Integration officer - Balci: Politicians only think until the next election
In the view of Neukölln's integration commissioner Güner Balci, politicians have not drawn the right conclusions from the riots on New Year's Eve. "The problem is that politicians generally only think until the next election," Balci told the German Press Agency.
Balci criticizes youth summit
She is very critical of the two youth summits at which measures against youth violence were discussed at the invitation of the Senate following the riots. "Money is handed out with a watering can and then a few organizations are picked out to present to the press. It's all a big show," said Balci. "But you can only do justice to the cause if you take a longer-term view."
Last New Year's Eve, police and emergency services were obstructed in their work in several German cities and shot at with firecrackers and rockets. There were particularly violent riots in Berlin.
"We don't need 20 million for this and that project. Instead, we need to think about it: What should a school in a socially deprived area look like today? What do these children need?" explained Balci, who has been the integration officer in the Neukölln district since 2020, which was particularly in the spotlight after the riots.
Balci calls for a stronger focus on education
"I would so much like people to come together beyond their party political interests and say - for example - that we have had the problem for years that our children can't read well and do so badly in the Pisa study," said Balci. "We have milieus in which the children do not achieve social advancement. Let's think about how we can do better. I totally miss that." No youth summit would do any good.
"We have to tackle it like climate change: we've slept through it for decades, we've made the wrong investments. Now we have to get it right. Berlin could be a pioneer instead of the city that everyone points their finger at," said Balci.
"I believe that we don't want to take responsibility for the causes of the riots last New Year's Eve. We don't want to take responsibility for children and young people who grow up in these segregated environments," criticized the integration commissioner. "Without social and cultural mixing, there will never be a healthy immigration society in these hotspots."
Immigration brings challenges with it
"Very few people think seriously and honestly about how this needs to be shaped in order to be able to say at some point: This is a colorful, good society." Immigration also requires confrontation with these milieus. "We owe it to ourselves and to others to take a close look: What makes them tick, where do they come from, what do they want? And what do we want from them?" she said.
"If my parents arrived in Germany today and I grew up in Neukölln - I would probably wear a headscarf voluntarily at some point or leave," said Balci, who was born in Neukölln in 1975. "That can't be right. I don't want girls to grow up here so restricted." There are people with a reactionary family image. "If you send their children to the same school, then that will become entrenched - and that is anti-democratic," warned Balci.
"But if they are not just among themselves and don't have sole sovereignty over how to interpret Islam, for example - if instead there is a certain social spectrum, then they have to deal with it and can't dominate everyone else." There is no general recipe, he says, "but one thing is clear: it only works if we promote social and cultural mixing."
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- Despite the New Year's Eve riots in several German cities, including Berlin's Neukölln district, politicians have not consistently addressed the root causes, according to integration commissioner Güner Balci from Neukölln.
- Güner Balci, who has served as the integration officer in the 'newkölln' district since 2020, criticizes the youth summits organized by the Senate following the riots, calling them a show with minimal impact on addressing the issue of youth violence.
- Migration and social deprivation are themes that intertwine within the Neukölln district, making it particularly sensitive to instances of criminality, such as the New Year's Eve riots.
- Balci advocates for policymakers to prioritize education, suggesting that if they focus on enhancing schools and meeting children's needs in socially disadvantaged areas, it could reduce youth violence and improve standards.
- Balci urges a shift in mentality, stressing that addressing long-term challenges like poor education and social advancement should be a shared concern among party lines, rather than pursuing short-term electoral gains.
- Balci draws parallels between addressing the socio-cultural challenges in Neukölln and tackling climate change, suggesting that both require immediate action and a paradigm shift to foster a healthier, more inclusive society.
Source: www.stern.de
