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A Writer's Journey (Satis Shroff)

Satis Shroff Nominated For German Engagement Prize 2011 Berlin Mittwoch, 14. September 2011 20:31:52 deutschen engagementpreis 2011, MGV-Kappel, university freiburg, germany ...

PRESSEMITTEILUNG: Berlin, 05. September 2011 Herr Satish Shroff , aus Freiburg-Kappel, ist für den Deutschen Engagementpreis nominiert! Dies wurde ihm durch ein Schreiben des „Projektbüros Deutscher Engagementpreis“ in Berlin mitgeteilt. Herr Shroff wurde aufgrund seiner Auszeichnung für ehrenamtliches, bürgerschaftliches Engagement 2010, von der Stadt Freiburg, Dezernat III durch Herrn Gerhard Rieger für den Deutschen Engagementpreis vorgeschlagen. Sein Einsatz als „Mittler zwischen den Kulturen erfährt durch diese Nominierung eine besondere Anerkennung.

Dies erfreut nicht nur Herrn Shroff, sondern zeigt auch, dass das Thema Integration ausländischer Bürger öffentlich wahrgenommen und als preiswürdig eingeschätzt wird. Geprägt durch die eigenen Erfahrungen als Migrant, der auf die Menschen fremder Kulturen zugeht, will er das Verständnis, den Respekt, die Achtung und die Neugier für Menschen verschiedener Kulturen wecken Er selbst, aktives Mitglied und Schriftführer des heimatlich, traditionellen Vereins „Männergesangverein Liederkranz Freiburg-Kappel“ sagte in seiner erfrischenden, ehrlichen Dankesrede bei seiner Auszeichnung für ehrenamtliches, bürgerschaftliches Engagement 2010: „Ich bin in Kappel so herzlich aufgenommen worden und fühle mich hier „sauwohl“. Ich kann nur jedem empfehlen in einen Verein einzutreten.“ Seine Publikationen im Internet sind einfühlsame, aktuelle Geschichten, die dem Leser neue Sichtweisen anbieten, andere Menschen mit Ihren Traditionen und Bräuchen anzunehmen, verstehen und zu respektieren. Der Deutsche Engagementpreis ehrt freiwillig engagierte Organisationen, Unternehmen und Personen. Die Auszeichnung wird verliehen vom Bündnis für Gemeinnützigkeit, einem Zusammenschluss von großen Dachverbänden und unabhängigen Organisationen des Dritten Sektors sowie von Experten und Wissenschaftlern. Förderer des Preises sind das Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (BMFSFJ) und der Zukunftsfonds der General Deutschland Holding AG. Der Deutsche Engagementpreis wird in den Kategorien Gemeinnütziger Dritter Sektor, Einzelperson, Wirtschaft, Politik & Verwaltung sowie der diesjährigen Schwerpunktkategorie Engagement von Älteren vergeben. Während eine Experten-Jury die Preisträger der einzelnen Kategorien bestimmt, können sich auch die Bürger selbst an der Auswahl der Sieger beteiligen: Sie wählen im Herbst den Gewinner des mit 10.000 Euro dotierten Publikumspreises mittels Online-Voting-Verfahren auf der Website www.deutscher-engagementpreis.de aus einer Vorauswahl von ca. 20 Projekten. Projektbüro Deutscher Engagementpreis c/o Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen I Mauerstr. 93 I, 10117 Berlin Tel. 030–89 79 47-61 I Fax -71 I info@deutscher-engagementpreis.de www.deutscherengagementpreis. de

Einbürgerungsfeier & Integrationspreis Sonntag, 15. Dezember 2013 21:11:01 einbürgerungsfeier, miteinander, Satis Shroff, peace ...

Einbürgerungsfeier mit Verleihung des „Freiburger Integrationspreises – Für eine offene Stadt“ am Samstag, 14. Dezember 2013 um 11.00 Uhr im Historischen Kaufhaus am Münsterplatz

P r o g r a m m

Musikalischer Auftakt Ansprache Oberbürgermeister Dr. Salomon

Grußwort Satis Shroff

Musikalischer Beitrag Ansprache zum Integrationspreis und Bekanntgabe der beiden Preisträger Oberbürgermeister Dr. Dieter Salomon Vorstellung der ausgewählten Projekte und Übergabe der Preise Oberbürgermeister Dr. Dieter Salomon Stadträtin Dr. Sylvie Nantcha

Musikalischer Ausklang Anschließend Stehempfang

Es musiziert ein Bläserquintett der Musikschule Freiburg Leitung: Iain Semple Camila Pauli, Flöte - Aglaia Killian, Oboe - Gabriel Chiapello, Klarinette – Lara Croizat, Horn - Anna Zimmermann, Fagott Vorgetragen werden 4 Sätze aus “Fünf leichte Tänze” von Denes Agay (1911-2007) Polka – Tango – Walzer – Bolero *****

Grusswort zum Tag der Einbürgerung (Satis Shroff)

Stichwörter: Migration, Nepal, Himalaya, Schwarzwald, Freiburg; Integration: Freiburg, Deutschland, Verein,

