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Mediaforum Media Forum Stuttgart

The 12 Media Forum Immigration held at SWR in Stuttgart, looked at 50th anniversary of the Recruitment Accord between Germany and Turkey, the Sarrazin controversy as well as the current effects on European immigartion and refugee policy of the political unrest in the Arab world. [mehr zu: Media Forum Stuttgart]

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Guest worker A ghost returns

On 10 September 1964 the one millionth guest worker was greeted euphorically by the German television, radio and print media. The 38 year old Portuguese worker Armando Sá Rodrigues also received a moped from the local employers association. Unfortunately he died 15 years later. Now he has returned as a ghost to promote the idea of extending local election rights to non-EU foreigners.

Männerköpfe, darüber der Schriftzug "Arbeitsvertrag - Contrato di lavoro"

Guest workers in Germany

At the original ceremony Rodrigues was one amongst many who received gifts. The situation though was not always so welcoming in the country. In 1973 the German weekly the `Spiegel´ ran on its front cover the headline “The Turks are coming- save yourself if you can”.

Things have greatly changed since then

A ghost promoting equal election rights

A local campaign group has let Rodrigues arise from the dead to promote voting rights at local elections not just for native Germans and EU nationals but also non-EU nationals.

Armando Sá Rodrigues returns on a moped to Germany in the south-west German city of Freiburg. There he tells a local reporter that he had met an old Turkish colleague who had been working in the country for over 35 years but could not vote. Rodrigues, though, as a Portuguese could.

An amusing and informative little film that calls on local foreign nationals to vote in a dummy election in the city on the same day as local elections take place. An action the group believes would show the willingness of foreigners to vote in the country.