if Cris is a leopard, Pedro León a lion…
November 12, 2010
… Sergio a stallion (according to you all), then would Mesut Özil be a deer? I’m asking because he took home a Bambi last night!
And he looked great doing so! Mesut won the Bambi award for integration yesterday in Potsdam. And he got to pose with Shakira!
Who else was there? An old favorite of ours…
The one and only Sylvie van der Vaart! I miss Rafa of course, but I miss the gorgeousness that is Sylvie even more!
I’m not too sure about her hair here, but I supposed it’s in that awkward growing out stage, so I’ll forgive her. She looks stunning otherwise, no?
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LOL he can be a deer or a kitty. He’s so cute. I LOVE HIM!
Ozil DOES look like a deer. He has doe-eyes! (a compliment for his big eyes…although there have been not-so-nice remarks like he looks like a turtle-face or something) And he has the aura of shyness about him…so yes, I think he’s a deer! 🙂
This I don’t get at all. Mesut’s eyes are adorable and so is he.
Ozil as Bambi= perfect. He has that gentle, elegant, likeable aura about him, just like his namesake.
However, what the hell is this category for ‘integration’??
Germany is in the midst of an integration debate concerning its guest workers and immigrants. A chief banker said some very cruel things about Turks in Germany. Angela Merkel has said recently (two days after the Germany-Turkey football game, something people do not regard as a coincidence – because football forces one to think about nationalism) that multiculturalism as it has been applied in Germany is unsuccessful.
Germany has had a lot of problems. First, they brought people over from Turkey as guest workers but their attitude was “they’ll just work and leave” – that didn’t work of course. People who had worked in Germany for 30 years, made friends etc… didn’t want to leave. Mesut Oezil is a good example. Three generations of his family are in Germany.
Then Germany was concerned with other things for a while – reunification for example. That put citizenship matters on the back burner.
Then along came 1999 and it was finally accepted that people like 10 year-old Mesut Oezil were going to have to be granted citizenship in Germany. He was born there, he went to school there, he has limited contact with Turkey (though he speaks the language with his parents).
However, not entirely surprisingly, there are plenty of Turks in Germany who feel isolated, marginalized in poorer communities, and not really an accepted part of the society. They are aware that they weren’t given full rights until very recently. For example, a person who is 30 years old today, would not have been eligible for full civil rights until they were 20. That explains the anger of some Turkish people in Germany at Mesut’s playing for Germany when he had to play against Turkey. He was jeered for the entire game. These same fans though were thrilled when he scored against Ghana and are thrilled that he represents them in Real Madrid. They have complicated feelings towards him – everyone does.
Both sides have to give a little – that was essentially the message in Mesut’s rather bland acceptance speech. Turks in Germany should integrate better now that they have incentive to do so. Germans should be a great deal more patient than they are with people they have not always treated well.
So “gelungene integration” “successful integration” is the award given. In German, the concept is less paternalistic sounding than the direct translation into English. Mesut Oezil is considered a perfect example of someone who has “integrated” who has “met the society half-way.” In other words, a famous “immigrant” (though he was born there – so you can see already where the language causes problems. He is “vorbilder” – an example, someone to admire.
Oezil is a hero to Germans “unser Oezil” was the headline after he shot the 2-0 against Turkey. And that is a little loaded – would he be less “our Oezil” if he wasn’t successful and hadn’t saved his national team against Ghana when we were facing elimination? Nothing about this debate is simple.
But if the debate is uncomfortable, Oezil is an ideal ambassador. He is gentle, soft-spoken (that’s not just because he can’t speak Spanish well – he’s like that all the time in German too) always says the right, diplomatic things, is immensely simpatico with everyone in all three communities – Germans, German-Turks, and Turks living in Germany. He has an unpretentious faith in Islam too.
So he was given an award as an inspirational person who keeps true to their own roots and culture, but also makes an effort to assimilate. The award was presented by a famous German-Turkish TV personality, who introduced the award extremely well.
And there you are – nationalism, football, and the integration debate – in a few paragraphs!
Thanks for the explanation – that’s helpful!
Thank you for explaining. That made perfect sense.
Thanks for this. It helped me see things differently.
Ok, now I cannot unsee it! Mesut Bambi forever!!! sweet!
Oh, Sylvie looks gorgeous, she’s so pretty!
Yeah for Mesut. I agree Bambi suits him well – but who on the team are Flower and Thumper then 🙂 Sylvie looks stunning as always – although agree Una the hair is a fail. Really loved it when she was wearing it short.
I like Mesut’s hair here!
I think he should just be referred to as Bambi from here on out. He is so delicate.