Gesellschaft, Miteinander, Toleranz, Gegenseitige Respekt

INTEGRATION: Der Mensch hat ein Bedürfnis nach sozialer,

geistlicher, sprachlicher, sinnentfaltender Integration. Integration schafft ein WIR Gefühl durch Eingliederung in die einheimische Gesellschaft. Es ist ein geben und nehmen; und es soll ein Leben und Leben lassen sein. „Sie sind so wunderbar integriert,“ sagte neulich Frau Martina Ruch von Freiburger Protokoll-Referat zu mir. Vielleicht war das der Grund warum ich zu der Zentralen Feierlichkeit am Tag der Deutschen Einheit von 2. bis 4. Oktober 2013 in Stuttgart eingeladen wurde. Als Teil der Bürgerdelegation Baden-Württemberg durfte ich mit dem Landesvater Herrn Winfried Kretschmann Maultaschen essen. Das Salz in der Suppe waren die Stuttgart 21 Protestler. Ah, so ist eben die Demokratie. Ein Festakt in der Liederhalle Stuttgart und Empfang mit dem Bundespräsidenten Herrn Dr. Joachim Gauck waren die Highlights, gefolgt vom Empfang des Oberbürgermeisters der Stadt Stuttgart, Herrn Fritz Kuhn im Rathaus. Für mich waren es eine Ehre und ein Privileg dabei zu sein. Wie ich es bei der Preisverleihung für bürgerschaftliches Engagement 2010 erwähnt habe, kann ich nur jedem empfehlen in einen Verein einzutreten: Sport, Kultur, Gesang, Tanz, Musik, je nachdem was Sie können. Bleiben Sie nicht isoliert in ihrem Kämmerlein. Werden Sie aktiv! In der Familie finde ich es wunderbar Austauschschüler zu haben. Da wird französisch, italienisch und englisch gesprochen. Eine kulturelle Bereicherung für alle Beteiligten. Zur Integration muss ich sagen, dass ich in Littenweilers Thomas Morus Burse gleich Anschluß bekommen habe in Form von zwei Kommillitonen: Gabi Knittel und Joseph Moosmann. Sie ist Grundschullehrerin geworden und er ist jetzt ein Pfarrer. An Weihnachten haben Sie mich in Ihr Elternhaus eingeladen. Josephs liebe Mutter sagte sogleich: ‚O Satisle!’ Die Jahre gingen schnell vorbei und nun bin ich auch Freiburger. Ein Schwarzwaldmädel habe ich geheiratet mit Magister Artium in Volks- und Völkerkunde. Ein zweites Magister in Ethik und wir haben vier Kinder. Ein Häusle haben wir auch gebaut. Wir essen badisch-nepalesisch-italienisch und singen gerne daheim. Und ist das Dorf auch noch so klein, er hat `nen eigenen Verein. Ich bin aktiv als Schriftführer und Sänger im Männergesangverein-Kappel; für die Freiburger Nepalese Association und MGV-Kappel betreue ich die Facebook-Seite. Ich liebe Kappel und das malerische Dreisamtal und habe gute Freunde und Nachbarn und ich fühle mich geborgen. In der englischen Schule war unser Motto: Omnia bene facere. Inzwischen mag ich unsere Vereinsmotto: In Freud und Leid Zum Lied bereit. * * *

MIGRATION: In Darjeeling habe ich ein Britisches Internat besucht und war mit Shakespeare, Keats und Yeats vetraut. Mittlerweile auch mit Goethe, Brecht, Grass Raniczki und Ortheil. Nach dem Schulabschluß Senior Cambridge studierte ich Zoologie und Botanik und wurde erfolgreicher Journalist und schrieb für Radio Nepal, The Rising Nepal, San Francisco Chronicle und The Christian Science Monitor. Dort habe ich über den Bergtourismus, Himalayaökologie, Kultur und Literatur geschrieben. Massentourismus und Umweltprobleme waren schon damals in den 70er und 80er Jahren ein Thema. Yeti-Expeditionsmitglieder , Gletscherforscher und Wildlife-Experten habe ich auch interviewt. Der Mensch ist von Natur aus ein Kulturwesen. 1975 kam ich nach Freiburg und habe hier weiter studiert: Medizin, Sozialarbeit und Creative Writing in Freiburg und Manchester.

Nun bin ich Dozent an der Akademie für medizinische Berufe, VHS-Freiburg, VHS-Dreisamtal. Ich habe auch in Basel und an der Freiburger Uni also Lehrbeauftragter gearbeitet. Demnächst auch Creative Writing an der PH. Es macht mir Freude mit Jungen- und Älteren Generationen zu arbeiten. In der Erwachsenenbildung benutze ich häufig Assoziationen, da die Erwachsenen Studenten sehr viele Bilder, Wörter, Informationen in sich mitbringen (Lebenserfahrungen). Ich bin in Deutsch, Englisch, Nepali und Hindi zu Hause.

Schon als Medizinstudent war ich aktiv also Kontaktperson für das AAA (Akademisches Auslandsamt. Heutzutage heißt es International Office). Ich habe DAAD und von Humboldt- Stipendiaten aus Nepal und Indien betreut. Ich pflege weiterhin Kontakte zu diesen etablierten Akademikern per Facebook und über E-Mails. Beim Horlemann Verlag, Bad Honnef, habe ich zwei Sprachkunden zur Nepali-Sprache veröffentlicht, die für Auslandsmitarbeiter der GTZ, des Goethe Instituts, des DAAD, der Carl-Duisberg- Gesellschaft etc., die entwicklungsbezogene Aufgaben in Nepal durchführen, bestimmt sind.

Satis Shroff 1 Kommentar German Unity Day (Satis Shroff) Freitag, 15. November 2013 12:58:21 green city freiburg, german unity day, stuttgart, satisshroff ...

