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Viewing cable 08HAMBURG41, TRANSFORMING ROSTOCK: FROM XENOPHOBIC RIOTS TO INTEGRATION

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08HAMBURG41 2008-11-10 11:42 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Hamburg
R 101142Z NOV 08
FM AMCONSUL HAMBURG
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 0252
INFO FRG COLLECTIVE
EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
AMCONSUL HAMBURG
UNCLAS HAMBURG 000041 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/AGS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM GM
SUBJECT: TRANSFORMING ROSTOCK: FROM XENOPHOBIC RIOTS TO INTEGRATION 
ROLE MODEL 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY:  For an Eastern German city that was in the 
global headlines sixteen years ago for a neo-Nazi attack on 
asylum-seekers, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's (M-V) largest city 
Rostock has made extraordinary strides in its integration 
efforts.  The city has taken an organized approach, clearly 
designating competencies among federal, state, and community 
programming in order to avoid competition or duplication. 
Despite budget strains, Rostock city officials have placed a 
priority on integration efforts and continue to provide the 
necessary funding.  In addition, the city has a remarkably 
dedicated group of people working on this issue.  The state 
plans to use Rostock's experience in integration as a role model 
in implementing similar practices throughout M-V.  This cable 
provides a snap-shot of RostQ as an integration success-story. 
 END SUMMARY. 
 
Rostock 1992 - Ground Zero for Xenophobia 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
2. (SBU) Rostock is located on the Baltic in former Eastern 
Germany and has a long tradition as a port city reaching back to 
the Hanseatic League.  Until recently, the city was probably 
best known for the August 1992 xenophobic riots in 
Rostock-Lichtenhagen.  At the time, several hundred right-wing 
extremists, accompanied by more than 3,000 applauding 
bystanders, attacked a building filled with approximately 120 
asylum-seekers, sending media shock waves throughout the world. 
(Note: At the time Rostock served as M-V's central processing 
office for asylum-seekers.  Approximately 1,000 asylum-seekers 
arrived per month.  Just prior to the attacks roughly 400 
asylum-seekers were evacuated.  However, 120 Vietnamese and 
journalists remained in the building.  End Note.)  The city's 
approach towards integration challenges has changed 
significantly since then, and has become a model for other 
German communities.  Today, Rostock's immigrant population is 
still rather small.  In 2007, 11,540 immigrants (7,540 
foreigners, 4,000 ethnic German immigrants) lived in this city 
of approximately 200,000.  The city's integration efforts are 
targeted at "migrants," defined as all foreigners and 
naturalized persons who permanently live in Germany.   Efforts 
include working with ethnic German immigrants from the successor 
states of the former Soviet Union ("Spdtaussiedler"). 
 
Rostock's 2008 Recipe for Success in Integration 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
3. (U) Dr. Ahmed Maher Fakhouri, Chairman of the NGO Migra and 
the Islamic Federation in Rostock and a 2007 IVLP participant, 
highlighted recently to the Consulate why Rostock has succeeded 
in transforming itself from an immigrant-hostile to an 
immigrant-friendly community.  He singled out four main reasons 
for Rostock's success.  First, he pointed to the dedication and 
efficacy of Rostock's Integration Commissioner Dr. Wolfgang 
Richter.  Richter's position was established in 1991 and he 
oversees the municipal network of government entities and NGOs 
providing integration-relevant services.  Second, Fakhouri noted 
that Rostock is the only city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern which 
has a Foreigner Advisory Committee.  The committee has existed 
since 1992 and was established as a result of the riots.  It is 
a semi-communal institution comprised of eight registered 
associations that work in the integration field.   The committee 
elects its representatives and conducts meetings on a regular 
basis and basically serves as the official representative of 
immigrants in the city.  Rostock provides budgetary support to 
the committee by covering personnel costs for a part-time 
position.  The third factor that has contributed to Rostock's 
success, Fakhouri explained, is that recent immigrants are not 
placed in a "ghetto" within Rostock but are integrated 
throughout the city into its various neighborhoods. 
 
4. (U) Finally, Fakhouri stressed that the federal, state and 
communal counseling centers have complemented one another in 
their work.  Representatives from these centers meet quarterly 
to exchange ideas and coordinate on the most efficient 
approaches to integration.  As one of the differentiating 
factors of Rostock's integration efforts, Fakhouri pointed out 
that there is a dense network of NGOs which, rather than 
attempting to provide the full range of services and duplicating 
work, are very specialized.  For example, Fakhouri's NGO, Migra, 
is dedicated solely to language and professional qualification 
in Rostock.  However, Migra also works on a federal project on 
how to optimize counseling migrants and was recently tasked to 
devise an integration course.  The integration NGO Dien Hong, 
which focuses on Vietnamese immigrants, was also founded in 1992 
as a result of the riots.  There are three Integration 
Specialist Service Migration (IFDM) Centers throughout M-V which 
were created in 2002 and solely specialize in providing 
professional development for immigrants.  These centers emanated 
from Dien Hong and are mainly financed by the M-V Social 
Ministry.  The Rostock IFDM was the pilot for this program, 
underscoring the city's lead role in integration. 
 
5. (SBU) COMMENT:  The positive light in which Fakhouri 
presented Rostock's integration efforts sharply contrasts witQ 
the 1992 xenophobic riots in Rostock-Lichtenhagen, which were 
the most extreme in Germany's post-war history.  The city has 
learned from that dramatic event and has since implemented best 
practices that are being duplicated state-wide.  The city's 
success lies in its cooperative operating style and effective 
communication, which exists, not only among federal, state, and 
local integration actors, but also between NGOs and government. 
Fakhouri complimented officials on their open-mindedness and 
willingness to cooperate.  According to Fakhouri, "The city is 
bankrupt but continues to fund positions for migrant work.  This 
is noteworthy."  Rostock's dedication to integration is not 
commonplace in the state of M-V, as demonstrated by (state 
capital) Schwerin, which has cut positions for financial 
reasons.  END COMMENT. 
 
6. (U) This message has been coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
 
 
JOHNSON