by Ye-One Rhie | 30. September 2024 | Unkategorisiert
Dear comrades,
You have written an open letter to the party leadership, the social democratic members of the Bundestag and the federal government in which you call on them to stand up for dignity, uphold human rights, defend the right to asylum and live by social democratic values.
Over 12,000 comrades have now signed the open letter. As members of the Bundestag, we are also addressees of this letter and would like to respond to you in this way.
First things first: We are very grateful to you for writing this letter.
We share your sadness, your anger and your doubts about the current discourse.
Let us be clear: we too believe that the course currently being taken by the SPD on migration and asylum policy is wrong.
We are aware that many political demands for stricter asylum and migration policies are reactions to Solingen.
It is understandable that many people in Germany feel insecure after such a horrific attack and would like to see political measures that create more security.
We must take this uncertainty seriously.
At the same time, this obliges us to propose political measures that genuinely contribute to greater security and are not actionism.
We can only create more security if we honestly identify the background to attacks like the one in Solingen and tackle the actual causes of such acts.
That is why it is right to tighten gun laws, prevent terrorist financing and stop hate messages online and offline.
However, it is also important to proceed with a sense of proportion and to weigh up security and civil liberties responsibly.
Not every tightening of the law is expedient, not every new competence for security authorities is necessary and proportionate.
For us, it is very clear that we need more prevention of Islamism, more prevention of right-wing extremism and more work on democracy.
The fight against right-wing extremism and Islamist radicalization can only succeed in a politically enlightened society.
For us, this also includes strengthening social security in our society.
Anyone who breaks down current security policy issues into migration policy is making things far too easy for themselves.
Security policy issues must not be inadmissibly mixed up with migration policy.
Here, too, we agree with you.
This argument suggests connections that are demonstrably not there: Migration is not the cause of attacks.
Anyone who reflexively calls for more border controls, more deportations and more repressive measures in migration policy after terrorist attacks is implying a causal connection.
This sets a spiral in motion.
The next incident can only lead to the conclusion that even stricter measures are needed, which hardly or not at all lead to more security.
Right-wingers use every further incident as an opportunity to continue this spiral and advance their own agenda.
If we get involved in this, we will achieve an ever greater shift in public discourse.
We should be doing the opposite: Take a stand, consistently oppose the right-wing agenda and break through this constructed chain of argumentation.
For us, in terms of the “security package”, this means that we are particularly critical of the proposed exclusion of social benefits, random checks, the comparison of biometric data, border controls and refoulement as well as the expansion of detention.
In recent days and weeks, we have already campaigned within the parliamentary group to prevent planned measures on these points in particular and will continue to do so.
In the coming weeks, the budget negotiations will also focus on saving and strengthening key migration and participation policy projects.
Right now, we must not cut funding for integration courses, psychosocial counseling or the budget of the Integration Commissioner.
Instead, we must maintain and expand the budget allocations in these areas in particular.
Instead of fighting defensive battles on asylum policy, we want to rededicate ourselves to projects that make people’s lives easier and breathe the spirit of solidarity: whether in facilitating family reunification, citizenship, residence rights for victims of domestic violence or faster opportunities for refugees and other migrants to earn their own living here.
It must be clear that it is wrong to react to attacks like the one in Solingen with debates about asylum and migration.
We know that we also have to convince our colleagues and comrades of this.
We are therefore very grateful to you for reinforcing our convictions with your letter, backing us up and contradicting the reflexive call for a tougher stance on migration policy.
We ask you to uphold this contradiction.
Together with you, we want to continue to defend the right to asylum, stand up for the dignity of all people and fight for a social democracy that does the same.
