Living under White People

 

Germany-educated Mohamed Amjahid adds his testimony to the other informative accounts of what does it mean to be non-white in this country and abroad, like Alice Hasters, for instance. From the everyday encounters between him and the everyday residents of a village to the top management of the German media, the haughty attitude of superiority is widespread. The fact that the ´biodeutsche´ - those born and breed in Germany, with a white lineage - are mostly reluctant towards foreigners is not surprising and not news but the more it is outlined the better for raising awareness. It is a fact that should be acknowledged but even more than that: there should be a change - one day, some day, at a certain extent.

Sometimes, being labelled ´a good migrant´ or ´cool migrant´ (tooler Migrant, in German) may have its advantages, as giving a voice to the voiceless. Without those ´good migrants´ who stay aware of their identity and do not prefer to be trend followers, the story of hate, discrimination and narrow-mindness will never be heard.

This is important especially given the limited number of journalist with non-German background allowed to enter the ranks of the main media outlets. After all, isn´t it so cool to talk about diversity only from the position of generosity afforded by the priviledges of belonging to the majority? What about taking into consideration the real needs of real people who are experiencing every single day discrimination and everyday racism?

Importantly, Mohamed Amjahid sets his story into a wider European context - at the opposite ends of the European geography and history too, France and Hungary are faced with similar experiences. The ways in which the ethnic differences are internalised in Morocco, where his parents, once Gastarbeitern in Germany are currently living, outlines a much complex phenomenon that has to do with human perceptions and internalized stereotypes.

I only wish many many more such books that will keep alive the debate about (mis)treating non-white humans living in Germany. There is so much to share about and hopefully one day, voices of minorities living and contributing to the generous German wealth - think about all those IT experts and engineers invited to come to the country for their skills - will be heard strong enough to make more and more people aware of the need of a structural change of discourse and, on the long term, mentality.

Deciphering the Cultish Language

 

I promise myself over and over again to do not have high expectations on books. After all, very often, the good reputation of a book (as well) is based on reviews and wordsmitten words not necessarily innocent.

Cultish. The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell is an anaylitical research into what makes a belief ´cultish´ and what are the triggers for our critical thinking in order to detect the manipulation in due time and eventually resist it.

One of the takes that I appreciated about this book was the richness and uniqueness of the examples provided, particularly the intersection between various domains, such as health and various New Age belief. Taking the premise of religous, Protestant vocabulary and applying it to, for instance, the bubbling American workout culture is an interesting yet not extensively explored approach before although it is largely a result of the fundamentals of capitalism, in America and elsewhere.

Introducing nuances into the discourse which may avoid easy labelling as ´cult´ only for creating dissent and establishing spiritual monopoly Montell has also a nuanced approach when it comes to issues like ´brainwashing´ and the individual choice of joining or leaving a cult. However, it delves not into the complexities of group thinking and behavior as well as of the functioning of the human brain under peer pressure. 

Actually, my overall impression of the book is that in most of the cases it avoids proceeding to conclusions and quantitative/comparative analysis. Spotting the similarities between the religious language and the vocabulary of the ´positive thinking´ and influencers is not new and Roland Barthes and many others offered brilliant examples in this respect when writing about the language of advertising. Talking about ´followers´ reminisces of cults and religious fervor, but at what extent and how it is reaching the level of ´fanaticism´ we are left to figure out by ourselves, if ever.

The title promises too much, at least happened in my case, but it´s a pity that such a good material was not treated in a more throughout consequential way. Maybe because we are so exposed to radical language that we are unable to figure out how exactly the language of fanaticism really operates and how can it be countered or translated.

Cultish. The Language of Fanaticism is an useful read for its contemporary references although it does not go beyond some of the ´positive thinking´ kind of books it refers to. 

Rating: 2.5 stars

 

It´s All About the Language

 

Everything starts and ends with the language. Wars, discrimination, crimes, but also education, relationships and social and political change. This duplicity of the language brings not only risks but also responsibility and hope. Because actually there is a chance that once we acknowledge what a powerful tool we acquire - through education, birth priviledges or disadvantages, family and social interactions, to name only a few - we can realise the shortcomings and proceed to the changes.

