The results of the recently held German federal elections revealed a huge difference between voters in the east of the country and those in other parts of Germany.
The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party achieved success in the east, especially in the states of Saxony and Thuringia, while established parties such as the Social Democrats, the Christian Democratic Union, the Green Party and the Free Democrats (FDP) won the most votes in the other states.
These results did not surprise me. On a trip across Germany organized by Deutsche Welle's (DW) Africa program ahead of the elections, I had the opportunity to visit cities in both East and West Germany. What struck me the most was the visibility of AfD party posters in cities in the east, such as Hale, where I had the opportunity to talk to voters and politicians.
A key takeaway from the trip was the fact that voters in the east still have mixed feelings about the established parties, as well as a sense of being neglected.
Voting for the AfD was a way for citizens to express their anger at these politicians and their policies.
The feeling of unity ends where the lingering feeling of inequality between the united parts of the country begins.
Unity for some, separation for others
The reasons for achieving unity or creating separation are different.
Germany was divided by the Cold War. However, this division simultaneously established a new sense of unity among other countries of a similar type, in the socialist bloc.
Some socialist countries in Africa were united through a special form of solidarity. And driven by the socialist idea of the necessity of mutual support, thousands of young people from countries like Mozambique and Angola came to East Germany - to work and fill the gap in key industries. In addition, these young people were provided with funds to study at universities in the German Democratic Republic, (GDR).
However, that sense of unity fell apart with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. While the reunification of Germany was celebrated, some of the workers from Africa stayed, and thousands of others from Mozambique and Angola had to leave the country.
Unity could be much more
Such historical events show how many forms unity can take. Reunification can happen on many different levels and is an ever-evolving process.
Today, regional integration is one of the key attributes in the aspiration of the European Union or the African Union. I feel that there is a distinct hunger to achieve unity among people, regions or countries.
Thirty-one years after the reunification of Germany, it is still worth striving towards the ideal of unity, and accepting it as a natural and ever-growing endeavor.
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