Sometimes a piece of music strikes a chord - if I may put it that way. This morning, on a whim, I played extracts from the operetta Das Land des Laechelns or, in English, The Land of smiles. Written by Franz Lehar, it was first performed in 1929. The operetta concerns the relationship between the Austrian Countess Lisa and a Chinese prince. Despite warnings from family and friends, Lisa marries her prince and goes with him to China. It is not long before she realises that the Chinese world and the Austrian world are simply not compatible. This incompatibility is compounded by homesickness and both of these conspire to prevent the two from sharing a future and Lisa eventually returns to her homeland.
Das Land des Laechelns was one of Lehár's later works. Its title refers to the supposed Chinese custom of smiling, whatever happens in life. In fact, the leading character, Prince Sou-Chong, sings early in the show, Immer nur lächeln or "Always smiling" thus respecting the rule of his culture.
It struck me, while listening to the extracts this morning, how relevant the theme is today. Given that I am British and living in Germany, this is, perhaps, not surprising but the theme of integration could inspire a novel. Hemingway touched on the theme in his novel The Sun also Rises as did Orwell in Burmese Days and Pietro di Donato in Christ in Concrete.
What does integration look like anyway? Can adults change their values to conform to the norms and social rules of the host country? For example, Germans tend to value directness and clarity as a conversational style. British innuendo, indirectness and politeness don't really cut the mustard here. I am aware of this, but even after 10 years living in Germany, I simply cannot get used to the German conversational style. Frankly, I am no sure I want to. I find it rude. On the other hand, Germans often ask me why I don't say what I mean. To be honest, they have a good point! I could mention a host of other differences to which I cannot or do not want to adapt.
My point is that for most receiving countries, integration means, essentially, that the new arrivals adapt to the rules and norms and behaviour of the hosts. In other words, integration means that refugees, for example, eventually become indistinguishable from the natives. This, in my opinion, will not happen any time soon. Even when/if it does, there is no guarantee that the children and grandchildren of the refugees are safe. The problem for the Jews in 1930s Germany was just that they were so fully integrated into German society. In other words, their full integration became a problem for them. And I wonder how the grandchildren of Italian and German immigrants felt when they were interned on the Isle of Man for the duration of WW2. They probably saw themselves as British.
Herein lies the answer, at least a theoretical one. Integration must be a 2-way process. And, perhaps, integration is the wrong word, anyway. Perhaps the answer lies in an acceptance of otherness. It is rather like a marriage. We should not get married and expect our partners to change their values to ours. That will never work. Acceptance of difference, and a willingness to learn from difference is the only way forward if the relationship is to develop. It applied to Countess Lisa and to the Chinese prince in Das Land des Laechelns and it applies to me and to anyone else who lives in another culture.
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