The German migration agency praised a campaign to show ethnic diversity, giving names of foreign origin to climate events. The initiative was not well received by everyone.
“We live in a country of immigration. However, the climate increases and decreases [anticyclone and cyclone] they almost always receive names like Gisela and Helmut. It’s time to change that, ” a diversity group wrote on their website for the #WeatherCorrection project. The campaign to bring “New” German names in weather forecasts involve activists from Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
“After all, Germans also have names like Ahmet, Chana, Khue und Romani,” the website said
Virtually anyone can choose the name of a cyclone or anticyclone for a fee between € 240 and € 360 ($ 296- $ 444) paid to the Meteorology Institute at the Free University of Berlin, with the proceeds going to student projects. The names are then used in official weather reports.
Fourteen of these names were acquired on initiative for 2021. Therefore, this year, Germany will see climatic events with names of Arab and Turkish origin, such as Ahmet, Cemal and Jussuf, as well as Bozena, Bartosz, Irek, Dragica, Goran and Chana, which are of Polish, southern Slavic and Hebrew origin.
Office of the Minister of Migration and Integration of the Country praised the campaign in a series of tweets. “Ahmet or Alex, the main thing is the weather forecast! In 2021, it will be as diverse as our society, and that’s a good thing. ”
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The initiative, however, had a mixed response online.
“A very beautiful idea! And yes, our society is diverse – even if some don’t want to hear or accept it, ” A person tweeted.
Others called the idea “Stupid” and complained regarding the “Ideological doctrine through weather reports”.
“Thank you! The appointment of areas of high and low pressure is certainly one of the biggest problems in Germany. It doesn’t really matter if the Ahmets and Stafenies also receive high quality education and well paid jobs”, A person complained.
There are also those who tell no one really cares about the names of weather events, while others find the campaign fun. “Most areas of high and low pressure have a migrant background, but little is known about sexual orientation,” a Twitter user said.
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