With solidarity greetings
Rasha Nasr, Member of Parliament
Robin Mesarosch, Member of the Bundestag
Ye-One Rhie, MdB
Katrin Michel, Member of the Bundestag
Hakan Demir, Member of Parliament
Derya Türk-Nachbaur, Member of the Bundestag
Jan Dieren, Member of the Bundestag
Sebastian Roloff, Member of the Bundestag
Leni Breymaier, Member of the Bundestag
Jessica Rosenthal, Member of the Bundestag
Karamba Diaby, Member of the Bundestag
Tina Rudolph, Member of the Bundestag
Felix Döring, Member of the Bundestag
Mathias Stein, Member of the Bundestag
Axel Echeverria, Member of the Bundestag
Nadja Sthamer, Member of the Bundestag
Fabian Funke, Member of the Bundestag
Ruppert Stüwe, Member of the Bundestag
Manuel Gava, Member of the Bundestag
Emily Vontz, Member of the Bundestag
Anke Hennig, Member of the Bundestag
Carolin Wagner, Member of the Bundestag
Carlos Kasper, Member of the Bundestag
Maja Wallstein, Member of the Bundestag
Anna Kassautzki, Member of the Bundestag
Carmen Wegge, Member of the Bundestag
Helmut Kleebank, Member of the Bundestag
Gülistan Yüksel, Member of the Bundestag
Tim Klüssendorf, Member of the Bundestag
Annika Klose, Member of the Bundestag
Erik von Malottki, Member of the Bundestag
Holger Mann, Member of the Bundestag
Zanda Martens, Member of the Bundestag
Takis Mehmet Ali, Member of the Bundestag
Dirk-Ulrich Mende, Member of the German Bundestag
Letter as pdf
by Ye-One Rhie | 28. September 2023 | Unkategorisiert
Education and research politics have been a concern of mine for many years. I was involved in university politics during my studies, worked for the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and at various institutes of the RWTH after my studies, and am a member of the Committee for Education, Research and Technology Assessment in the Bundestag.
And even though my focus there is on research and transfer, advocacy for the situation of students is still important to me – especially during the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s war against Ukraine.
That is why, together with my fellow parliamentarians in the SPD, I have campaigned extensively for the one-off payment of 200 euros for students and trainees. We were also able to ensure that the energy price allowance of up to 300 euros was also paid to mini- and midi-jobbers, which also benefited numerous students.
For over 50 years, the state has been supporting young people in their school or university education with BAföG. Since the beginning of the legislative period, we have amended BAföG three times. This will strengthen educational equality. For example, first-year students in need can now receive a study start-up grant of 1,000 euros. The basic needs rate and the flat-rate housing allowance will continue to rise. We were able to raise the maximum subsidy rate to 992 euros. We have also raised the age limit, the allowances and the flat-rate housing allowance. And we want to continue by making BAföG more independent of parents as a further step.
These reforms led to support a group that was particularly hard hit by rising prices, especially during a difficult period.
Mobility is participation and must therefore be accessible at a low threshold. This is also reflected in the price. Since the summer semester 2024, many students have been able to use a discounted Deutschlandticket for 29.40 euros to use local public transport throughout Germany. I am committed to ensuring that the price remains as low as possible and that there are predictable and uniform regulations for semester tickets.
But politics for students are also important to me beyond that. Because as young people, they belong to a group in our society that often does not have a strong enough lobby and is not listened to enough. The years of the Corona pandemic were a cautionary tale of this.
I would like to do that differently. That’s why I’ve been offering an anger session for students since 2022. Of course, I can’t always solve all problems immediately in these conversations. But I want to listen, even if it’s criticism of our policies.
by Ye-One Rhie | 28. September 2023 | Unkategorisiert
I am a woman with a visible migration history. My parents are from South Korea and came to Aachen as students, before I was born. Because of this biography, I have been affected by migration and integration policies in Germany all my life.
Germany is an immigration country. This can also be seen more and more in politics. I can still remember very well the first parliamentary group meeting after the Bundestag elections, in which all the new members of parliament were asked to introduce themselves briefly. It was a real Kodak moment: so many different and exciting life stories. 49 deputies under the age of 35, but also, for example, many who – like myself – were naturalized only a few years ago. Who told stories of how their parents and grandparents never imagined that their children and grandchildren would one day be elected to the German Bundestag.
That is why I am glad that our coalition and the federal government stand for a more liberal social and immigration policy.
