I think if you've lived somewhere else you know what it feels like to be an outsider - Mrs Keeler talks to us about her experiences living in Europe, specifically East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall
Where have you lived other than England?
I have lived in France, for half a year in the south, and I have also lived in both East and West Germany. When I was younger, Germany was split into two; West Germany was part of Western Europe and East Germany was under the governance of the Eastern Bloc, under the Soviet Union. I lived in Munich and Saarland, in West Germany, and then I spent three years in Leipzig in East Germany. It was very, very different there.
Do you have any stories of how other people have reacted to you as a migrant?
Yes. On the positive side, because I was from the west, I was seen almost like a celebrity! Nobody from East Germany was allowed to travel west - they could only go to other Eastern Block countries. So I cam from the west and people were so interested, they couldn't believe I had come from England to live in this place. 'Why are you here?!' they'd ask. I taught trainee teachers English, and of course they wanted to know all about the culture...so that was a very positive reaction that I received in East Germany.
But from another point of view, because I didn't have the right documents that fitted in with the system, I did meet some grumpy people. But I think they were more grumpy at the system, at the bureaucracy, than they were at me.
How far does your experience of migration affect your identity?
I think massively. Massively. (Pauses to gather emotions.) I think if you've lived somewhere else you know what it feels like to be an outsider. You can empathise - you can understand how it must feel to move from where you live. I mean, when I arrived, I knew people from university, I had friends there, I was in a band...so I had things set up for me. So, it was a very different situation for me in comparison to people who arrive without any of their belongings. But you do have a sense of 'I don't quite belong here,' because you don't understand the culture necessarily. You need to learn it. I got shouted at once by a woman in the supermarket for putting my potatoes in the wrong place! But I wasn't aware of the rules....so there are lots of things you can get wrong without even trying.
So as someone who has lived in different places, I think you do see the world in a different way. I think you do understand more about people. and it broadens your horizons. I think it makes you, hopefully, a more tolerant person. You see that people are actually all the same, really, aren't they? Everyone has the same hopes, and dreams and fears. You'd want to welcome people who were coming to your country and give them a positive experience because you know how it feels to be the 'outsider.'
Do you still speak German now?
Yes, I do. I used to go to a group where you talk with German nationals and we would chat in German. I also, once a year, we have a little lantern parade for the children called St Martin's lantern parade, and we sing German songs for that. I also speak to my friends in Germany, when we talk on the phone or text.
Are there any things that take you back, make you feel nostalgic?
Smells generally. In Leipzig there was wild garlic, which is a very potent smell, and I am always transported back when i smell that. In France, in the south, it is the sound of the cicadas. When I hear those, I am 18 again!
Is there one thing that you think represents Germany, in your memory?
I think the people are very deep-thinking people. They do not want war again. They really think hard about things. They're quite cultural, intellectual people.
What were the educational priorities?
It was very political. When I worked at the university, I had to do the 'red days' which was almost like brain-washing people into socialism. Education in East Germany was all about educating children in a way that would influence them to think in a certain way, which is wrong, isn't it? Opinionated people would be carted off, taken to prison! I actually knew someone who was imprisoned because he said the wrong thing. He wasn't a criminal, but you had to be so careful because you would be in trouble, interrogated, or imprisoned.
In West Germany, it was very different. The children were allowed to paint their own form room, which I thought was very cool. The class teacher would take them away on holiday...it was a less formal attitude towards education.
What do you think of the English attitude towards people from other countries?
I think it's very mixed. Because if you look at what's been happening in response to the war in Ukraine, I think the response from everyone has been phenomenal. It's been really heart-warming to see people supporting their European friends. But, if I am allowed to be a bit political, I feel that people in general are very welcoming, especially the younger generations, but the government that we are under sometimes want to create a hostile environment. I think that's a terrible thing, and that we are almost encouraged or baited into responding differently to how we would naturally. I would like to change that.
How did it feel when you came back to the UK?
It was so different! In East Germany you couldn't buy anything you wanted in the shops - there would be two brands of toothpaste...it was very restricted and the quality wasn't good. And when I got back to the UK, I would go to the supermarket and I couldn't decide what to buy, because there were so many options, just so many!
One other thing I remember, because pollution was so bad, because they burned lignite, which is a very dirty coal and you got used to the smell, but I remember when I came back to the UK everything looked so lovely and green and the air smelled so clean and fresh, and you could smell all the smells of nature.
What can we do as a school and community to support those who come to live here?
I think try and empathise with them. Try and imagine what it must feel like to have lost everything, or to have had to have given up your life somewhere to move somewhere new. Material support too, with anything they need, and emotional support. Help them feel like this can be their home, too.
A huge part of making them feel welcome is helping them to learn the language - language is absolutely key - how can you integrate if you can't speak the language? I feel part-German in a way, because I can speak the language. I felt able to integrate because I understood what people were saying to me, and could understand the things around me. Helping others to learn our language is the number one way we can support newcomers to our community.