Germany: UNIQUE THROUGH UNITY (Satis Shroff)

I was very happy when I received an official invitation from the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg (BW) with the text: Minister Mr. Winfried Kretschmann would be delighted if you could represent our state Baden Württemberg as a member of the BW-delegation at the central celebrations on the occasion of the German Unity from the 2nd till the 4th of October 2013 in Stuttgart.

The programme comprised an official greeting by the Ministerpräsident of Baden-Württemberg and his wife Mrs. Gerlinde Kretschmann at the town council place. This was to be followed by a mutual Swabian Maultaschen luncheon. After that a tour to the Mercedes-Benz Museum which was to end with a reception given by the Landtags-president of BW Mr. Guido Wolf. The first day of the invitation was to end at the joyous area called the ‘Ländermeile’ where all the states of the German federation were to present their respective culture and specialities. Well, it was a privilege and honour to receive this invitation.

I and the other members of delegation were greeted heartily by Ms. Jasmin Harz (Ministry of the State of BW) at the Maritime Hotel, Seidenstrasse 34. It was great to say that I came from the ‘Green City Freiburg.’ Marlena Maerz 19, a Badische Zeitung reporter accompanied us, as she wanted to write about our impressions of the celebrations. But since she didn’t have the accreditation at the security check, she was obliged to report from outside the police cordon. The same thing happened to a journalist named Nicole from the renowned German mag Der Spiegel.

The church bells rang, the national hymn was played and the Stift’s philharmonic orchestra and everyone stood still. The German anthem was to play a big role on this day also in the Liederhalle (Hal of Songs). The mess began with the song ‘Nun singt ein neues Lied dem Herren’ with text by George Thurmaier 1965, and music by Loys Bourgeois 1551. The congregation was greeted by the Landes-bishop Dr.h.c.Frank Otfried July followed by a music premier by Kay Johannsen ‘In deinem Lichte sehen wir.’ The blonde, short-haired Stephanie Roser danced with Levent Gürsoy a theme with the title ‘Zeugnisse.’ Then came the reality part with the theme ‘Experiences of Lack of Solidarity,’ which was followed by ‘Not all youth have good perspective today’ supported by Klaus Sommer and Anja Olbrich and the Girls’Cantorei from the Domkirche St. Eberhard.

The theme ‘People with disabilities want to be in the middle of the society’ was presented by Bernd Schatz and Sandra Walther with the musical assistance of the Freiburger Domsingknaben and the rather leptosome but dashing Kappelmeister Boris Börmann who was conducting the choir, evoked Heimat-feelings in my heart, since my children also sing the same choir. Ach, the children grow up so fast. Thereafter, the programme changed towards reconciliation in politics between Germany and France with the ‘Border as a Barrier’ presented by Alfons Ruf and Helga Wollbaum. A schoolgirl from the German-French School spoke about togetherness, and of hope, in her bi-lingual school. The difficult times after the end of the World War II, and life in Saabrücken. Many people in France had shown empathy their former foes in recent times. The Freiburger Domsingknaben sang a song composed by Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863) ‘Es ist Weite in Gott’s Gnade.’ Germany and France: From Foreigners to Friendship was the next theme followed by ‚Herr, deine Gute’ sung by the Stuttgarter Kantorei. What I personally found disconcerting was the fact that the Brits, French and Germans killed each other through the use of military technology in both the World Wars, and when it was over prayed to the same God in the graves and killing-fields of the dead soldiers and civilists. The same holds for Hindus (India) and Muslims (Pakistanis and Afghans), Sunnites against Shiites, Israelis versus Palestinians. More songs in prise of God followed sung by the Freiburger and the Stuttgarter choirs. The sign of peace was enhanced with music by J. S. Bach (1685-1750): Dona nobis pacem from the h-major mass. There was bright sunshine outside and we walked to the sound of Virgil Fox (1912-1980). Then it was time for Germany’s politicians to mix a bit with the masses. Chancellor Merkel said that even years after the unity of the two Germanys ‘there are still big differences between the East and West parts of Deutschland.’ In her opinion there’s still a lot to be done. Mr. Kretschmann (Green) said that the Federal Government should give the necessary assistance to all the fed states to carry out their respective financial projects. It has, and will be, lopsided as ever with Bavaria and BW financing the poorer fed states. But Kretschmann didn’t have an answer for the donor states (BW and Bavaria) that are permanently playing the role of the eternal donors to the other poorer states in the German federation. During the central celebrations on the Day of German Unity the motto ‘Unique Through Unity’ became reality with ample speeches, theatre, dances and multi-medial performances everywhere in Stuttgart. We drove to the Culture and Congress Centre Liederhalle where the state-father of Baden-Württemberg Mr. Winfried Kretschmann gave a speech. Thereafter, he handed a symbolical baton to the head of government of Lower Saxony Mr. Stefan Weil (SPD), who’s administrative period begins in November.

