Düzen Tekkal is a real power woman: She is a journalist, political scientist, author, social entrepreneur, human rights activist and founded the GermanDream education initiative and the aid organization HAWAR.help. In an interview we spoke to her about her commitment.
BRIGITTE.de: Dear Düzen, you have so many job titles and manage so many projects at the same time – how do you manage to bring everything under one roof?
Düzen Tekkal: By doing what I love I follow my inner call and passion. What connects all these professions is the love for what I do – and what I do has been given these different names, so to speak.
GermanDream is a non-profit and non-partisan educational initiative that invites students to value dialogues in which they discuss how we want to live together as a society in Germany. They are supported by prominent and non-prominent ambassadors of values, who report from their lives and, for example, tell how they made their German dream come true as a person with a migration background.
Düzen, can you explain where the idea for GermanDream came from and what exactly you do there?
For me there was always such a gap because I had the feeling that there is more between "Here there is discrimination" and "Foreigners have to get out". I liked this extreme discussion and the way in which the issues of migration, identity and social cohesion were discussed with far too much foam at the mouth and without common sense. For me, that part was missing that I experienced in this country as a child of refugees, namely a Germany of opportunities – despite all the challenges. A Germany of possibilities, a Germany of participation, the possibility of self-determination and freedom for me as a Kurdish-Yezidi girl.
I've always wanted to tell my German dream and then suddenly found myself in such a black and white debate. That was the reason why I said: "Now it's time for the German Dream." And the response shows that there are a lot of people who have a lot to say about their vita and about their German part in this country. What do you want to say that we are all part of this country and that we all belong, no matter how we look and where we come from. And this connection is established through the values and not through the origin.
Do you feel that Corona is further increasing the inequality of socially disadvantaged students?
Total. That's why I was extremely bothered by this talk about "The crisis is the same" from the start. Because I just felt that the crisis makes unequal and that it cemented the differences in possibilities even more deeply and that there is a big difference whether I am a child of German academics or of immigrants who are poorly educated, because there are no opportunities.
In addition, you can really drift away if the structure of the school falls away and the dangerous thing in the long run is that a gradient develops that is very difficult to make up for. In addition, the school is also a supervisory authority, that is, those who are affected by violence, for example, fall through the cracks because it can no longer be controlled.
In this respect, I cannot even imagine what has been going on in some children's rooms and living rooms in the last few weeks and months. Especially since most of those affected are not visible at all. Of course we try to give them a space and deal with it. We are very grateful that many young people trust us and write to us when they are looking for help. But that's only a small percentage.
In August 2014, the so-called Islamic State in Iraq committed a genocide against the ethnic-religious minority of the Yazidis, in which over 5,000 Yazidis died and more than half a million people had to flee from the terrorists. Düzen Tekkal, who is herself the daughter of Yazidi refugees, traveled to the area as a war reporter and then founded the HAWAR.help association.
Düzen, can you explain what exactly you do at HAWAR.help?
With HAWAR.help we are contributing to a peaceful world, because the founding of this association is based on the ashes of genocide. With HAWAR we were able to prove that, despite war, prospects, opportunities and life are possible. There are several sports, education and women's projects, for example we have women's shelters in Iraq, where we take care of victims of IS captivity. I'm incredibly proud that the projects are multi-ethnic and multi-religious, it wasn't easy, but we got our way. And the point is that we want to give the local women opportunities so that they don't want to set off at some point, it is about combating the causes of displacement.
HAWAR has changed my whole life. Those first four days in August 2014, when I left my safe Germany and embarked on a war that was so dangerous that there were no more flights to the area, showed me as a person that there is something what can be stronger than fear. It was like being born again, one life changing moment in my life because, so to speak, it completely turned my attitude towards life upside down. And I believe this power, this DNA, that shoots into everything we do today.
In your opinion, what is currently going wrong with integration in Germany, what can be done better?
My stance on this is that we still have a lot of room for improvement and that I have always followed the point that we are making migration policy for Germany and not for migrants. And the fact that it is still not institutionally anchored and decreed also reveals all the conflicts. Because if I do not get the feeling that I am part of this country, if I am not taken, then a vacuum of frustration, sadness and anger arises that is highly dangerous. It was always clear to me that in addition to the extreme edges, this vacuum in the middle had to be filled again.
Of course there is also hostility and of course you are attacked, but I have just described my war experiences: After going through this HAWAR story, I had no problem arguing about identity in Germany. That's kind of like that story of my lifebecause I was always threatened from several sides and that is sometimes a sign that what you are doing is not that wrong. Anyone who vies for love from people, who wants to please, is wrong in my job. And yet at the end of the day we all want to be loved, of course, but at what price?
Is there a strong woman in your life who is your role model?
Yes, of course, that's my grandma Nessima, who turned 107. She had bright red hair, was fully tattooed and asserted her rights as a minority in the minority on the Turkish-Syrian border. She was a doctor, midwife, farmer – that's where all my jobs come from. It has always shown that a lot is possible, much more than we think. She was fearless and full of strength, righteous, and she had a big heart. I celebrate this woman! By the way, it is also my anchor center – when I have phases in which I am not feeling well, I think of it and then the fire lights up again. Anyone can look for such a person, by the way, they don't necessarily have to come from their own family, after all there are many women who can serve as role models.
You are absolutely right. Thank you for the interview, dear Düzen!