German journalist Kübra Gümüșay is a patient observer of the German everyday complex relationship with identity. Sprache und Sein is an excellent work of reflection and applied hope for redefining the power of words. The everyday words we are using, not necessarily fully aware of the meanings those words are carrying. Painful meaning for some. 

One of the things that in a way suprise me in Germany is, on one side, the curiosity towards other religions, languages and identities - I don´t remember how many times people were in awe upon being informed about the number of languages I do speak - but without a real awareness about what really means to be different. It´s like you are asked where you are coming from but once you mention the exact geography, you are in fact talking about a place hardly someone can figure out where it is on the map. Thus, you are requested to rather find a place in the safe geography of your place/country of residence.

It´s not superficiality the word that may describe this situation. It´s also not mind laziness. But what it happens for sure in the case of the person whose identity is on a display in a very carnavalesque way is that after a while you are getting tired. You may be asked more than once by the same person the same amount of classical questions, and the reaction will be as the first time. No one asks you about what is the name of the food you like, or what is your favorite poetry or about your fashion sense. Such questions are not on the list.

Gümüșay is an excellent social doctor, spotting the paradigms of conservative refusal of identity but at the same time searching to identify and set new realms for discussing and recognising the difference(s). It´s a spin change which on the long term will definitely challenge the German post-war paradigm. But it took two generations - at least - for verbalize the need to end the intolerance of words. The diverse reality of nowadays Germany request a new vocabulary of freedom.

About Women in Journalism

Women journalists do have much more challenges to cope with than men, especially when dispatched in areas with a high potential of conflict. Journalists everywhere are at increased risk of being replaced by kind of Artificial Intelligence production of news where all should look good, neutral and eventually copy-pasted from agencies´ websites.

I believe in the power of words, in the power that journalists do have to change and say the truth to power. No matter what power. Journalists are not made to be a cozy comfortable presence. Power should be afraid of them and the pressure of the opinion public represented by journalists should be strong enough to force politicians and other public appointees to never forget whose interests do they represent.

Theoretically. In reality things are more complicated...

Former head of the ARD Studio in Tehran, Munich-born Natalie Amiri took the risk(s) - literally - of becoming the voice of those unheard in Iran. In addition to the everyday news reporting, she is also is able to seize the nuances and distinctions between different layers of power and the social reflections. Her successful book - Zwischen den Welten. Von Macht und Ohnmacht im Iran (In my approximate translation: Between Worlds. About Power and Powerless in Iran) - is not only a love story to Iran but also an example of why and how journalists should be knowledgeable of the culture, language and history of the countries they are reporting from.

The book includes dramatic episodes from the recent history of Iran, including the 2009-Green Movement as well as profiles women like Nasrin Sotoudeh who are a model of strength and accountability. Amiri´s encounters with the representatives of the security aparatus are horrible and terrible but it shows the high risks journalists are exposed when on assignments in countries ruled by repressive regimes. 

The book is a must read from everyone interested to understand more about the everyday life in Iran, beyond the simplistic black-and-white portrayals.

Photojournalist Julia Leeb is on the forefront of conflict reporting. She was in about to be killed in Libya and escaped an aggressive mob in Egypt during the ´Arab Spring´. She reported from North Korea, South Sudan and the state-who-does-not-exist: Transnistria. Her visual stories - some of them published in the book - are looking deep into the soul of the people, the pawns who are making everyday history.

One may start respecting more journalists and the risks some may take for every single bit of information. The reports from the war fronts by Julia Leeb are a reminder that good work still can be done but everything comes with a risk. Especially for women. 

About the National Writer

 

A round up of the different aspects related to the inclusion of literature and the writer as part of the national identity, La fabrique de l´écrivain national by Anne-Marie Thiesse can be used as a support handbook for the various cultural identity processes from the 18th century onwards.

Literature and its creators, the writers, are an important part of the re-writing, reconstruction and (re)creation of identity narratives. Either in France or the USA, in the Middle East or Africa, the writer is assigned an institutional role in the identity building process. A role which means not only being assigned a prestigious role and the incumbend priviledges but equally restrictions and limitations. Once the writer is bold enough to touch upon - even with the softest critical take required by the intellectual status itself, the national narrative is not only ready to expell him or her, but also to accuse him or her of treason. Which means often the expelling from the national historical narrative. 

