The Ausländerbeirat (Foreigners’ Advisory Council) in Oberursel first saw the light of day 20 years ago.  It was a difficult beginning for the committee, as their former chairman Hansjörg Schlegel pointed out recently at their anniversary celebrations.  “The town did not want such a committee, they were forced to have one by law” be remembered.  There was also some uncertainty as to who was responsible for them in the town hall and what rights they should have.

The invited guests – including former members of the committee – had gathered in the Georg-Hieronymi hall on Saturday, 13th December, 2014 to celebrate the committee’s anniversary – a committee which is elected every five years to represent the foreigners in the town.  And they were determined to celebrate with about 60% of their annual budget being spent on the evening.

But whether their situation had got better with time was something that Herr Schlegel did not go into.  However the role that the committee should be playing was something that their current chairman Dr. Franz Zenker talked about in his speech.  He talked of a “democratic deficit” and how important it is, that the foreigners have voting rights in the towns in which they live.  After all, other areas of normal life do not differentiate between between foreigners and German nationals.  “The tax office does not ask which nationality you are” he commented. [Read more…]