The Federal President Joachim Gauck 73, began his speech with the history of the two Germanys in East and West, that had a common cultural heritage and history, but were separated due to power-political reasons. A case of capitalism versus communism ensued. It took time to grow and come together, and cost us perseverance, resistance and stamina. However, it was worth the effort: 23 years later after the unification we live in Deutschland where democracy and solidarity plays a big role. We know through the East and West Germany history, as well as the history of Baden-Württemberg, how enriching it is when an entire country develops out of many parts. Joseph Hayden’s ‘Kaiserquartett’ haunted the performances in the Liederhalle. President Gauck said, ‘We have to believe in what we can do, and do what we believe.’ He demanded more activity from the forthcoming government in a world full of crises and break-ups. ‘Germany is not an island,’ he said and demanded that Germany should work more towards solutions and share its burden in politics, economy and military conflicts. Furthermore, he said that Germany should not make itself small, not go around risks and solidarity. He expressed his wish that Germany should fight for security of data in connection with the NSA espionage affair. (At the moment France is shocked and disgusted at NSA’s activities). The politicians should keep a balance between security and freedom, and data-security should be just as important as ecological protection. In the evening we, from the BW-delegation, were invited to a reception by the Oberbürgermeister to take part in the cultural shows and culinary specialities from Stuttgart and its partner cities. DUNDU, a group of action-performers from Stuttgart, initiated the programme. There was non-stop music on the first-floor performed by Hope Theatre Nairobi & Friends. In the festival hall you could hear the strings of the harp, played by Johanna Geuppert. On the second floor was a speaking theatre of the music-theatre-class (Stuttgart Music School). The walking act, with the magician Riklini, was rather long, followed by Pater Noster, a variety show staged by Duo desolato. The reception of the Öberbürgermeister took place in the Big Hall with the furious Interpretation Orchestra of Culture, and the beautiful Murphy Singers. I thought we’d landed in Crazy Horse Paris: here was beauty and aesthetic. The title of the piece was ‘Auf de schwäb’sche Eisebahne.’ ‘Welcome to Stuttgart’ turned out to be a greeting by Fritz Kuhn, the Green Oberbürgermeister (mayor) of Stuttgart was interesting but didn’t have the quality of a Herr Gauck, but since he was from Stuttgart, he had a certain and cheekiness. He pleaded to the Berlin politicians, who were also present, to bring at least 5-days for a cultural visit to Stuttgart. ‘Let the magic work on you’ was the motto of Falabares meet CoK, a contact jugglery. Falabares tried to make us speechless without using a language and to make us amazed with soap bubbles. The next attraction was ‘We are the World’ sung by the chic Murphy Singers, accompanied by the Orchestra of Cultures. Fritz Kuhn had the last word and off we went to the reception on the third and fourth floors HANZ, a young blonde man with asymmetrical haircut, moderated and organised the programme. The delegation had a photo session with the Landtagspresident Guido Wolf MdL at the open-air arena of the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Being a German of Nepalese descent, it was an excellent opportunity for me to experience how Stuttgart celebrated the German Unity Day. It was also a good occasion to meet the Federal President Dr. Joachim Gauck, Winfried Kretschmann (Green) and to see the Chancellor Merkel in action.

To enjoy the Swabian Maultaschen (dumplings) at the Schillerplatz with Mr. Kretschmann, dinner with President Gauck at the Hebel Hall, and with Fritz Kuhn, Stuttgart’s Green mayor. It was a privilege and honour and I’d like to thank Frau Jasmin Harz and the other ladies and gents from the State Ministry (Stuttgart) for making this unforgettable event possible. It was a pleasure to meet and exchange views with the delegates from other parts of the country. There were also emotional moments in the Liederhalle, when pictures were shown on the screen: of Germany in smoke and ashes, the construction of the Berlin Wall, the memorable images remain carved in our memories. East and West were represented by the moving music, how a nation was divided (Mauerbau) and how the two nations were united after the fall of the Berlin Wall (Mauerfall).

These pictures combined with the music evoked strong emotions and moved you to tears, as they did in the case of the many delegates from the former GDR and BRD. It was a perfect scenario and script. We are a nation, was the message. Zusammen Einzigartig. Unique through Unity. This motto was understood by the delegation members who carried them in their hearts. Dankeschön Deutschland! Keine Kommentare Samstag, 9. November 2013 20:33:03 Took the ICE to Basle(Switzerland) and seven minutes in the Katzenberg tunnel and out we came to Weil am Rhine. I sauntered around at the Herbstmesse after crossing the Rhine bridge, where Helevetia was sitting on a bank and gazing in the distance. 1 Kommentar Samstag, 9. November 2013 20:26:50 Took the ICE to Basle(Switzerland) and seven minutes in the Katzenberg tunnel and out we came to Weil am Rhine. I sauntered around at the Herbstmesse after crossing the Rhine bridge, where Helevetia was sitting on a bank and gazing in the distance. There were autumnal leaves everywhere you went, and you could smell the aroma of cinnamon, sandalwood incense sticks, Basler leckerli, Magenbrot, excellent mountain cheese that you could taste, the aroma of raclette and risotto, Schwyzer bacon and the sound of children gleefully screaming as the play-rockets and caroussels did their rounds.

Historical Kaufhaus (Satis Shroff, Freiburg) Freitag, 1. November 2013 18:41:34 integration, green city freiburg, Migration, new German citizens ... I've been invited to give a speech at the Historical Kaufhaus in Freiburg by Green City Freiburg on the occassion of 'Tag der Einbürgerung.' Looking forward to it. When I think of it, it sure was a long time when I came with the Lufthansa to Frankfurt from Kathmandu, then with a smaller jet to Stuttgart, and by train to Freiburg. I spent my first night at Hotel Roseneck, near the Loretto Strasse. Ah, my first evening in Germany.

