The continuation of the Apartheid Legacy

The EU states declared the year 1997 as the "European Year Against Racism in Europe" due to the increasing racist offenses as well as subtle racist discourses and (pervading the European social landscape). But while EU states declared a "war against racism" in 1997, they did not address all forms of racism. State racism was hardly mentioned. The debate was all about xenophobia and right wing radicalism, because very often only extreme and violent racist attacks draw attention.

In the 1940's, right after the Second World War, the state of South Africa saw Nazism arriving and overtaking the political command. State regulated racism was put into practice when the Nationalist Party came to power in 1948, with one ideology, which they were eager to put into practice very soon. They named the ideology as "Apartheid" which in the Afrikaans language means Separation. One of the bitter pills of this ideology is the "PASS LAW" which describes the rigid racial division between the governing white minority and the nonwhite majority population (20mio. black Africans, 2,5mio. mix population and 750 000 Indians and Pakistanis). Before the blacks could visit the quarters of the Europeans territorial jurisdiction (defined by the then racist regime) they needed a permission known as the PASS LAW; and this very racist law is today segregating the foreigners in Germany vis-à-vis to the German society.

The law determined where members of each group could live, what jobs they could hold, and what type of education they could receive. And mostly, this law prohibited social contact.

This segregative, discriminative and inhuman law provoked the blacks in South Africa on the 21st of March 1960 to stage a revolution against the state machinery perpetuating this human evil. Hundreds of people in a city called Sharpeville (S.A.) disobeyed the law by crossing their territorial jurisdiction without the Pass Law or permission. As they were approaching a police station, the police fired on the crowd and killed 69 demonstrants.

In Germany, though the Police do not gun down the asylum seekers, they are asked to pay extreme amounts of money for not holding a permission pass before going out of their territorial. Some people are put into prison and it is registered as a crime. At the end of the year it is published that the asylum seekers are the greatest criminals. This law has allowed the Police in Germany to accuse asylum seekers of any form crime and the courts support it.

The fatal gunning down of the peaceful demonstrants and the maiming of several hundred others rightfully brought international public opinion on apartheid in South Africa and led to the UN resolution to recognize that day in the memory of those who died as the International Anti-Racism Day.

Today in such a "civilized country" as Germany, this very tragic ideology exists, (at least not in its known form nor name). This law can be seen in the law governing the asylum seekers in Germany. This law has now adopted the new name, Asylberwerberleistungsgesetz. Among other injustices the asylum seekers face are: no right to any kind of formation or studies, no right to work (asylum seekers and foreigners are said to be the ones taking away the jobs of the Germans, although Germany has only 13% of foreigners and asylum seekers together and 30% of jobless), no right to cash money (asylum seekers receive their means of living in form of smart cards or vouchers). And also, quite sadly (like in former SA), the lack of the Freedom of Movement of the asylum seekers is being swept away by another article of the AsylVfG known as Residenzpflicht, asylum seekers are not allowed to go beyond their territorial jurisdiction without permission and in most cases, permissions are being refused to the asylum seekers if the application of the permission is personal and not official, like in the then Apartheid regime in South Africa.

This racist and discriminative law "Residenzpflicht" exist only in Germany in the whole of Europe.

An African from South Africa will describe this situation as Apartheid which means, segregation, discrimination, racism, isolation and hatred.

The foreigners and asylum seekers are portrayed to the German society as useless and undesirable where mostly, the foreigners and asylum seekers are being used in Germany as bait for political campaigns. The party that criticizes the asylum seekers and the foreigners most speculates to win the next chancellery election. Racism is rising as before.

The asylum seekers are appealing to the International Institutions and Humanitarian Organizations to put an end to this modern form of Apartheid in a "civilized third country" as it was done in South Africa. This inferior law of "Residenzpflicht" that was adopted in 1992 by the C.D.U./C.S.U./F.D.P./S.P.D. is a racist law.