Multiethnic harmony is a tough job – how Singapore successfully integrates its multiethnic, multireligious and multilingual population

It's important to be realistic – like the master in Goethe's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," who realizes with horror: "The spirits I called, I will not be rid of." Most of the migrants who have found their way to Europe in recent decades, both called and uncalled, have come to stay, and apart from a few isolated cases and except in cases of serious crime, they are not threatened with deportation.

Europe's demographic trend is clearly and consistently negative. Birth rates are declining, the long-established indigenous population is shrinking, the elderly are aging, the baby boomers are retiring, the skilled labor shortage is becoming a labor shortage, and the economy is stagnating.

Europe is having a harder time integrating immigrants, especially from the South, than the traditional immigration country, the United States. The "melting pot" has long since become a generally accepted "salad bowl," often with ethnic and linguistic parallel societies. Even though President Trump is currently attempting to deport illegal immigrants, the American experience shows that a selective immigration policy is difficult to maintain.

Even during the massive migrant flows of the 19th century, certain nations were anything but welcome. Mafiosi from Italy, socialists from Germany, impoverished Irish, and later also Jews were viewed with suspicion, and Chinese were completely excluded by law from 1882 to 1943.

Due primarily to the massive influx of asylum seekers, most Western European countries have now reached a foreign population ratio of between 15 and 20 percent. In view of the obvious integration problems, the political climate in Germany has cooled considerably from an initial general and often private willingness to help out of fear of foreign infiltration and crime, and the perspective has shifted to the right.

In the medium and long term, the challenge for European states is to achieve the transition from a historically highly homogeneous to a multicultural society in peace and freedom. The extent to which integration and social balance are an ongoing task is demonstrated by the example of the multi-ethnic, multilingual, and multi-religious society of the city-state of Singapore.

When Singapore unexpectedly gained independence from the Malaysian Federation in 1965, the main question, in addition to economic survival, was how the dominant Chinese majority could live peacefully with the Malay and Indian minorities. In the 1960s, there were several racial riots between Chinese and Malays, resulting in deaths and injuries.

At that time, Singapore consciously decided to build a multi-ethnic society that would offer all groups equal opportunities. A national pledge, recited together every morning in schools, begins with the phrase: "We, the citizens of Singapore, united, pledge to stand together, regardless of race, language, or religion." Linguistic diversity was reduced to Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and English as administrative languages, and official documents are quadrilingual.

This was a massive turning point for the Chinese majority, because many, even in the third or fourth generation, still spoke Chinese dialects and could barely communicate with each other. Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister to speak English as well as his dialect, set a good example. He learned Mandarin and Malay and could deliver his speeches in all three. Overall, English has largely become the spoken language, with what many call an undertone of "Singlish."

The island nation turns sixty this month and celebrated its economic successes and multicultural integration on Independence Day, August 9th. Therefore, Singapore should also provide Europe with illustrative material and inspiration to move away from the ideological trench warfare against or for multiculturalism and toward a productive debate. Because there will be no return to ethnically and culturally homogeneous societies.

In Singapore's illiberal democracy, it was clear from the outset that the cohesion of a multicultural society must be fostered and continually adjusted. The three pillars include laws and sanctions against abuse, as well as guidelines for equal rights for all groups in practice. These include clearly defined integration instruments in administrative enforcement and the promotion of community-building civic activities.

In February, Parliament consolidated these instruments and passed the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill. Racism and hate speech are clearly defined in criminal law and subject to appropriate penalties by the courts. A prominent case recently caused a stir: A Chinese Singaporean accused a mixed couple on a downtown shopping street of the disgraceful relationship between an Indian man and a Chinese woman. The man was sentenced to five weeks in prison, fined heavily, and lost his job as a lecturer.

Meanwhile, society is becoming increasingly open, and the number of interethnic marriages has more than tripled in recent decades. However, the majority of marriages remain within the ethnic group.

In the religious sphere, prevention is particularly important because the Malay minority is exclusively Muslim and thus more acutely aware of the conflicts in the Middle East than other groups. Also due to the Islamization trends in the neighboring region, politicians take this issue particularly seriously. It is represented in the cabinet by a Minister for Muslim Affairs.

The self-radicalization of Muslim youths online has repeatedly triggered alarm and arrests; aggressive preachers from abroad are denied entry. Interfaith contacts, however, are encouraged; the clergy of the numerous religions practiced in Singapore meet regularly and organize programs for their congregations. Ethnic enclaves have been avoided through quotas. A presidential commission reviews all new laws to determine whether they could be discriminatory or violate minority rights.

Through the People's Association (PA), the government massively supports grassroots work, which promotes social cohesion and ethnic harmony and serves as a link between the government and the population. The PA's activities in approximately 2,000 grassroots organizations and over 100 community clubs reach a large portion of the population where it is most convenient: close to their homes. This provides a two-way exchange for parliamentarians, who are already in touch with their constituents through weekly public consultation hours.

Nevertheless, the Singaporean population is not completely "colorblind." Some of the resentment dates back to the colonial era, when the British brought Chinese and Indian workers into the country because they considered the Malays unsuitable for heavy manual labor in Malaysia's plantations and tin mines. New prejudices are also constantly being expressed behind closed doors. But woe betide those remarks when they become public; the police and the judiciary intervene.

For historical and administrative reasons, Singapore maintains the classification of its citizens as Chinese, Malay, Indian, and others (Eurasians and Europeans). This is also reflected in their identity cards. This sounds more racist than it actually is, because it becomes clear, especially at the various levels of interaction between the groups, that religious and cultural values and customs carry far more weight than ethnic origin.

Where does Singapore's ethnic mix converge most frequently and most intensely? It's almost always a diverse place: in kindergarten and school, at work and in the supermarket, in residential areas, in sports, in nightlife, in military service, and on buses and trains. But by far the greatest common denominator emerges daily in the food. In restaurants and food courts with their numerous food stalls, you'll find a huge selection of all the delicacies and flavors of Asia, including all the regional Chinese cuisines. Specialties from all over Southeast Asia and the rest of the world are also available, and, surprisingly, there's also fast food. The enormous culinary diversity and availability in such a small space is probably unique worldwide.

In increasingly complex societies like Singapore's, it's all about human-to-human interaction, ideally free of fear of contact and prejudice. Unfortunately, this is particularly problematic in Europe due to the formation of ghettos, the overburdening of communities, and the resulting tensions on both sides. Singapore demonstrates how a comprehensive integration concept helps plan and implement the necessary measures. It also shows that housing and work alone are not enough for true integration; culture and religion must be taken into account.

Europe's foreseeable future also lies in multiculturalism. This requires that politicians recognize the profound dimension of the problem of integrating job seekers and asylum seekers and develop a strong will to shape it, as is evident in Singapore. However, the city-state's authoritarian leadership possesses repressive means to enforce its ideas that are not available to European democracies. The majority of Western European states face a comprehensive undertaking with regard to rules-based, prosperous multicultural coexistence, which must not be sabotaged by partisan trench warfare.

Wolfgang Sachsenröder lives as a political consultant in Singapore and researches and publishes on political parties in Southeast Asia.