It being a Sunday, I had to wait till the next day to start my German lessons at the Goethe Institute, which was near the railway-station. My friend Dirk Schneider's a father physician turned wine-grower) bought the building which is a small castle, and turned it into a Weinschlössle (a wine-castle).It's a great place to go for a drink with your friends (Wilhelmstrasse 19) The Freiburger Jazz House is right near to this place. Keine Kommentare Historischen Kaufhaus (Satis Shroff, Freiburg) Freitag, 1. November 2013 18:37:58 miteinander, peace, new German citizens, germany ... Have been invited to give a speech at the Historical Kaufhaus in Freiburg by Green City Freiburg on the occassion of 'Tag der Einbürgerung.' Looking forward to it. When I think of it, it sure was a long time when I came with the Lufthansa to Frankfurt from Kathmandu, then with a smaller jet to Stuttgart, and by train to Freiburg. I spent my first night at Hotel Roseneck, near the Loretto Strasse. Ah, my first evening in Germany. It being a Sunday, I had to wait till the next day to start my German lessons at the Goethe Institute, which was near the railway-station. My friend Dirk Schneider's father (physician-turned-wine-grower) bought the building which is a small castle, and turned it into a Weinschlössle (a wine-castle).It's a great place to go for a drink with your friends (Wilhelmstrasse 19). The Freiburger Jazz House is right near it, if you prefer cool sax s sounds.. Keine Kommentare Dienstag, 22. Oktober 2013 16:17:05 Germany: UNIQUE THROUGH UNITY (Satis Shroff) I was very happy when I received an official invitation from the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg (BW) with the text: Minister Mr. Winfried Kretschmann would be delighted if you could represent our state Baden Württemberg as a member of the BW-delegation at the central celebrations on the occasion of the German Unity from the 2nd till the 4th of October 2013 in Stuttgart. The programme comprised an official greeting by the Ministerpräsident of Baden-Württemberg and his wife Mrs. Gerlinde Kretschmann at the town council place. This was to be followed by a mutual Swabian Maultaschen luncheon. After that a tour to the Mercedes-Benz Museum which was to end with a reception given by the Landtags-president of BW Mr. Guido Wolf. The first day of the invitation was to end at the joyous area called the ‘Ländermeile’ where all the states of the German federation were to present their respective culture and specialities. Well, it was a privilege and honour to receive this invitation. I and the other members of delegation were greeted heartily by Ms. Jasmin Harz (Ministry of the State of BW) at the Maritime Hotel, Seidenstrasse 34. It was great to say that I came from the ‘Green City Freiburg.’ Marlena Maerz 19, a Badische Zeitung reporter accompanied us, as she wanted to write about our impressions of the celebrations. But since she didn’t have the accreditation at the security check, she was obliged to report from outside the police cordon. The same thing happened to a journalist named Nicole from the renowned German mag Der Spiegel.

Stuttgart had ordered tight security with the Bundesgrenzschutz, private security men and women, and the local police posted at regular intervals along the route. Even the boy and girl scouts had to stand at attention in front of, and inside, the Stiftskirche. Red carpets had been laid around the church as walked on them and took our seats inside. We had to wait a bit for the VIPs Kterschmann (Green), the German Federal President Gauck and the Chancellor Merkel (CDU) to arrive. The church bells rang, the national hymn was played and the Stift’s philharmonic orchestra and everyone stood still. The German anthem was to play a big role on this day also in the Liederhalle (Hal of Songs).

The mess began with the song ‘Nun singt ein neues Lied dem Herren’ with text by George Thurmaier 1965, and music by Loys Bourgeois 1551. The congregation was greeted by the Landes-bishop Dr.h.c.Frank Otfried July followed by a music premier by Kay Johannsen ‘In deinem Lichte sehen wir.’ The blonde, short-haired Stephanie Roser danced with Levent Gürsoy a theme with the title ‘Zeugnisse.’ Then came the reality part with the theme ‘Experiences of Lack of Solidarity,’ which was followed by ‘Not all youth have good perspective today’ supported by Klaus Sommer and Anja Olbrich and the Girls’Cantorei from the Domkirche St. Eberhard.

Archbishop Robert Zollitsch warned the people that ‘we shouldn’t take the German Unity for granted.’ What I found authentic was when Zollitsch, referring to the times of the holocaust, said, ‘When I was a 6 years old, I saw people who were 16 to 60 years being killed. I grew up in a concentration camp with my Grandma. We managed to escape to Hungary to an evangelical community. Wounds need time to heal but the scars remain. To build an Europe together we need a lot of energy and power. Experience has shown us that God helps us. It was the people who brought re-union to our two countries and we have to learn to have faith in God. Peace and God be with us.’ The theme ‘People with disabilities want to be in the middle of the society’ was presented by Bernd Schatz and Sandra Walther with the musical assistance of the Freiburger Domsingknaben and the rather leptosome but dashing Kappelmeister Boris Börmann who was conducting the choir, evoked Heimat-feelings in my heart, since my children also sing the same choir. Ach, the children grow up so fast.

Thereafter, the programme changed towards reconciliation in politics between Germany and France with the ‘Border as a Barrier’ presented by Alfons Ruf and Helga Wollbaum. A schoolgirl from the German-French School spoke about togetherness, and of hope, in her bi-lingual school. The difficult times after the end of the World War II, and life in Saabrücken. Many people in France had shown empathy their former foes in recent times.

The Freiburger Domsingknaben sang a song composed by Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863) ‘Es ist Weite in Gott’s Gnade.’ Germany and France: From Foreigners to Friendship was the next theme followed by ‚Herr, deine Gute’ sung by the Stuttgarter Kantorei. What I personally found disconcerting was the fact that the Brits, French and Germans killed each other through the use of military technology in both the World Wars, and when it was over prayed to the same God in the graves and killing-fields of the dead soldiers and civilists. The same holds for Hindus (India) and Muslims (Pakistanis and Afghans), Sunnites against Shiites, Israelis versus Palestinians.

