The Turkish Quarter in Mannheim - by Jan Eckardt, Vi-Anh Le, Lisa Traore
Section I:
Introduction
The city of Mannheim, Germany has a history of being
progressive in promoting integration among the various cultures that reside
there. One year after recruitment for “gast-arbeiter” stopped, in 1974, a
position for city commissioner for integration and migration was created with
the hope of making the integration process between Germans and foreigners
smoother. This was thirty years before the national government followed suit (The
guardian, 2016). What this signals is the city’s interest in achieving harmony
among its society. One major aspect that has helped to integrate foreign cultures
with one another has always been food. Food really does have the power to bring
people together. This brief paper presents an aspect of the relationship between
socio-spatial practices and the cultural geography of food. This paper examines
how the Turkish quarter in Mannheim, specially though food, has influenced the makeup
of the city of Mannheim and its society. This paper is split into four sections. After this introduction, section two of this
paper introduces the methodology used in our research. Section three, then
presents the research that was conducted, as well as maps to visualize the
findings. The last section that concludes with the significance of the research
which was done.
Section II: Methodology
The overarching goal of this research was to examine
if having a Turkish quarter, like that in Mannheim, has helped to integrate the
German and Turkish communities more. We approached the research through
qualitative methods, interpreting and taking meaning out of our experiences. Based
on our observations (which will be further described in the following section)
it has. We conducted our research though
an interview process and first hand observations. We travelled to the Turkish
quarter in Mannheim, Germany, which is comprised of three blocks. It is located
in the center of town, in the city part known as ‘innenstadt/Jungbusch’. It is
this part of town that has the highest concentration of immigrant population.
There we went to Istanbul, a well-known and respected restaurant among the
Turkish community. In order to achieve a better relationship between us (the
working group) and the restaurant, we brought a friend with us who is Turkish.
This was helpful as he was able to give us more ‘insider’ information, even
translating at times. It was through him that we were able to cross the
boundaries between German culture and Turkish culture. This concept of social
boundaries of food to define communities was introduced by Bell and Valentine
(1997).They assert that various food cultures create insider and outsider
groups. Our Turkish “guide” helped to cross the boundaries. The information
gathered during the interview, is presented in the section below.
After
conducting the interview, we explored the quarter more with on-site
observations. It was notable that acceptance and a harmonious lifestyle between
immigrants and Germans exists within the Turkish quarter, however the economic
aspect of integration was still lacking. It was observed that the neighborhood
area was respectively poorer compared to other city parts that we travelled
through to get to the Turkish quarter. This prompted us to explore the
relationship between social class and the percentage of immigrants in an area.
Our hypothesis was that the greater the immigrant population in an area, the
worse the social standing of that area. To determine the respective social standing
we looked at the purchasing power and unemployment rates of an area compared to
the population of immigrants. As mentioned, the Turkish quarter is located in
the city part “innenstadt/Jungbusch”. We compared this city part with three
other parts of the city: Oststadt, Wallstadt, and Feundenheim. The relationship
we examined was that the lower percentage of immigrants within a city area, the
higher the social standing, therefore a higher purchasing power and lower
unemployment rate. Our findings will be further presented in the section below
as well as visualized with maps in the appendix.
Section III: Findings
In order to make it easier for the reader to get an
overview of our topic, we will split our findings into two categories. First,
the findings of the research which focused on to what extent the Turkish
community is integrated with the German culture and vice versa is presented.
Thereafter the correlation between social standing and immigrant population is
examined and presented.
When we spoke with Istanbul’s restaurant manager, there was a noticeably friendly
atmosphere around his character. He addressed questions dealing with integration.
