Under no circumstances must we repeat the mistakes made by West Germany during the 1960s and 1970s. With the term "guest worker" (Gastarbeiter), emphasis back then was clearly placed on the word "worker" and only on "guest" insofar as it was assumed that the people would also leave Germany again. This was a fallacy: integration was almost non-existent at that time and we can also still see all the consequences at present. However, integration must now be the most important factor if immigration is to be a success for both sides. The people seeking safe refuge are already here. Some will go back, some will also have to leave Germany - but a large number will remain.
Integration can be successful if we go about it with determination. Money is one aspect here - and the 2 billion euros initially provided by the federal government will certainly not be enough. By comparison: between 2005 and 2013, asylum seekers started 76,000 integration courses in Germany. The federal government invested a sum of more than 1.4 billion euros in these courses. Since we are now talking about ten times more people, everyone can work out for themselves how far we will come with 2 billion euros. This money is the first sign of support by the federal government, but much more will have to be done. It is just as important that people actually receive the money. Let me make it quite clear: the money intended for refugees, who are being looked after by communes in Germany, must also be received by the communes on a 1:1 basis. There is no reason why some of this money should be retained by the federal states.
We are faced with a monumental task regarding refugees - and must also ensure in Leipzig and elsewhere in cities and municipalities that normal everyday life goes on, if possible without cutbacks. No sports lessons for our children should be cancelled, no kindergarten places should be taken away and no school should be connected to the Internet later than planned. This does not relativise the task with which we are faced, it strengthens it. We have therefore also decided in Leipzig to create more than 100 new administrative posts, for example a large number of social workers and case workers to deal with the subject of asylum. The more we are able to maintain normality, the easier integration will become. I am also convinced that the federal government and federal states will also face up to their financial responsibility in this case.
However, integration is primarily a human task. It calls for openness and movement from both sides, and Germans and refugees alike must possess the will for integration. And where can integration be more successful and what better places are there for people to meet one another than in kindergartens, in schools and at work? We will need more kindergarten places and more classrooms, and the federal states will also have to recruit more teachers. In particular, however, we need a flexible labour market. The federal government and federal states must change their legislation in this case, thus enabling refugees to find their place in working life as quickly as possible. We, too, have a shortage of skilled workers in Saxony. In Leipzig I can see an increasing number of signs "Staff wanted". An unfilled job generates no revenue, no profit, no taxes and no social security contributions.