After three-and-a-half years of legal wrangling, there's still no end in sight. At least officially, the case centers on €290.70 ($392). The K. family, thus identified to safeguard its privacy, is made up of ethnic Turks living in Germany. They claim that the state owes them the money. But, in reality, it's a matter of principle.
The questions at the heart of the dispute are: Can immigrants be forced to learn German? Can people who decline such an offer be denied welfare benefits? Or, viewed from the other perspective, can immigrants who live off state benefits refuse to integrate into society, or can they live as a group as if on an island and free of societal obligations?
The case of the K. family is typical of the problems German authorities face in dealing with immigrants from countries such as Turkey who don't want to integrate. » | Bruno Schrep | Tuesday, September 24, 2013
