Migration | Patterns of Movement
Der Mensch. Die kleinste wirtschaftliche Einheit
M?nner und Frauen erz?hlen von Arbeit, Geld und Leben in 38 L?ndern (?The human being, or the smallest economic unit: Men and women in 38 countries talk of work, money, and life?), edited by Gabriele Fischer and Peter Lau
Chinese in Malaysia are organized and financially successful – and enormously envied by ethnic Malays.
35 million. That’s how many Chinese are estimated to live outside China. Chinese who live abroad are admired by those at home, and make up 80% of foreign investment. The strength of their cultural ties can be seen in the fact that most continue to reside in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and in other southeast Asian countries.
The Chinese arrived long ago in the Malaysian peninsula. They first came as independent merchants, later as laborers for the British colonial power. Chinese are the second largest ethnic group in Malaysia, making up just under a third of the population. Officially, Malaysia’s strong economy and moderate Islamic state are supposed to foster peaceful relations among the country’s various ethnic groups and religions. But experts see deep-seated social divisions.
Polish Workers in Germany
For more than 140 years, Germans have sought low-wage laborers from Poland—and they’ve distrusted them for just as long too.
Pilawa, Bednarz, or Shimanski. One hears these names on German television and thinks nothing of it. They belong to well-known German personalities, after all. No one thinks of car smugglers and cheap labor. But simplistic oppositions of good vs. evil do not shed light on the relationship between the Germans and the Poles. The situation was, and remains, thorny. Dariusz Rogala is probably right to doubt his chances of getting a job in 21st-century Germany—if he hopes to get an official position, that is. But that might not be so bad. He already feels like “a roamer between two worlds” when driving between Warsaw and his village in the country. How would he feel in Germany without a restricted work permit?
Der Mensch. Die kleinste wirtschaftliche Einheit
M?nner und Frauen erz?hlen von Arbeit, Geld und Leben in 38 L?ndern was published in 2008 by Knesebeck Verlag.
More information about this book Knesebeck Verlag.
