If I could, I would move to Germany with my Australian girlfriend. There, I could live in a more politically progressive country with both girlfriends (for one of them is already living in Deutschland). There are a few things currently stopping me from doing this, and those are:
- I don't know much German, which I would need in order to work there
- I highly doubt I can hold down a job with a regular income
- My Australian girlfriend is unable to come with me
So, right now, things are not looking good for my future as an expat (or 'immigrant twice removed', since expat seems to be reserved for white people). I am stuck with the one voice I can relate to in mainstream politics, Richard di Natale of The Greens, being dismissed by Labour supporters for having the audacity to suggest that Australia should stop being America's lapdog and create its own path in foreign policy.
I am also stuck with Turnbull calling media outlets such as the ABC 'elites', and Shorten (the opposition leader) calling for 'Australian jobs' - that is, scapegoating foreign workers for white people's unemployment. I can tell this is just the beginning. It's obviously going to get a lot worse, and anyone with any sense and financial independence, would have already left this backward nation far, far behind.
Far from punishing asylum seekers with torturous conditions, Germany has humanely welcomed large numbers of people. Okay, so the response has been uneven, with a whitelash of its own, but mainstream society has learnt from its white supremacist past and strives towards racial harmony. And that's just one issue. Germany is a better place to be a woman (or a man who believes in gender equality), as evidenced by the 2016 Global Gender Gap Index. Tertiary education is free for everyone, if you are entering the system after a certain date. The universal healthcare they have is more deeply entrenched than its Australian counterpart. And what Australian philosopher is equal to Nietzsche? I'm willing to learn German if it means I can read Kafka in his favourite language.
Because I cannot move right now, let's focus on the positives:
- My Australian girlfriend, whom I love (no more or less than my German girlfriend)
- My parents' weird but heartening love, and financial support
- I can afford to spend some time in Germany next year (I've already got the tickets)
- A handful of friends who enhance the quality of my life
- A great psychologist
I want to enhance my self-care to the extent that I feel I can cope, no matter which country I am in.
- I don't know much German, which I would need in order to work there
- I highly doubt I can hold down a job with a regular income
- My Australian girlfriend is unable to come with me
So, right now, things are not looking good for my future as an expat (or 'immigrant twice removed', since expat seems to be reserved for white people). I am stuck with the one voice I can relate to in mainstream politics, Richard di Natale of The Greens, being dismissed by Labour supporters for having the audacity to suggest that Australia should stop being America's lapdog and create its own path in foreign policy.
I am also stuck with Turnbull calling media outlets such as the ABC 'elites', and Shorten (the opposition leader) calling for 'Australian jobs' - that is, scapegoating foreign workers for white people's unemployment. I can tell this is just the beginning. It's obviously going to get a lot worse, and anyone with any sense and financial independence, would have already left this backward nation far, far behind.
Far from punishing asylum seekers with torturous conditions, Germany has humanely welcomed large numbers of people. Okay, so the response has been uneven, with a whitelash of its own, but mainstream society has learnt from its white supremacist past and strives towards racial harmony. And that's just one issue. Germany is a better place to be a woman (or a man who believes in gender equality), as evidenced by the 2016 Global Gender Gap Index. Tertiary education is free for everyone, if you are entering the system after a certain date. The universal healthcare they have is more deeply entrenched than its Australian counterpart. And what Australian philosopher is equal to Nietzsche? I'm willing to learn German if it means I can read Kafka in his favourite language.
Because I cannot move right now, let's focus on the positives:
- My Australian girlfriend, whom I love (no more or less than my German girlfriend)
- My parents' weird but heartening love, and financial support
- I can afford to spend some time in Germany next year (I've already got the tickets)
- A handful of friends who enhance the quality of my life
- A great psychologist
I want to enhance my self-care to the extent that I feel I can cope, no matter which country I am in.
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