Healing The Wounds Of German Colonialism

In a country Germans never set foot in, much less colonized?

Seems like there’s just never enough guilt to go around these days. But hey, if it makes you feel good, I mean virtuous, run with any guilt you can find (or steal, or make up).

But you know, personally, I think sending Nigeria 20 Greens instead of 20 Bronzes would have been a much nicer gesture.

Germany had hoped that by returning 20 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria last year it was “healing the wounds” of colonialism and righting a historic wrong.

But when it emerged that ownership of the repatriated objects will pass to the king of Benin rather than the Nigerian state, Berlin found itself facing a PR nightmare.

“The government has recklessly consigned African world heritage to oblivion. The pieces will vanish into the private possession of a Nigerian king.”

“This should be a wake-up call to end the hyper-moralism in the whole restitution debate.”

German Of The Day: Na geht doch!

That means “works, see?” or “works after all” or “there you go!”

Geht

Let me give you an example: Two men who police believe planned an attack in the city of Göttingen have failed in their bid to avoid deportation. The Algerian and Nigerian will be repatriated to Africa despite both being born in Germany.

So these two clowns, both born and raised here (not having German citizenship, however – a fine distinction) get sent “back” to Nigeria and Algeria to live happily ever after there, never able to return to Germany again. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer couple of fellows, I say.

Na geht doch!

“They will face the full force of the law regardless of whether they were born here or not.”

It Still Can’t Happen Here

In Toulouse, maybe. But not here in Germany.

Well nobody here in Germany seems interested in reporting about this, anyway. Hmmm. Why would the German media want to keep quiet about a German hostage-taking? Germans would never quietly knuckle under to terrorist hostage-takers, would they?

“We inform you that that your compatriot Edgar Fritz Raupach is a prisoner of the fighters of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.”

The group said it is seeking the release of Umm Seifullah al-Ansari, or Filiz Gelowicz, a Turkish-born woman jailed a year ago in Germany for aiding terrorism.