The book is rich in arguments and situations as well as in information that help to trace long-take historical processes. However, the focus is rather on the chronological mapping of the phenomenon than on the critical evaluation. Equally, it does not refer extensively on the eventual relationship between what does it mean being a writer with the intellectual status, particularly as a critical take on contemporary facts - Dreyfus case, anyone.

Therefore, it contributes to the debate by the systematic outline instead of pushing forward new interpretations and critical points of view. 

Writing about Iran´s Foreign Policy

 

Iran´s Foreign Policy. From Khatami to Ahmadinejad a collection of articles edited by Anourshiravan Ehteshami and Mahjoob Zweiri is an useful read for someone interested to know a little bit about the diplomatic endeavours of the Islamic Republic. The articles are written about academics, current and former diplomats, political appointees and cover from very general aspects related to the foreign policy theories applied to the case of Iran to the relationships between Iran on one side, and European countries, US and UK, on the other side. It also includes various details about the relationship between Iran and Iraq, as well as the neighbouring countries and the Gulf countries.

The generous insights shared by some people with years of direct contact with the Iranian realities. However, diplomatically, there are so many very important aspects that are willingly or not omitted from those otherwise very interesting articles. 

For instance, what are the decision making mechanisms in matters of foreign policy. At what extent the Foreign Ministry has the capacity of taking decisions in this respect, and if yes, what kind of decisions and if not, what other institutions are involved in the process and at what extent. Also, when it comes to the nomination of diplomats, is the Foreign Ministry the only institution with attributions in this respect? 

Also, what exactly is the diplomatic program of Iran? How does Russia - and China - outplay their interests in Iran and how does this connect with other international players interested in engaging, such as Arab countries and European countries?

The situation of the human rights is tangentially mentioned in some of the articles but not as a serious impediment in pursuing the foreign policy goals but the situation of dual citizens imprisoned under various accusations is for a long time a matter of distrust in bilateral relations. 

I would have expected more applied analysis of the Iranian revolutionary export abroad, not only in Iraq - which is extensively covered - and Lebanon - less than it deserves but also, for instance, in Africa, or Syria, or Yemen. 

Last but not least, the Iran-UK relations are analysed and commented by two experienced diplomats. However, for obvious politeness reasons, the situation of the debt owed by UK to Iran which is a serious element of wariness in the bilateral relations is absent from the otherwise interesting evaluations.

Overall the book is useful, but would give to many of the articles for various non-diplomatic reasons with the benefit of the doubt. The take is ambitious but it delivers much less that it promises. Still, it is better than nothing and given that Iran will probably keep the first page of the news for a lot of reasons in the next months, it´s good to dedicate some time to this edited volume. 

Colonialist Stories, Told Differently

As we are more and more talking about colonisation and colonizers in different contexts, it is useful to keep in mind that the process as such encompasses more than one part of the world and surprinsingly, reveals the simple reality that various countries and empires at specific historical moments were involved in colonization processes. 

Histoire des Colonisations by Marc Ferro covers seven centuries of European expansionism, completed and/or complimented by other expansionist adventures: China, Russia - both as a capitalist and a communist empire -, Japan and even Egypt. The approach follows the French historical take of placing events and encounters in the long duration in order to obtain patterns and read mentalities. Although such an approach is not always appropriate as it obliterates important concrete events for the sake of the vague perspective setting, in the case of colonizations, Marc Ferro take is very relevant for outlining various processes and individual features of different stages of colonization or national patterns. From the 13rd century onwards, colonizations were used as a tool for religious outreach, search for new territories and economic resources, lately cheap resources and workforce, as in the case of France, among others, in North Africa. 
The author explores not only historical facts and events, but also connects with intellectual movements, cultural works and the construction of national elites and the birth of the concept of race.

Although it was written in 1994, it maintains valid perspectives for the recent discussions regarding colonialism, as it frames the right trends and matrix. It is dense and one can easily read it as a passionate journey across ages and continents. 

The only weakness of the book is that given the impressive amount of information, it rather limits the space for critical discourse and theoretical comparisons. The critical part is significantly missing which is a pity due to the tremendous volume of information featured that clearly needs more than a ´neutral´ storification.