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My previous blog discussed the issues of immigrant integration in the city of Columbus.  In it, I talked about the poor integration policies, discrimination, and language barriers that immigrants (legal or illegal) face.  Columbus is working to a solution for this by increasing cultural training of governmental employees and creating guides for recent immigrants.

In this blog, I will discuss a parallel faced by Berlin: integration of immigrants in the wake of the refugee crisis.  Before the crisis, Berlin already had a large number of immigrants, somewhere around 1.1 million.  However, with the new refugee crisis, the number of immigrants has increased dramatically, making the city even more crowded.  Many of the new immigrants are uneducated, do not speak the language, and cost the government a lot of money.  Young, male refugees, “the unaccompanied youth,”  are trying hard to become productive but are having trouble because of their lack of education [1].

Before the refugee crisis, Berlin had been more apt to dealing with immigrants through programs that gave legal advice to immigrants, recruited them to local government, and tried to change the German image from Aryan to diverse [2].  However, the large influx of immigrants from countries in strife have overwhelmed Berlin’s normal infrastructure for immigration.  To combat the overflowing number of immigrants, Chancellor Merkel has instituted a new law that the immigrants must learn the German language and try to find work to receive asylum benefits.  Additionally, she is relaxing European Union work rules so that migrants can find work easier [3].  These measures will undoubtedly help the issues faced by immigrants in day-to-day life, but the new programs will cost Berlin (and Germany) a lot of money.  In comparison to Columbus, however, Berlin has a bigger problem, and while they are taking steps in the right direction to good integration, there is a lot more to do.

References

[1]  Ziener, Markus.  “Letter from Berlin: The Challenges of Successful Refugee Integration.”  European Affairs.  The European Institute, n.d.  Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

[2]  Segarra, Marielle.  “How Berlin is helping immigrants and trying to get residents to think differently about national identity.”  Keystone Crossroads.  Keystone Crossroads, 2015.  Web.  18 Apr. 2016.

[3]  Severin, Thorsten.  “Learn German or lose benefits, Berlin tells migrants in new law.”  Reuters: Business and Financial News.  Reuters, 14 Apr. 2016.  Web.  18 Apr. 2016.

For my blog today, I am focusing on the integration of immigrants (legal and illegal) into the city of Columbus, Ohio.  Columbus, being a city with a lost cost of living and a large amount of jobs, is a hotbed for immigration from various places around the world.  Immigration is known to help cities economically and culturally by “lifting up declining neighborhoods,” diversifying culture, and increasing the number of working people in the city [1].

However, despite the benefits of immigration (illegal and legal), Ohio is the last out of all the states in regards to its policies toward immigration, especially illegal immigration.  Illegal immigrants are discriminated against through laws that deny scholarships to students at public universities, that cause intentional inflation of income in regards to food-stamp eligibility, that deny government identifications, and that deny adequate worker’s compensation to illegal immigrants [1].  Alternatively, while legal immigrants face fewer governmental obstacles, they often have trouble with integrating into Columbus’s culture.  For example, Latino immigrants have issues with language barriers, “demand[s] of citizenship” from police, and isolation from peers [2].

To combat these problems, the city of Columbus has been trying to adapt a more progressive attitude towards immigrants, illegal and otherwise. Mayor Coleman has been championing legislature to welcome immigrants into the city.  These efforts include informing local money lenders about monetary cultural differences, spreading awareness about communication problems between immigrants and the police, creating forums to inform immigrants on how to start successful businesses, increasing cultural training for governmental employees, creating guides for new immigrants about Columbus, and holding classes for Columbus natives about immigrant cultures [2].  While these efforts have helped with the integration of immigrants, there are still societal and governmental problems that immigrants face when relocating to the city of Columbus.

References

[1]  Pyle, Encarnacion.  “Coleman has put out welcome mat for immigrants in Columbus.”  The Columbus Dispatch, 25 Aug. 2014.  Web.  30 Mar. 2016.  http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/08/25/city-has-welcomed-newcomers.html

[2]  Cohen, J. H. & Chavez, N. M.  “Latino immigrants, discrimination and reception in Columbus, Ohio.”  International Migration 51.2 (2013): 24-31. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4119753/

[3]  Pyle, Encarnacion.  “Ohio rate worst in immigrant policy.”  The Columbus Dispatch, 16 Apr. 2015.  Web.  30 Mar. 2016.  http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/04/16/ohio-rated-worst-in-immigrant-policy.html

For this blog entry, I decided to interview a native who has lived in the Columbus area for all her life.  Additionally, “Stacy” is Asian American and has spent a lot of time in the busy cities of Taiwan.  The following is a summary of my interview with her:

Q:  How is Columbus unique from other cities that you have visited?

A:  Columbus is unique because it is a clean environment with a diverse culture, unlike the dirty cities in Taiwan.  It gives people the ability to explore and is more “creative-based” than other cities.

