Re: Euro-Immigrants

>From: "Alan and Carmel Brain" <aebrain@webone.com.au>

> > So in 2 years in FRG, I was vaguely aware of other
> > immigrants, but Turks were a major factor in planning
> > weekends so they were made an impression.
>
>a) The numbers
>b) They stick together
>c) They take insults poorly - even imagined ones.
>
>OTOH as an Australian who ran afoul of a Turk ( he thought
>I'd tripped him) just outside a Turkish-German club, as soon
>as the gathered mob realised I was Australian, all they did was
>ask me if I knew Cousin Abdul in Sydney or Aunt Maryam in Melbourne...
>and we commiserated with each other that you couldn't get more than
>a half-decent Kebab anywhere in Bremen and that in a GREEK shop,
>Beetroot dip was unknown, and the Halva sucked. All in broken German.
>No they weren't knife-wielding maniacs, just thought that I was
>one of the few xenophobic ratbags they had to deal with every day.
>At no time was I in any danger, they just wanted to make sure I
>wasn't a threat to them, out to firebomb the club etc. Which had
>happened a few months before.

Interestingly enough, while in Turkey, I felt completely safe, was never

harassed, spoken ill of, or even given dirty looks.  The people were 
gracious, hospitable, curious, and friendly.  The only trouble I HEARD
of 
during the trip was from a group of Chechen terrorists trying to take a 
hotel hostage.	 The only unpleasantness I WITNESSED was in Amsterdam. 
The 
Dutch were friendly, hospitable, etc.  The UK football fans in town were

idiots.  I suspect if I went to their home towns, I'd find the people 
friendly, hospitable, etc.  I wonder how much of this kind of trouble
comes 
not because that particular people group is inclined to trouble, but
because 
refugee/foreigner status tends to do odd things to people.

3B^2

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