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href="/web/20070927172739/http://www2.gtz.de/english/" onmouseover="img_act('schalterH')" onmouseout="img_inact('schalterH')" class="linkweiss">GTZ-Home</a><br></td> <td width="103" align="center" valign="top"></td> <td width="420" align="left" valign="top"> <h3>Afghans in Germany</h3> The Afghan Diaspora Is characterized in two ways: Firstly, nearly all Afghans living in Germany came as refugees, and secondly, the vast majority especially of those arriving in the 1970's/ 1980's have a high level of education.<br><br> <b>Number of Afghans in Germany</b><br> According to the German Federal Ministry of economic cooperation and development (BMZ) about 100.000 Afghans live in Germany. 22.000 Afghans live in Hamburg and constitute herewith not only the largest Diaspora community in Germany but also in Europe.<br><br> <b>Immigration stages of Afghans to Germany</b><br> Afghan immigration to Germany can be divided into three stages. During the 1950's and 1960's mostly students and businessmen migrated to Germany. Afghan-German relations were intensely promoted; Exchange programs took place between the university of Kabul and three German universities (Cologne, Bochum and Bonn) to allow the best graduates of the German high school in Kabul to study in Germany.<br><br> The second phase of immigration and the first wave of refugees started in 1979 after the Soviet Invasion und the establishment of a communist regime in Kabul. Among the refugees were many sympathesizers of the Islamic Mujadehin, the strongest opponent of the soviet Troupes.<br><br> The 1990's, characterized by civil war, can be defined as the third stage of immigration. With the victory of the Mujadehin in 1992 and the fall of the Soviet oriented regime many former officials fled, the coming into power of the Taleban was followed by another wave of refugees.<br><br> Apart from Hamburg centres of afghan communities can be found in Frankfurt, the Rhineland, Munich and Cologne/Bonn.<br><br> <b>Social structure of the Afghan community in Germany</b><br> The Afghan community is by no means homogenous; it reflects the heterogeneity of the Afghan society. As diverse as the reasons for their migration are their political viewpoints. However, in the aftermath of the US internvetion in Afghanistan, the community became closer due to shared worries and hopes.<br><br> The Afghan Diaspora in Germany can be divided into three groups. The first group, a minority, is hardly integrated, does almost not speak German and concentrates on an Islamic-Afghan culture. The second group is fully integrated and maintains only loose relations to Afghanistan. Finally the third group is integrated but preserves their Afghan culture and languages.<br><br> The organisational level of Afghans in Germany is low. Although Afghan associations and clubs exist, there is no representative or umbrella organization for Afghans in Germany. The attempts to build up an umbrella organization have so far not been successful.<br><br> <b>Integration</b><br> The majority of Afghans living in Germany has a set residence permit status. 40.000 Afghans have a permanent residence status; all others are either seeking asylum or have a residence permit.<br><br> The "Council of Afghans in northern Germany" has rented rooms in an Albanian mosque in Hamburg where Afghan children and youth raised in Germany can learn to speak and write their mother language.<br><br> President Karsai tries to enable Afghans to live in two cultures by aiming at offering Afghans a double citizenship. During an Afghan Diaspora meeting in March 2002, Karsai campaigned for the support of the Diaspora, particularly by returning to help reconstructing their country.<br><br> <b>Activities of the Diaspora in Germany</b><br> The Afghan Diaspora is intensely engaged in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, focussing mainly on the non-profit sector such as building schools, distributing medical supplies or supporting educational programmes. Furthermore,the Diaspora is trying to support the construction of a democratic Afghanistan. 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