With Vietnamese-run eateries so numerous in Leipzig, the competition among them is fierce. To gain an edge, several sell sushi or even dà ¶ner kebab. I walked by a takeout that advertised Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Turkish and German specialties. Its Deutsch menu consisted of just knockwurst, bratwurst--both served with French fries or pita bread [!]--pork schnitzel and chicken nuggets.
Tron's business is just a steel box plopped on a small lot in front of an unpopular supermarket. Down the street is St. Peter. Built in 1882, it's brand new by European standards. A few blocks away, a 13th century church, Pauline, was blown up by the Communists in 1968 just for the hell of it. Mendelssohn and Bach performed there, and it was also the site for Mendelssohn's funeral mass. Who cares, sneered the comrades. Citizens who protested the destruction were arrested. The Communists also considered dynamiting the massive, 299-foot-tall Monument to the Battle of Nations because it was a symbol of nationalism instead of internationalism. Since German and Russian troops had fought side by side to defeat Napoleon, however, they let it stand.
In its classical form, Communism is a control freak religion that punishes every unorthodox thought or act. It is sickeningly ironic that many of the most unruly people in Capitalist societies are drawn to unforgiving Communism, for if it was in effect, they would be among the first to be locked up or executed.
Tron and her husband have two little kids in elementary school.
"Do they get teased?" I asked. "Is there any discrimination against them?"
"None!"
"They never go home and complain about anything?"
"Never! There are only five Vietnamese kids in the entire school. They don't even play with each other. They play with the German kids. There is never a problem."
When they're ten or so, Tron will have them learn Vietnamese also, but she won't press if they resist. "My kids have been back to Vietnam once, but they didn't like it very much. They're German now. At home, they speak to us in German and Vietnamese. If you don't have close relatives back in Vietnam, as in your parents or siblings, I don't even see a reason to go back."
Vietnamese who came to Germany as boat people are rightly considered refugees, but those who arrived from the North, from the winning side in the Vietnam War, are also refugees if they're escaping Communism. Some, though, are only economic immigrants. In Leipzig, there's a Vietnamese restaurant called Onkel Ho and, each year, there's a well-attended gathering to celebrate the founding of the People's Army of Vietnam. Though rejecting their Communist homeland to live in the Capitalist West, they still cling to the red flag, for many have fought and bled under it. With an opposing political nod, others have named their businesses after places in the South: Mekong, Ben Thanh or Saigon, etc.
Most immigrants and all refugees are forced to leave everything they've known because they can no longer tolerate their native land. If the world is swarming with refugees and desperate immigrants, it just means that life has become impossible for so many, in so many places. Count yourself lucky if you're not among them, but don't dismiss the distinct possibility.
In 1914, there were 2,416,290 Germans in the Russian Empire. Now, there are only a million in Russia and all of the republics of the former Soviet Union. In 1939, there were 786,000 Germans in Romania. By 2011, there were only 36,884. Though assimilating, establishing deep roots and contributing much to one's host society, one can be chased out in a bloody flash. One can also be bombed from one's ancestral homeland. Count yourself lucky if you're not among them.
Tron's business is just a steel box plopped on a small lot in front of an unpopular supermarket. Down the street is St. Peter. Built in 1882, it's brand new by European standards. A few blocks away, a 13th century church, Pauline, was blown up by the Communists in 1968 just for the hell of it. Mendelssohn and Bach performed there, and it was also the site for Mendelssohn's funeral mass. Who cares, sneered the comrades. Citizens who protested the destruction were arrested. The Communists also considered dynamiting the massive, 299-foot-tall Monument to the Battle of Nations because it was a symbol of nationalism instead of internationalism. Since German and Russian troops had fought side by side to defeat Napoleon, however, they let it stand.
In its classical form, Communism is a control freak religion that punishes every unorthodox thought or act. It is sickeningly ironic that many of the most unruly people in Capitalist societies are drawn to unforgiving Communism, for if it was in effect, they would be among the first to be locked up or executed.
Tron and her husband have two little kids in elementary school.
"None!"
"They never go home and complain about anything?"
"Never! There are only five Vietnamese kids in the entire school. They don't even play with each other. They play with the German kids. There is never a problem."
When they're ten or so, Tron will have them learn Vietnamese also, but she won't press if they resist. "My kids have been back to Vietnam once, but they didn't like it very much. They're German now. At home, they speak to us in German and Vietnamese. If you don't have close relatives back in Vietnam, as in your parents or siblings, I don't even see a reason to go back."
Vietnamese who came to Germany as boat people are rightly considered refugees, but those who arrived from the North, from the winning side in the Vietnam War, are also refugees if they're escaping Communism. Some, though, are only economic immigrants. In Leipzig, there's a Vietnamese restaurant called Onkel Ho and, each year, there's a well-attended gathering to celebrate the founding of the People's Army of Vietnam. Though rejecting their Communist homeland to live in the Capitalist West, they still cling to the red flag, for many have fought and bled under it. With an opposing political nod, others have named their businesses after places in the South: Mekong, Ben Thanh or Saigon, etc.
Most immigrants and all refugees are forced to leave everything they've known because they can no longer tolerate their native land. If the world is swarming with refugees and desperate immigrants, it just means that life has become impossible for so many, in so many places. Count yourself lucky if you're not among them, but don't dismiss the distinct possibility.
In 1914, there were 2,416,290 Germans in the Russian Empire. Now, there are only a million in Russia and all of the republics of the former Soviet Union. In 1939, there were 786,000 Germans in Romania. By 2011, there were only 36,884. Though assimilating, establishing deep roots and contributing much to one's host society, one can be chased out in a bloody flash. One can also be bombed from one's ancestral homeland. Count yourself lucky if you're not among them.
(Article changed on December 12, 2015 at 12:20)
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