More songs in prise of God followed sung by the Freiburger and the Stuttgarter choirs. The sign of peace was enhanced with music by J. S. Bach (1685-1750): Dona nobis pacem from the h-major mass. There was bright sunshine outside and we walked to the sound of Virgil Fox (1912-1980). Then it was time for Germany’s politicians to mix a bit with the masses. Chancellor Merkel said that even years after the unity of the two Germanys ‘there are still big differences between the East and West parts of Deutschland.’ In her opinion there’s still a lot to be done. Mr. Kretschmann (Green) said that the Federal Government should give the necessary assistance to all the fed states to carry out their respective financial projects. It has, and will be, lopsided as ever with Bavaria and BW financing the poorer fed states. But Kretschmann didn’t have an answer for the donor states (BW and Bavaria) that are permanently playing the role of the eternal donors to the other poorer states in the German federation.

During the central celebrations on the Day of German Unity the motto ‘Unique Through Unity’ became reality with ample speeches, theatre, dances and multi-medial performances everywhere in Stuttgart. We drove to the Culture and Congress Centre Liederhalle where the state-father of Baden-Württemberg Mr. Winfried Kretschmann gave a speech. Thereafter, he handed a symbolical baton to the head of government of Lower Saxony Mr. Stefan Weil (SPD), who’s administrative period begins in November.

Germany: Unique Through Unity I (Satis Shroff,Freiburg) Samstag, 12. Oktober 2013 13:50:18 satisshroff, blackforest, germany united, zusammen einzigartig ...

Stuttgart & the Pan-European Picnic (Satis Shroff) En route from thre Stiftskirche to the Swabian-style Mauntaschen cusine with Winfried Kretschmannn at Stuttgart’s Schillerplatz, I saw a man in the bus who looked rather familiar. Ah, I thought, that must be the former Ministerpresident Lothar Späth, now an elderly, thin elderly man.

I got up, walked up to him and asked him if he’d like to sit. I introduced myself and we started talking. I asked if he remembered the Royal visitors from Nepal in Stuttgart when Ms. Margot Busak was the then honorary consul of Nepal (Now it’s Ms. Ann-Kathrin Bauknecht).

‘Yes, I remember her, ‘ he said. He even remembered the royal couple from the Himalayas King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya. I’d been invited by Ms. Busak and we’d gone to the Graf Zeppelin Hotel to see-off the Royal entourage on their way to Munich from Stuttgart. The Nepalese journalists took some photos and I accompanied Ms. Busak in her luxurious Mercedes to the hotel, greeted the King and Queen, and from there to the Echterdingen airport. The Bundesgrenzschutz (BSG) played the anthems of Germany and Nepal and the Royal pair walked on the red carpet to the three green BSG-helicopters. Mr. Späth, Ms. Busak and I returned to Stuttgart.

A few days earlier the German President Richard von Weizsäcker and his wife Marianne had graced the reception held by the Nepalese Royals at La Redoute in Bonn. Bonn was the capital of Germany then. Petra Kelley and General Bastian, Professor Grizmeck and a host of well-dressed Gurkhas in civil from the British Rhine Army, and accompanied by their wives in colourful saris, also attended the reception. I asked Mr. Späth, ‘You went to Jena after the Berlin Wall fell, didn’t you?’ ‘Oh, yes! I went to Carl Zeiss Jena’ he replied with sparkling eyes and a boyish grin. ‘How did the East Germans receive you? ‘I had to fire 17,000 of them. You can imagine how it was. Not an enviable job, eh? You know, they said, ‘We’ve survived the World War I and World War II. But we can’t survive Lothar Späth,’ and laughed. In those days 20,000 East German people worked at Carl Zeiss in Jena. Lothar Späth, who was the Ministerpresident of Baden-Württemberg from 1978 till 1991, became the CEO of the newly founded Jenoptik in 1991. * * * The great masses of people...will more easily fall victims to a great lie than to a small one. (Mein Kampf, A.H.). I spent New Year in a former Stasi-hotel in Thuringia with some West German and East German friends. It was a great, old-fashioned party. There was a nice feeling of togetherness and it was only a matter of time when all the Stasi barbed wired posts would be pulled down. We also went to Meiningen. Along the Bavarian-Thuringia border you could see the barbed wires and automatic guns lest you dare escape from the communist state called the German Democratic Republic. There was a memorial with the words of Konrad Adenauer (CDU): Hier ist Deutschland noch geteilt. Auch drüben ist Deutschland.

The entire German people behind the Iron Curtain beckon us, not to forget them! We shall not remain idle and not rest till Germany is united again in peace and freedom. This memorial was erected on 13.08.1981, on the 20th year of the Berlin Wall by the CDU. East German road-runner Trabis in the background at Thuringia A friend of mine named Heinz Handke had bought a few Trabbis from the former East Germany and his East-German girl-friend Kirstin showed my a Gulash-Kanone outside the old Stasi-hotel. The Gulash is actually a Hungarian meat-dish cooked with a lot of onions and spicy paprika. It’s great to eat this on a cold day, and is generally served as a soup with bread.