With the Opportunity Residence Act, we are giving people who have only been tolerated in Germany for years, but who have been integrated, the prospect of a secure residence and employment opportunities.
We have improved the immigration of skilled workers through more modern immigration law. This way, we facilitate the immigration of skilled workers and give people who want to work, study or train here a secure perspective. People who we need in our society.
We have also reformed the nationality law. We have made naturalization easier and faster and generally enabled multiple nationality. We believe, it is important to show people who have lived here for a long time, who are committed to our society and work for it: You belong, you are welcome here. And that is why you should get all the rights that come with German citizenship.
by Ye-One Rhie | 28. September 2023 | Unkategorisiert
Before I was elected to the Bundestag, I was a local politician on the Aachen City Council. There, my focus was on mobility policy. I represented this policy area as the mobility policy spokesperson of the SPD council group from 2014 to 2022.
This is another reason why I remain committed to mobility policy and to working for a sustainable and ecological mobility transformation. For us as the SPD, the social character of the mobility turnaround is paramount. We need fossil-free transportation and propulsion technology, but we need to make it so that everyone can participate in this transformation.
That is why, together with my colleagues in the SPD parliamentary group, I am campaigning for social and sustainable mobility options in the Bundestag.
We introduced the 9-euro ticket in 2022 – originally as a relief measure – which we were then able to continue in the long term as the 49-euro ticket or Deutschlandticket. This is the first time ever that one ticket for public transport is valid throughout Germany. When I was still making mobility policy in Aachen, I could never have imagined that we would reach such a milestone in 2022.
Mobility policy often seems very technical. Complicated terms often hide big changes. The term planning acceleration is a perfect example for this. In this way, we in the Bundestag are increasing the speed with which infrastructure projects can be planned and implemented in the railroads or rail network, for example.
And we have amended the Road Traffic Act to give local authorities more opportunities to regulate local traffic themselves. This is another change that I always very much wanted to see during my time on the Aachen City Council, so that we could decide locally on the best solution for regulating traffic.
by Ye-One Rhie | 28. September 2023 | Unkategorisiert
On September 16, 2022, Jina Mahsa Amini died. She died after being arrested by Iranian morality police for allegedly wearing an improperly fitting headscarf. Her death sparked the largest protests in Iran in decades.
I admit: Before September 2022, I was not particularly interested in Iran. I mean, no more than other people. I read news about the country and knew that there is a dictatorship in Iran. But back then I didn’t know, about the courage of its citizens, and about the terror that the Iranian government is waging against its own people.
Since September 2022 – and actually much longer – the women and men in Iran have been fighting for what we take for granted. The freedom to speak their mind. The right to criticize their government. The ability to decide for themselves what clothes they wear. For being able to live without fear of their own state.
I first came into closer contact with the Iranian protest movement in October 2022. I was on a trip to Rwanda to attend the Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), an international association of parliamentarians. There I gave a speech about the protests in Iran and the courage of the women and men who are taking to the streets.
The topic has been on my mind ever since. When I was asked if I would take on a political sponsorship for Toomaj Salehi in November 2022 I agreed immediately.
Toomaj is a very famous rapper in Iran, who supports the protests and criticizes the government with his lyrics and music. He was arrested for this in October 2022 and sentenced to six years in prison in July 2023. In April 2024, he was sentenced to death, a sentence that was overturned two months later by the Iranian Supreme Court.
As a political sponsor for Toomaj, I have been pointing out his case and the human rights violations he faces at the hands of the Iranian regime: neither his arrest nor his conviction have any basis in the rule of law. He was tortured during his detention. He was punished for expressing his opinion.
I see it as my task to keep up the attention for Toomaj, both in the German public and towards the regime in Iran. That is why I have been writing letters every week since November 2022 to the Foreign Minister, the Ambassador to Germany and Iran’s highest judicial authority. And I am not doing this alone: Following my sponsorship of Toomaj, many of my colleagues in the Bundestag, as well as in other parliaments in Germany and Europe, have also taken on sponsorships for political prisoners in Iran.
We have to keep looking and not let up.
