Most members of our alliance “Sachsen muss aufnehmen” (“Saxony must accommodate”) were never forced to flee their homes. We do not know the precariousness of starting over in a completely different country without the possibility of ever returning to one’s hometown. Very few of us have had to board rickety boats or dark trucks at the risk of our lives, or leave our family behind without knowing if or when we will ever see them again.
But most of the people living in Saxony have stories of flight and migration in their family. Some grandparents had to leave their place of origin during World War 2, others returned to Germany from the Soviet Union after generations, and still others were invited to the GDR through guest labor contracts. Certainly, it is not helpful or even possible to put oneself into everybody’s shoes all the time. But it is impossible to think of Saxony as it is today without migration. For how many generations has your family lived in the city where you grew up?
Our alliance is made up of groups and organizations that, despite all the crises, prefer to think about how we can live together in solidarity. How, despite inflation, Corona, and war in Europe, no more people will fall through the cracks. We believe that life is better if we care for each other instead of playing people off against each other.
That is why our demand for a state admission program is not to be understood exhaustively. A state admission program can be the starting signal for a Saxon policy that goes beyond the economic success of a few companies and is committed to all people.
text by: Juliane Prüfert