The Gulash cannon was a big metal Russian Army field cooking device with a built-in chimney. Kirstin also showed me the endless Stasi barbed-wire fence separating Thuringen from Bavaria. The German Democratic Republic had another political, military, economic system, along with its own communist society. It’s 23 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it shows that you can’t isolate, imprison and lie to a people of a separated state forever. A start was made on August 19, 1989 when the Hungarian Democratic Movement invited people to a pan-European picnic on the East-West border. The demonstration had been registered but lasted only a few hours (from 12 noon till 3pm) and that was the beginning of a walk to freedom towards the west (Austria) for hundreds of East German citizens. That was the dawn of democracy and then end of the German Democratic Republic. The border was closed soon thereafter by the GDR, but the fact remains that the picnic planners had beaten the civil servants of East Germany at their own game in a police-state where security and bureaucracy accompanied you in every step of life. The picnic organisers had acquired all necessary permits and permissions from the official side. And the police officers at the Hungarian-Austrian border were helpless and awed at the phenomenon unfurling before their very eyes. Old chancellor Helmut Kohl has gone on record in a parliamentary statement made on November 8, 1989:…Germany’s future lies within a peaceful order which will unite the people and nations of our continent in freedom. To us, the European dimension of the German question implies national unity and European unification. Coming back to the Day of German Unity celebrations at the Schillerplatz in Stuttgart, it has taken on a new meaning for the members of the Baden-Württemberg delegation and the nation. In the middle stood the memorial built by the Danish sculptor Betel Thorvaldsen. The poet Friedrich Schiller had been a pupil at the Hohen Karl School from 1773 till 1780. As we relished the Swabian Maultaschen (dumplings with spinach) below the statue, I spoke with other delegation members who were heroes from real life. The burly Thorsten Ahl (German Rescue Society) had done duty along the Elbe river in Bavaria when the town and homesteads went underwater, and he’d saved lives. But as fate would have it, he suffered from a stroke after the mission. He said, ‘I lost my speech.’ And there he was telling his story in a controlled and quiet manner. Another countryman Wolfgang Käßgang (dentist) had saved a 20-year of woman from drowning. Wolfgang Urban, a robust academician (theologist) who sat near me said about Mr. Kretschmann, ‘As a young man he used to distribute pamphlets for the Maoists.’ Mr. Urban went on to say with a hearty laugh, ‘I also come from the mountains. 850 metres high. Schwäbische Alb.’ Well the celebrations in Stutgart are long over and what catches our attention at the moment is what’ll happen to the Lampedusa issue, the Syrian chemical weapons (Nobel Prize for Peace went to the OPCW) and the Bishop Tebarts van Elst of Limburg with his building extravaganza and a pope in the Vatican who preaches austerity, spirituality and humbleness. In Britain more and more people are feeding themselves at the kitchen for poor people of the Brit Red Cross.

HOLOCAUST & KZ SYNDROME: Lest we Forget (Satis Shroff)

Samstag, 14. September 2013 17:42:30 foret noire, shoa, peace, schwarzwald ...

Commentary:

The German pope has indeed damaged the pontificate and the church, even though it was Cardinal Hoyos who’d ignored what sort of people the four members of the Pius-Brotherhood were. The four had been excommunicated in 1988. These bishops, especially Bishop Williamson, have emphatically stated that the misery and pain of the Jews and the holocaust was just fantasy, and that the Nazis hadn’t used Zyklon B to gas anyone.

My respect goes to Cardinal Lehmann who, at least, spoke of a ‘catastrophe for the survivors of the Holocaust’ and went so far as to demand an apology from the highest instance. Freiburg’s Cardinal Zollitsch took two whole weeks to react, but came up an invitation for the Central Council of Jews, to talk about the matter which is a step in the right direction. Normally, the Vatican is something of a master in presenting its own multimedia profile. This time there was a hitch. The Vatican didn’t even think it was relevant to inform the bishops of France and Switzerland about the Pius-Brotherhood quartet, which was banned by Pope Johannes Paul II.

Be that as it may, I found Chancellor Angela Merkel reacted swiftly and showed statemanship and political correctness, when she talked with the German pope about the holocaust lies spread by Bishop Williamson, and the contorted version of the bible interpreted by the late Marcel Lafebvre (1905-1991), who made the Jews responsible for the murder of Jesus. The Pius-Brotherhood founded in 1970 has 500 priests and 600,000 followers. The politically correct attitude towards Israel of the German government under Merkel has grown out of the ashes of the holocaust. In the past, around the thirties, it was easier to be silent for the majority of the Germans, when their Jewish neighbours were being insulted, beaten, humiliated, discriminated by Hitler’s brown shirts, and later accompanied by force to the concentrations camps and eventually to the gas-chambers. Zykon B was a dreaded name in those days. It was only after the World War II, when it became public, that many Germans realised what an infamy and act of criminality and inhumanity its armed forces and civil servants had meted out to its Jewish citizens, gypsies (Roma and Sinti), POWS from other conquered countries and their very own disabled persons, whose right to exist and live as they pleased was challenged by self-styled members of the Aryan race, who wanted to eliminate, what they called ‘worthless lives.’ Hitler wanted to create a new Aryan race with blondes and blue-eyed Germans and a start was made at Schönborn, where young virile males and females were allowed to mate for the Fatherland. Many of the children from these anonymous intercourses still live today, and would like to know who their parents were, for the offsprings were given to German families or grew up in Scandinavian countries.

