or experience discrimination.  

Jason: You're right. And the issue has definitely reached us in the student representation in committees and Student Parliament. Unfortunately, it's not always easy for us to reach students with our topics, including German students. But we are working on it and want to open up further. Things are moving, albeit slowly. Thank you for being so open about it. We'll keep at it.

Thank you both for the interview! We will report back.

Interview: Leonhardmair