German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has sought to allay fears among young South Americans about xenophobia and racism in Germany, as he promoted the country as a destination for skilled workers to address its labour shortage.
"There is a little too much talk about the problems and not enough about the successes. Because a great deal is succeeding," the conservative politician said on Thursday during a meeting with young German-language students at the Goethe Institute in the Brazilian economic hub of São Paulo.
The minister learned about the motivations of young people studying German in Brazil because they want to study or train in Germany. Wadephul heard, for example, about the plans of 18-year-old Victor, who wants to go to the eastern city of Cottbus to train as a nurse.
Jörg Klinner, head of the Goethe Institute's language work in South America in São Paulo, had said there were fears among students about xenophobia in Germany.
Problematic crime, problematic overreactions
Wadephul acknowledged that migration remained a contentious issue in Germany, pointing to both criminal offences linked to migrants and what he described as excessive reactions from parts of society.
There have been "many overreactions by Germans that are problematic and unnecessary," he said.
Germany, he added, was "in a learning process" about who is German, who belongs to Germany and who can become a citizen.
Germany was developing in a direction that had previously applied more to the United States, Wadephul said. Anyone who was willing to integrate into society, accept its rules, speak the language and contribute to society "should belong and should be part of the whole," he said. "We now need to tell this story more and more," he added.
Some wanted to "tell it differently for political reasons," he said. "But we will contradict them very, very clearly," he said.
Brazil has four Goethe Institute locations, at which 2,800 men and women take part in courses each year, according to Klinner. Across Brazil, just under 10,000 people take part in language examinations offered by the institute.
