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  'As Welcome as Satan in Heaven': German Xenophobia as Our Readers See It

'As Welcome as Satan in Heaven' German Xenophobia as Our Readers See It

Part 9: 'Germany Is not Perfect'

Dear Spiegel Online,

I am an Indian national. I lived until very recently in Germany for over three years in the state of North-Rhine Westfalia. I did my PhD at one of the universities there.

Before going to Germany, I did have some fear of going and living and studying there for such a long time. However, this fear was quickly laid to rest, by my colleagues, professors and everyone else surrounding me. There were not many Indians in the region, so I was pretty much always in contact with Germans. I did make a real attempt to learn the language as well. It was not always possible, but at the end, I could speak and understand some to most conversations in German.

As I spent more and more time here, my image about Germany changed into one of a very advanced state with brilliant minds and scientists. People were more professional than I experienced before in other countries. I must say, I spent some of my best years in Germany. I do not believe I could get something better from some other country.

To me, it seems people in Germany do not mind having foreigners next to them, they just expect that people should at least speak and understand their language and culture. This, in part, might come from the fact that their own English skills are not that good. Nevertheless, I did also obtain job offers from German companies, even though my language skills were not up to the mark.

In my opinion, Germany needs to do more to have the best brains from around the world. This is where the future lies.

-- Dr. Kiran R. Mahajan

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