"What does it mean to be a German?" asked Cem Ozdemir, who said he had experienced discrimination as a result of his Turkish background, which made him the first Bundestag member of Turkish descent.
"Even though I speak German, I am different because I have a Turkish passport," he said.
Although Ozdemir was born in Germany, he said he is considered a Turkish citizen under now-changed German laws because his parents are Turkish. He only became a German citizen when he became eligible for a diplomatic passport as a member of the Bundestag.
Under current German law, immigrants can become citizens after eight years of residency, but they must forfeit their citizenship to their former country. Many immigrants do not apply for citizenship because of this rule, Ozdemir said. "For them, their old passport is like remembering their childhood," he said.
But children of immigrants can retain dual citizenship until their 23rd birthday, which is helping to reduce the discrimination against Turks and other immigrants, he said.
Many Germans do not want to accept immigrants into society, Ozdemir said. They use the differences in skin color, names and language as means of separating the people.
Instead of getting citizenship and respect based solely on the fact that they live in Germany, Ozdemir said he feels that immigrants should have to earn it by showing they want to become integrated in German society. Language is a potential uniting factor for immigrants and Germans alike.
"We should force everybody that comes to Germany to learn German and understand the country," he said.
One main reason Turks and other immigrants are not faring as well as inhabitants in Germany is that educational opportunities are often unequal. Ozdemir said only 10 percent of Turkish and Italian children attend high school, compared to 40 percent of German children."If we want to have an equal chance for everybody ... we must start in the schools," he said.