Q:  How do you feel that having a huge college campus has affected Columbus?

A:  Columbus is safe because of Ohio State.  “The boutiques are college student focused, more for younger couples.”  Columbus wants the young workforce to stay rather than leave, so it’s “a modern home for younger couples.”

Q:  Does “Columbus” just mean downtown, or does it include other areas?

A:  “Columbus is just the city.  There are other regions, but nothing happens there.”

Q: Do you like the transportation system in Columbus, or should it change?

A:  “I flippin’ love COTA.”  I don’t have a drivers license, so the Buck-ID COTA pass lets me get around well.  I would love it if we had subways because you don’t have to “base your travel time off traffic,” but Columbus is not developed enough to need subways.

Q:  Have you ever noticed any racial segregation in Columbus?

A:  Not really, but the bus stops are kinda segregated.  “White people are richer and don’t take the bus.”  African Americans are “more conscious of saving money and hang out at bus stops.”  There aren’t any racial districts like a Little China Town, but, a few years ago, an area near Dublin started to get Somalian refugees.  “They started taking over the school system, and there were some cultural differences.”

Expanding on my previous blog, the Ohio Statehouse, found in the capital city of Columbus, was built to stand for democracy in the state of Ohio.  More than that, the Statehouse was meant to imitate the federal government, having legislative, judicial, and executive branches since as late as 1857 [1].  However, eventually, due to various reasons, the Supreme Court (judicial) and Attorney General (executive) moved to buildings located around the Statehouse.  Today, besides local offices, only the Senate and the House of Representatives remain, including the General Assembly room, pictured below as Figure 1  [2].

Figure 1:  Photograph of the General Assembly Room for the House of Representatives [3].

I find it interesting that the Ohio government decided to physically separate its local branches.  I was unable to find distinct reasons for this, but I speculate that this was done to decrease intermingling of the three branches.  Perhaps, this could help with maintaining the check and balance system and decrease the probability of corrupt politics.

I was also curious to see the impact of the Statehouse on the private sector because the building is in the middle of a thriving city.  Ironically, when I had visited the Statehouse, there were no people visiting.  In fact, I only saw people waiting past the gates for a bus.

To expand further on my understanding, I interviewed one of my roommates who spent much of her last summer downtown and would walk to the Statehouse to see her father.  [Amelia] said that the outside of the Statehouse is nearly always devoid of people, unless it’s tourists taking pictures in front of the statues.  She said that the traffic inside the Statehouse is relatively busy with politicians and tour groups, but people do not naturally gather at the Statehouse.  I believe this speaks on the common separation found today between public offices and everyday life.

References

[1]  The Ohio Statehouse.  Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board, n.d.  Web.  31 Jan. 2016.  http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/.

[2]  “Capitol Building.”  Touring Ohio: The Heart of America.  Ohio City Productions, Inc., n.d.  Web.  31 Jan. 2016.  http://touringohio.com/central/franklin/columbus/statehouse-history.html.

[3]  “About the Ohio House of Representatives.”  The Ohio House of Representatives: 131st General Assembly.  The Ohio House of Representatives, n.d.  Web.  31 Jan. 2016.  http://www.ohiohouse.gov/education/about-the-house.

For my first blog about the city of Columbus, I chose to photograph the Statehouse because it showcases the need for a municipal government in cities.  Additionally, I chose to photograph the Statehouse’s McKinley Memorial because it both honors an influential figure from Ohio and showcases the unique features of Columbus as a state capital.

Pictured below is the entrance to the Ohio Statehouse, located in downtown Columbus.  The Statehouse is a piece of Greek Revival architecture completed in 1861, meant to signify democracy.  Declared a Natural Historic Landmark, the Statehouse is both toured by visitors and used in lawmaking for the state of Ohio and city of Columbus [1].  This demonstrates that cities have established bureaucratic systems for government, but it also showcases Columbus as a state capital because the Statehouse addresses official state business.

Along that same vein, pictured below is  a statue of William McKinley, surrounded by writing and statues meant to signify prosperity and industry.  The statue of former President McKinley is situated outside the front of the Statehouse and shows him giving his final address in Buffalo.  This memorial was created in 1906 and depicts President McKinley facing the direction of the Neil House Hotel, his wife’s residency when McKinley visited Columbus [2].  Memorials like this are often found in cities to commemorate outstanding individuals that have lived in or made significant contributions to that city. Additionally, while this particular visit was devoid of visitors due to weather, memorials often act as gathering places for people in cities.

References

[1]  The Ohio Statehouse.  Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board, n.d.  Web.  20 Jan. 2016.  http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/about/capitol-square/statehouse

[2]  “President William McKinley Memorial.”  Touring Ohio: the Heart of America.  Ohio City Prodcutions, Inc., n.d.  Web. 20 Jan. 2016.  http://touringohio.com/central/franklin/columbus/mckinley-statehouse-statue.html