reintroduction of Arabic to acquire a driver's license in Germany

Submitted by myth (Germany), Aug 28, 2016 at 17:19

Here's a newspaper article for I could not find the ministry's statement after searching their website. RP is a local newspaper covering the Düsseldorf-Mönchengladbach region.

http://www.rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/nettetal/fuehrerschein-pruefung-bald-in-arabisch-aid-1.5731883

In 2016 Germany reintroduces Arabic as a foreign language to pass the questionnaire in order to acquire a driver's license. The purpose is to facilitate the integration of 1.5million or so new refugees. That option was dumped in 2011 after it had been in effect for a while.

Somehow these changes happen under the radar. Introducing Arabic into German administration is the complement of teaching Arabic to every child.

A dear friend of mines happens to be the translator of the pre-2011 questionnaire into Arabic. I have mixed feelings about this sudden reversal regarding the questionnaire. I am against such accomodation precisely in order to integrate people. One should reward those who do learn the language. A driver's license is one such reward. On the other hand I wish my friend success with his driving school.

The same argument applies to teaching Arabic to every child. My friend deserves a medal for teaching so many people German as a side-effect while teaching them how to drive. It has become a complicated country where the politics and personal affairs intersect in weird ways. The trouble is, all these thing really matter.

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