Working towards a society without discrimination

It all started with a book. Namely, with Thilo Sarrazin's "Deutschland schafft sich ab" (Germany Abolishes Itself). Published in 2010, it is one of the best-selling non-fiction books ever since the founding of the Federal Republic. All of Germany is still engaged in a debate on the issues raised by the former senator of finance for the State of Berlin regarding the alleged disintegration of society caused by immigration from Muslim countries.

Farhad Dilmaghani recalls: "Sarrazin's book broke the dam. In discussions of the book, racism became visible in the midst of society. It had of course been there all along, but now it was suddenly deemed socially acceptable." He responded by taking action: "We realised that a new wind was blowing that we had to stand up to. We wanted to take responsibility for this country. Germany is our country too. We were born and raised here. We feel at home here. That's why we need to confront this racism politically."

Every individual has multiple identities

In 2011 Dilmaghani founded the association "DeutschPlus. Initiative für eine plurale Republik" together with the social scientist Naika Foroutan, the film director Züli Aladağ and the architect Van Bo Le-Mentzel. Today, some 400 sponsors and supporters from all over Germany are affiliated with the organisation.

The name, he says, came about while brainstorming in a beer garden. The term "plus" stands for the diversity of identities that every individual displays. People are much more than just their cultural roots. Dilmaghani, for example, is not only someone of Iranian descent who does advocacy work, promoting young talent and mentoring for Deutsch Plus; he is also a husband, a chess player and an amateur photographer.

"The founders of Deutsch Plus had already managed to achieve success in culture, science or politics, but we also wanted to pass on our knowledge to the next generations. We wanted to show others how to navigate these particular political and social contexts." One of the association's main tasks is therefore to support organisations and government authorities in developing more diversity. Currently, they do not adequately reflect the make-up of society. That needs to change.

Towards a society without racism

Dilmaghani has personally experienced discrimination. "There have been moments when I was confronted with micro-aggression on the racist level. That was certainly partly what drove me to work for a better world in which racism will someday no longer play a role." He was born in 1971 in Gross-Gerau to Iranian parents.

He studied politics, philosophy and economics at the University of Frankfurt, graduated with distinction, and gained professional experience as a press officer in the corporate responsibility department of the Allianz Insurance Group and as a policy officer in the Federal Chancellery. From 2012 to 2014, Dilmaghani was secretary for labour and integration for the State of Berlin.

Since then, he has been working for the non-profit analysis and consulting organisation Phineo in Berlin as head of public sector and trisectoral co-operations. He says that he feels at home at the interface between politics, business and civil society.

The latest issues and debates are cause for concern, however. At both a national and a global level, we are currently witnessing crises in democracy, ecology and growing social inequality, says Dilmaghani. "Debates are becoming more acrimonious." In Germany, one sign of these changes is the rise of the right-wing populist political party AfD, which has been able to achieve a stable constituency, particularly in eastern Germany. On the other hand, protest movements such as "Black Lives Matter", "Fridays For Future" and "Unteilbar – Für eine offene und freie Gesellschaft – Solidarität statt Ausgrenzung" (Indivisible – For an Open and Free society – Solidarity instead of Exclusion) show that many groups in society are pushing for a democratic, progressive course of development.

"The diversity in society is not reflected in its institutions"

The fact remains, however, that the racism that is still pervasive in society demands greater efforts at awareness-raising, political education and sensitisation. Racism is particularly strong in places such as eastern Germany, where the infrastructure broke down in the course of reunification. "There is too little awareness in mainstream society of what racism really is and how it works," says Dilmaghani. When they hear the word racism, many people automatically think of the Nazis and concentration camps. Not everyone realises that it is also racist to treat people differently on account of their appearance or origin. "There is a lack of sensitivity to the problem of discrimination."

In order to rid society not only of everyday racism but also structural racism, "the DNA of institutions such as the police must evolve and become more transparent".

To raise awareness of these problems, Dilmaghani is calling for an amendment to the German constitution. The commitment to immigration must be included in the constitution in order to ensure an open attitude to this issue. And major social trends should also be reflected in our institutions. Dilmaghani's "favourite demand" is therefore the establishment of a "Ministry for Social Cohesion, Anti-Discrimination, Migration and Integration".

He explains there is already a precedent for acknowledging the increased importance of themes such as women's rights, the environment and consumer protection by changing the responsibilities of ministries or adding new ones. The definition of ministries is always a mirroring of developments in society.

Sustainable vision for the future

Dilmaghani doesn't only advocate for immigration issues, however. He is also interested in more fundamental themes. "How do we want to live as a society? How should we reform our institutions to keep up with the times?" He explores questions such as these in essays and lectures. Dilmaghani wants to contribute to changing the discourse and initiating long-term processes – that is what motivates him. He is gratified at having achieved some minor political successes such as the establishment of a cabinet committee "to combat right-wing extremism and racism" in March 2020, chaired by the Chancellor. He is excited to see how young people between 15 and 30 years of age are addressing this issue in a completely different way.

In the future, he would like to see a world in which wealth is distributed more fairly. Quality of life for all, he says, must be the central goal guiding all action. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 provide a good basis for this. "I would like to see a society without discrimination, with equal opportunities for all groups of the population." We must learn that as human beings much more unites us than divides us. We must work together to find solutions to the questions of the future.

Ceyda Nurtsch

© Qantara.de 2021

Translated from the German by Jennifer Taylor