Integration through sports

Amid the migration crisis in Europe, it's worth reminding ourselves that there are lots of examples of successful integration in Germany. Case in point: Raghu Chaliganti, Shahnawaz Ahmad and Gajanan Revankar, all originally from India.

Chaliganti is an Associate Professor of Bioenergy at the Free University in Berlin, Shahnawaz is a computer scientist and Revankar is a research scientist at the Centre of Stroke Research in Berlin.

Yet although these men have fit in well, once a week they travel to the town of Werder (Havel) near Berlin and don pristine whites to play India's national game. Cricket is an aspect of their original homeland these immigrants would like to import to Germany. But it's not always an easy sell.

"It's hard because German kids all want to play soccer,” Chaliganti said.

Ironically, cricket has deep roots in Berlin. Axel Sass, the chairman of Havelländischer Cricket Club Werder (HCCW), says that in the 19th century the sport occupied a position in German society comparable to the one soccer has today.

"Cricket, for example, was widespread in Berlin around 1850," Sass told DW. "Back then it was fashionable to play the sport. Many Berlin football clubs were founded as cricket clubs in the 1850s, 60s, and 70s. That means cricket doesn't need to be introduced, but revived in Germany."

A long way from home

There are no bus connections from Werder's main train station on weekends. It takes around 40 minutes to get there from Berlin by car. But the commutes don't deter Chaliganti and his teammates from making the trek every week. Chaliganti says that initially they were hesitant about the location outside of Berlin.

“We had heard that Werder isn't too friendly to foreigners, that it was a dangerous place to set up a cricket field," he told DW. "But so far we have not experienced any racism. In fact, they've been very welcoming.”

While that's one less headache, the main battle for these cricket lovers is how to grow the sport in their adopted country. Ahmad, who not only plays for HCCW but also the German national cricket team, says the development of the sport depends largely on the participation of locals.

"As long as only we Asians or Australians or the English are playing it's not going to become part of German culture.”

But for Ahmad triggering the interest of Germans in cricket goes beyond just playing. He understands that sport is more than just about teamwork and friendship. Germans learn these traits through football, and cricket offers a cultural exchange.

"They'll learn about different cultures," he says. "Open their minds. They will no longer have preconceived notions about Indians or Pakistanis or the English."

A bridge and an anchor

Ahmad and his teammates are positive examples of integration. They have successful careers and have learned the language. But identities and integration are complex matters. Ahmad has now spent 13 years in Germany but still feels torn between two cultures.

“When you stay here for so long it's not easy to go back," he says. "There are certain things you like about Germany and certain things about India. So you're kind of stuck in the middle.”

Revankar has only been in Germany for three years, but his experiences are similar.

"When I visited India, it was a reverse culture shock for me," he says.

Revankar quickly mastered the basics of German. But he jokingly adds that some of his German colleagues don't want him to speak German so that they can improve their English.

Playing cricket revives memories of all three men's original home countries while offering an avenue for further integration into German society. It's an illustration that sport has the power both to bring different people and anchor cultural identity.