05/10/2006
Al-Ahram Weekly Newspaper 2006/OCTOBER /05
Today Germany celebrates 17 years of its reunification after a long danger-ridden process..!!. It is often said that German unity began with dancing steps, yet these steps started to slow down and be a little difficult. After the original euphoria faded away, the united Germany began to face the hard situation of having to abridge the wide chasm which separated and divided the two Germanies, a chasm which was reflected by the difficult debates involved in the unity negotiations. Yet, the ship continued its successful journey towards the safe harbor.( Available in Arabic – German in PDF).
We all know the enormity of the financial problems related to the unification process, and we also know the great sacrifices that “ West Germany “ offered to assist in the economic and social recovery of its sister “ East Germany “..!!. Billions of Deutsche Marks have been spent on that recovery. Today the ONE Germany is regarded as one of the most stable democracies in the world. Its constitution is dedicated to human rights and extensive welfare of the people. On the other hand, it allows for a multi-cultured society. The country hosts three million Muslims, apart from millions of Africans and Latin Americans. It is under such constitution that we witness today those tremendous efforts that are aimed at stemming difference in culture in Germany, east and west. After all, the two Germanies belong together through language, history, art and literature. On the day when the 17th anniversary of the unification is celebrated, one cannot but happily participate in the celebrations, extending sincerest and deepest congratulations to the one country whose experience will be remembered across many years to come.