Dear Students,
Are you already involved in one of the numerous welcome projects for refugees at German universities? Or do you want nothing to do with it? Does it perhaps worry you that more and more people are applying for asylum in Germany? Or do you have both: are you engaged and worried? Do you perhaps find it difficult to form a clear opinion on this? boundaries? Limits too?
In this case, I have a typical tip from the professor: complement the talk shows, video posts, opinion articles, tweets and reports on the “refugee crisis” with a good essay from migration research. For example, the American political scientist James Hollifield explained as early as 1992 that the migration policy of liberal democracies is characterized by a "liberal paradox": On the one hand, our borders must always remain somewhat open - because we live in a global context and because we also grant migrants basic rights (e.g e.g. asylum law or family reunification). On the other hand, many of the cornerstones of our coexistence, such as political elections or social security, are based on the idea of closed borders. So if today we are torn between open and closed borders, it shows that we are children of a liberal democracy and as such are caught in the liberal paradox. This can be regretted or welcomed. The fact is: Anyone looking for a simple answer to current immigration leaves the ground of our political system - usually without offering an alternative.
So you can and should doubt! But you shouldn't stop thinking about how we make life bearable in the liberal paradox. It's best to do this with fellow students who have their own refugee experience and are currently trying to gain a foothold at your university. Don't just greet asylum seekers with applause when they arrive at the train station. Take people seriously in the role in which they meet you - for example as students on campus. Approach each other, get to know each other. Discuss the society in which you live together. Such an exchange is worth more than any welcome gesture. He can advance both sides intellectually. This is the only way we will eventually find an answer to the question of how we want to shape migration.
Her
Prof. Dr. Hannes Schammann
Hannes Schammann is a junior professor for migration policy at the University of Hildesheim. One of his research focuses on migration and refugee policy is the question of how German universities open themselves up to students with refugee experience.