We have but to read Bertold Brecht’s book ‘Furcht und Elend im Dritten Reich’ to understand that angst was the order of the day, when even fathers had to fear their own sons because the latter were active members of Hitler’s youth and boy-scout organisations. They had to show allegiance to their Führer and no one else. It was in this atmosphere, charged with fear of denunciation, that the people lived their normal lives in wartime Germany. In the post-war period it wasn’t any better for the Germans who lived in the German Democratic Republic under Erik Honneker, where kilometres of barbed-wire, Alsatian dogs, manned by the Volks police and deadly automatic guns that fired at the touch of a hidden wire, and where the Big Brother Stasi (secret state security) was always watching its citizens. You couldn’t trust anybody in those days. I remember when I was a medical student I met a blonde girl in the Anatomy class and she looked around furtively said in a whisper: ‘I’m from the DDR, but please don’t tell anyone about it.’ She’d fled to the west. She was safe here but her fear accompanied her like a shadow. I reassured her and we are still good friends and laugh about those times. Even Günter Grass, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, has a tough time fighting with himself regarding his past, and he mentions it in his onion-experience book, the English version of which hit the bookstands last year.

The Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie are replete with historical human tragedies of people who wanted to flee from a totalitarian state. Families were separated and the expression ‘Ossie and Wessie’ was normal for a long time, even after the Berlin Wall fell on November 11,1989. Two nations, two governments, two different ideologies but the same people.

The fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the most emotional and historical greatest events in this world, not only for us Germans, but also for the former East Bloc countries. In this post-Perestroika period, the new and growing memberships in the European Union and Nato are proof enough of the desire, yes the craving, to be a part of Europe and the Upper Hemisphere, for the East Bloc countries were economically developing countries, made kaput by the communist and socialist apparatus. Despite the negative headlines and banners in the media, even the former East German cities are mobilising themselves against the Neonazis, and others who still believe in the yesteryears of so-called Aryan culture and power. Wolfgang Tiefen, SPD, Minister of Transport in Germany was right when he said: ‘It isn’t enough if one thinks in silence. In many cities there are attempts by rightists to show their presence. To counteract this move, one has to go to the streets. Dresden has shown us how to treat the Neos.’ It must be mentioned that at the autobahn resting place Teufelstuhl (Devil’s Chair), near Jena, Neonazis brutally beat up the people who’d taken part in the big demonstration, and some of them had serious injuries. Apropos injuries, the survivors of the holocaust and their children, and their children’s children still suffer from the traumatic experience in the concentration camps, and have fear of death and loss. In a clinical study carried out in 1968 in Holland with 800 Jewish patients, who’d survived the holocaust, had what is known as the KZ-syndrome, which is a combination of problems. The patients had chronic angst (fear), cognition and memory disturbances, heavy chronic depression, changes in personality and identity, emotional regression, psychosomatic problems like phobia, hallucination and showed signs of agitation. They also suffered from psychosis, restlessness, sleep disturbances, nervosity, diffuse fear of new persecution, permanent exhaustion and loss of vitality due to weight loss caused by persecution. It is interesting to note that similar symptoms were to be seen in the case of survivors of Hiroshima, POWs and among the persecuted Afro-American and native Indian tribesmen of the USA. A study about the syndromes of Guantanamo survivors on the part of NANDA is pending. Whereas a lot of the KZ survivors had the syndrome, there were those who were spared such traumatic experiences and syndromes in a new, safe country like the USA, Holland, Canada and Israel, even though they had a latent phase in old age, because the Jewish migrants have a close social network in which rituals and symbols play a big part. Nevertheless, all holocaust survivors have a lot of things in common: the experience of helplessness, terror, deprivation, loss of social groups (friends, family, relatives) and profession.

Added to this plethora of problems is the survivor-guilt. When you’ve underdone such hardships and experiences you tend to ask yourself: Why did I survive and not the others?. You have painful pictures of death and the unfinished process of mourning for your near and dear ones who’d died in the concentration camps or were shot by a firing squad.

When a Jewish survivor of the holocaust gets a cancer tumour, it brings up memories of the holocaust because of the loss of hair due to the intake of cyclostatica during treatment, thus baldiness gives you the feeling of being imprisoned again in an institute. The fear of death creeps up slowly and the hospital clothing remind you of the KZ prisoner’s striped dress. The loss of hair imparts a feeling of loss of identity. So the diagnosis cancer develops further in your mind to become a personal holocaust.

The question is: have we Germans learned from the lessons of the past? One thing we should have learned after having survived the Third Reich and World War II is never to be silent when the rights of humans are being trampled, and look the other way. As long there’s democracy, there’s also the right to view one’s personal opinions in matters pertaining to politics, culture and religion. In diesem Sinne: Vive la difference! In Luzern you can see a Pandora’s Box, the contents of which was long in the hands of a Swiss Red Cross nurse named Elsbeth Kasser, who’d worked in the concentration camp Gurs, located in Southern France. It’s a box full of 150 pictures, works of art by interned Jewish artists.

The photographs and KZ artistic drawings, sketches are being exhibited at Luzern’s Historical Museum. The title is appropriate: Hinschauen---nicht wegschauen, which means, Look at it, don’t look away. The KZ prisoners, who were transported to the Vernichtungslager by the Nazis, had pleaded to the nurse Elsbeth Kasser: ‘Swiss Sister, tell about it in your country, tell what happened here to the world.’ 1943 was long ago, but it was in 1989 that she showed the works to others. Frau Kasser died in 1992. She’d brought a little joy and support in Gurs and was ashamed of what the Nazis had done to the people she’d begun to like: transported to the camps of elimination, never to return and see the light of the day, never to breathe like you and me, never to live with their families and friends. Uprooted brutally, undergoing suffering, maltreatment, experiencing cold, hunger, deprivation and dying miserable deaths in concentration camps, eradicated like rodents. Precious human souls, who’d lived in Barrack No. C/6.