Zafer Seoncak on the 21st century ghetto

Journalist Zafer Senocak examines why Germans have prevented the integration of Turks in their society. He points out that the term 'ghetto' is frequently used to describe their marginalisation. "But what exactly does the 21st century ghetto look like? The isolated network in which the members of an ethnic group end up nowadays is very different to the organised ghetto of the past… The so-called ghettoes of today are in themselves open and heterogeneous structures. They are inhabited by religious fanatics and non-believers, families and singles, and there are always different ethnic groups living together rather than just one alone. It's not those within, but those outside the ghetto who close the door. This is how the desire to shut oneself off from foreigners is expressed. People feel their country is being infiltrated and their justified criticism of archaic lifestyles and authoritarian family structures is tinged with xenophobic ways of thinking and racial prejudice.”

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