Showing posts with label foreigners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foreigners. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Invasion of English language?

I just read a editors comment on VietnamNet Bridge about the threat of English overcoming Vietnamese language. I tried to send a comment via the website, but got an error back. So i post it here:

Dear Editor, what I don't understand in this country is the lack of ability to even think about if others may have the same problem and how they solved it.
First: English is not a threat, because nearly nobody really speaks English. Second: Vietnam is part of the planet earth, people traveling around this planet. It's a continuos cultural exchange. Like coffee came to Vietnam, Or cars. electricity. so do some English words. You will find english words in German, French words in English, Chinese words in Vietnamese. Instead of complaining about foreign influence Vietnam should take advantage of. India is developing so well because of the English skills there. Even people in Cambodia speak better English. The lack of English in Vietnam is an obstacle for some investors. But: I agree that schools must teach Vietnamese. It must also remain as the official and main language. But if you communicate with the world outside, some words may come back.


For any reason I see a lot of complains coming up about any foreign influence. Stricter Visa regulations, investments process changes, import restrictions. I concerned about it.
Once the german wall felt 1989, people in eastern Germany complained about the foreigners (a lot of them Vietnamese) allegedly taking their jobs. That was nonsense, Frankfurt City alone had more foreigners living there than whole eastern Germany. But, for some people it was easier to complain about the foreigners instead of solving the problem and just creating jobs. Yes, we can learn from history to make it better, not the same.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

"we need a bridge, we bring you here to build it. "

One thing I always hated in Germany was an kind of bashing on foreigners. Either they were blamed to steal jobs, girls or apples from trees. Usually it's just to blame others for your own fault. And it's so easy, in eastern Germany foreigners were actually chased when the economy went down after the fall of the wall (whole eastern German y at this time had less foreigners than the city of Frankfurt). Remember Rostock, when idiots set a house on fire were Vietnamese families lived. It was one of the most tragic moments after 1990.

Since I am in Asia, I love the friendliness and the lovely people here. Especially Vietnam greeted me always with a smile.

For any reason, it's seems to get a bit more tough between foreigners and locals. Stricter Visa regulations, stricter business regulations. A week ago we saw a driver throwing garbage out of his window while he was waiting. We just looked surprised on him, he suddenly got upset and said, we are foreigners, we are not supposed to tell him what's right or wrong.

Today, I found this post on facebook (I immediately un-friended this guy):

Take this: 90% of foreigners in Vietnam are losers, nomatter where they are from: US, UK, Australian, Korean. They were unemployed, failed to do business or desperately paid child support in their own country, so they come here to seek a better career. Remember that they are nobody in their country so if you treat them like big bosses, they do'nt know how to behave.....The way I see it is: we need a bridge, we bring you here to build it. Just have your job done and keep your voice low. Guests should always be polite, and if you are rude, we'll show you the way out.


Why out of a sudden we get this kind of experience? Is it just a coincidence? I hope so. I strongly believe that there is only one world. We trade in one world, we share experience. There is a cultural difference, and that's good for a variety, but there is no better than others. all countries failed who believed in they are the superior nations. I learned that from German history. And because of this history I will always try to bring people together instead of dividing.