He explained that Germans come to the dine in even greater numbers than the
Turkish. This demonstrates the crossing of boundaries between two cultures. He
stated that the Turkish were good, working people who always “gave from their
hearts”, showcasing that this particular manager was well integrated into the
German culture and society or at least felt welcomed in this country. He
continued by going into detail as to how the restaurant is connected to the Turkish quarter itself: The restaurant
purchases a lot of its ingredients in the quarter, but also buys goods from
German warehouses, which again demonstrates the crossing of boundaries. The restaurant
seems to be an essential part in bringing people together of all nations, as he
stated that many employees come from various countries. The food however is
still prepared by Turkish cooks only. It is clear that the restaurant serves as
a hub of cultural interaction between many different cultures, as it gives its
employees as well as its customers a chance to take part in that interaction
simply by existing. This again demonstrates food’s unique ability to transcend
the boundaries of cultures and merge them. Said exchange has manifested itself
in the food served in the restaurant. While it is officially a Turkish
restaurant, the kitchen has chosen to give the option of fries as an
alternative to rice as a side dish. This is a dish that is associated with
Germany or Europe, whose incorporation into traditional Turkish cuisine results
in a hybrid dish of two cultures that is enjoyed by both. This showcases that
the restaurant does not only influence the community, but that the community in
turn shapes how the restaurant operates. This is similar to the adaptability
that Samantha Barbas writes about in “I'll take chop suey”: Restaurants
as agents of culinary and cultural change (2003).
During our time in the Turkish quarter, it was
pleasing to see “outsiders” visiting of some of the restaurants there, a sign
of cultural exchange. However, it is still important to remember that social acceptance
does not necessarily equal high social standing or a equal standard of living.
While it did occur to us that the German and Turkish cultures interacted in a
really positive way in the Turkish quarter, the Turkish still live in fairly
poor conditions when compared to their fellow German citizens. The Turkish are
the largest group of immigrants in Mannheim and make up 19,7% of immigrants. They
also represent a majority in the ‘Innenstadt/Jungbusch’ part of town, where
immigrants make up 61,7% of the entire population.[1]
This correlates with a lower income and higher unemployment rates in those
parts of town: In Innenstadt/Jungbusch, there is a 5.8% unemployment rate and a
purchasing power of 26.600 € per household, compared to wealthier neighborhoods
like Wallstadt, with 1.7% and 44.300 € in place of those variables. At the end of this paper, the appendix gives
information on all four city parts examined in our research. The final section
below concludes with the significance of these findings.
Section IV: Conclusion
Despite the growing acceptance of their German ‘host
culture’ and the other way around, Turkish immigrants still have it harder than
other groups. This is exemplified by the economic standing that most foreigners
have in the city of Mannheim, and one would probably be able to recognize this
pattern in other Western cities as well. With the rise of social justice
movements, it is important to keep in mind that social integration is only one
piece of the puzzle that is successful integration. Further research could thus
focus on what aspects leas to an economically integrated community, as opposed
to a socially integrated one.
References
Barbas,
S. (2003). “I'll take chop suey”: Restaurants as agents of culinary and
cultural change. The Journal
of Popular Culture, 36(4), 669-686.
Bell,
D., & Valentine, G. (1997). Consuming geographies:
We are where we eat. Psychology Press.
Cinotto, S. (2013) The
Italian American Table: Food, Family, and Community in New York City. University of Illinois Press.
The Guardian.
(2016) Sanctuary or ghetto? How Mannheim
created a 'city within a city' for
refugees. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/11/refuge-cities-mannheim- germany-refugee-crisis-sanctuary-or-ghetto
Appendix
This
appendix presents the city parts of Mannheim that were examined in our
research, which found that there is a strong correlation to percentage of
immigrant population and prospects for worse economic conditions. This
showcases that while immigrants, generally speaking, are culturally integrated,
economically they are not.
Figure 1: In this
illustration the highlighted area represents where the city part ‘innenstadt/Jungbusch’
is located within Mannheim. It has an unemployment rate of 5.8% and a
purchasing power of 26.600 euros per household. 61.7% of the population have a
migration history
Figure 2: In this illustration the highlighted
area represents where the city part ‘Oststadt’ is located within Mannheim. It
has an unemployment rate of 3.1% and a purchasing power of 33.700 euros per
household. 39.3% of the population have a migration history.
Figure 3: In this illustration the highlighted
area represents where the city part ‘Wallstadt’ is located within Mannheim. It
has an unemployment rate of 1.7% and a purchasing power of 44.300 euros per household. 22.9% of the
population have a migration history
Figure 4: In this illustration the highlighted
area represents where the city part ‘Feudenheim’ is located within Mannheim. It has an unemployment rate of 2% and a
purchasing power of 48.500 euros per household. 25.1% of the population have a
migration history,
[1] All statistics were derved from the website of the city
of Mannheim: Kommunale Statistikstelle.” Mannheim, www.mannheim.de/de/stadt-gestalten/verwaltung/aemter-fachbereiche-eigenbetriebe/kommunale-statistikstelle.
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