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Rostock's historic town hall: "Right-wing radical wording for deportation fantasies normalized"
Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa
How loaded is the term “remigration”? The administration and authorities in Rostock are asking themselves this question. The city administration caused severe criticism with a job advertisement because it was looking online for a “Remigration Clerk II”. After reactions, the city made the ad inactive, but the search was continuing, a city spokesman told the dpa news agency.
Hardly any other term is being discussed so much right now. The word “remigration” is, to a certain extent, representative of a meeting of radical right-wingers in Potsdam in November, which was uncovered by “Correctiv” and caused nationwide demonstrations. The former head of the right-wing extremist “Identitarian Movement” in Austria, Martin Sellner, spoke about “remigration” there.
When right-wing extremists use the term “remigration,” which was named the “bad word of the year” for 2023, they usually mean that a large number of people of foreign origin should leave the country – even under duress. The green European politician Erik Marquardt had heavily criticized the city administration on social media. “In this way, Rostock coldly normalizes the right-wing radical wording for deportation fantasies,” he wrote.
The mayor of Rostock, Eva-Maria Kröger (Left Party), welcomed the debate about the use of the term “remigration”. »The term is misused and has a powerful impact, no one can deny that. That’s why I support the substantive discussion on this,” she said, according to a press release. The debate could also help to focus more attention on the perspectives of refugees in Rostock than before.
Lack of understanding for reaction
Citizens' representative Sybille Bachmann (Rostocker Bund) showed little understanding for the procedure. »What is this press release about? “Rostock really wants to debate the term ‘remigration’ and thereby make it more politically acceptable,” she criticized, according to dpa. "It should have been simply explained: Rostock has understood, the tender has been taken off the internet, we are considering how to rename the administrative area." The press release was a "want to sneak out" out of political insensitivity, without admitting an error.
The “Remigration” department is located in the restructured Rostock Migration Office. The city of Rostock had initially argued that administrations had long used the term “remigration” as a shortened collective term for both voluntary return offers and deportations of foreigners who were obliged to leave the country under applicable law and the corresponding procedures. “Remigration” has also always been a standard term in migration research in science.
hba/dpa