Where have you lived other than England?
I have lived in France, for half a year in the south, and I have also lived in both East and West Germany. When I was younger, Germany was split into two; West Germany was part of Western Europe and East Germany was under the governance of the Eastern Bloc, under the Soviet Union. I lived in Munich and Saarland, in West Germany, and then I spent three years in Leipzig in East Germany. It was very, very different there.
Do you have any stories of how other people have reacted to you as a migrant?
Yes. On the positive side, because I was from the west, I was seen almost like a celebrity! Nobody from East Germany was allowed to travel west - they could only go to other Eastern Block countries. So I cam from the west and people were so interested, they couldn't believe I had come from England to live in this place. 'Why are you here?!' they'd ask. I taught trainee teachers English, and of course they wanted to know all about the culture...so that was a very positive reaction that I received in East Germany.
But from another point of view, because I didn't have the right documents that fitted in with the system, I did meet some grumpy people. But I think they were more grumpy at the system, at the bureaucracy, than they were at me.
How far does your experience of migration affect your identity?
I think massively. Massively. (Pauses to gather emotions.) I think if you've lived somewhere else you know what it feels like to be an outsider. You can empathise - you can understand how it must feel to move from where you live. I mean, when I arrived, I knew people from university, I had friends there, I was in a band...so I had things set up for me. So, it was a very different situation for me in comparison to people who arrive without any of their belongings. But you do have a sense of 'I don't quite belong here,' because you don't understand the culture necessarily. You need to learn it. I got shouted at once by a woman in the supermarket for putting my potatoes in the wrong place! But I wasn't aware of the rules....so there are lots of things you can get wrong without even trying.
So as someone who has lived in different places, I think you do see the world in a different way. I think you do understand more about people. and it broadens your horizons. I think it makes you, hopefully, a more tolerant person. You see that people are actually all the same, really, aren't they? Everyone has the same hopes, and dreams and fears. You'd want to welcome people who were coming to your country and give them a positive experience because you know how it feels to be the 'outsider.'
Do you still speak German now?
Yes, I do. I used to go to a group where you talk with German nationals and we would chat in German. I also, once a year, we have a little lantern parade for the children called St Martin's lantern parade, and we sing German songs for that. I also speak to my friends in Germany, when we talk on the phone or text.
Are there any things that take you back, make you feel nostalgic?
Smells generally. In Leipzig there was wild garlic, which is a very potent smell, and I am always transported back when i smell that. In France, in the south, it is the sound of the cicadas. When I hear those, I am 18 again!
Is there one thing that you think represents Germany, in your memory?
I think the people are very deep-thinking people. They do not want war again. They really think hard about things. They're quite cultural, intellectual people.
What were the educational priorities?
It was very political. When I worked at the university, I had to do the 'red days' which was almost like brain-washing people into socialism. Education in East Germany was all about educating children in a way that would influence them to think in a certain way, which is wrong, isn't it? Opinionated people would be carted off, taken to prison! I actually knew someone who was imprisoned because he said the wrong thing. He wasn't a criminal, but you had to be so careful because you would be in trouble, interrogated, or imprisoned.
In West Germany, it was very different. The children were allowed to paint their own form room, which I thought was very cool. The class teacher would take them away on holiday...it was a less formal attitude towards education.
What do you think of the English attitude towards people from other countries?
I think it's very mixed. Because if you look at what's been happening in response to the war in Ukraine, I think the response from everyone has been phenomenal. It's been really heart-warming to see people supporting their European friends. But, if I am allowed to be a bit political, I feel that people in general are very welcoming, especially the younger generations, but the government that we are under sometimes want to create a hostile environment. I think that's a terrible thing, and that we are almost encouraged or baited into responding differently to how we would naturally. I would like to change that.
How did it feel when you came back to the UK?
It was so different! In East Germany you couldn't buy anything you wanted in the shops - there would be two brands of toothpaste...it was very restricted and the quality wasn't good. And when I got back to the UK, I would go to the supermarket and I couldn't decide what to buy, because there were so many options, just so many!
One other thing I remember, because pollution was so bad, because they burned lignite, which is a very dirty coal and you got used to the smell, but I remember when I came back to the UK everything looked so lovely and green and the air smelled so clean and fresh, and you could smell all the smells of nature.
What can we do as a school and community to support those who come to live here?
I think try and empathise with them. Try and imagine what it must feel like to have lost everything, or to have had to have given up your life somewhere to move somewhere new. Material support too, with anything they need, and emotional support. Help them feel like this can be their home, too.
A huge part of making them feel welcome is helping them to learn the language - language is absolutely key - how can you integrate if you can't speak the language? I feel part-German in a way, because I can speak the language. I felt able to integrate because I understood what people were saying to me, and could understand the things around me. Helping others to learn our language is the number one way we can support newcomers to our community.