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"For those who were previously disadvantaged, the situation in the crisis is even more difficult."
Photo: fermate / Getty Images
She would have to deceive people, Ruta Yemane knew that.
The scientist wanted to find out how solidarity we are all in the corona crisis - and above all who we are ready to help.
Yemane has a doctorate in psychology, she knew that words and deeds are usually far apart on this question.
Just because we say we're helping others doesn't necessarily mean we do so.
Yemane and her research team from the Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) decided on an experiment: she wrote fictitious requests for help.
On behalf of the 66-year-old Ayse Yilmaz, for example, who belongs to the corona risk group due to an asthma disease and is looking for support with shopping.
Or on behalf of Xiu Ying Wang, who is weakened after surviving an infection and needs help.
Or on behalf of Angelika Schneider, who has Corona and is also looking for support.
Each of the letters began with the phrase: "Dear neighbors!"
Yemane had the letters hung up on street lamps and traffic lights, on notice boards and at the neighborhood meeting place, thousands of notes in a total of eleven major German cities.
An email address was given on every request - which led to Yeman's mailbox at the end.
"The feedback was overwhelming," says the study director.
Within three weeks, nearly 800 people emailed me asking to help Yilmaz, Wang, and Schneider.
Much more than Yemane and her colleagues expected - a volunteer responded to more than every third request for help.
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Ruta Yemane, psychologist at DeZIM
Photo: David Ausserhofer / WZB
Then came the difficult part for the head of studies: She had to tell those willing to help that Ayse Yilmaz and Angelika Schneider really don't exist.
People have been duped.
For a good cause, for science.
According to Yemane, the most frequent response was young women.
On average, they were 33 years old and stated that they were studying or working part-time.
In their e-mails they also explained their motivation: "My parents were also born in 1954, I would like someone to help them if they were in your situation," wrote one of them.
"We have to stand together in these times," says another.
One student reported that he had placed an ad in the local newspaper to help, but no one had answered it - now he was happy to finally be able to support.
»You have to have the time to be able to help«
Ruta Yemane, director of studies
Most of the time, those willing to help had no or few children and flexible working hours, as well as a high level of education.
"You have to have the time to be able to help," Yemane concludes.
In addition, the participants showed on average particularly high empathy values and at the same time rather low coping values - their ability to distance themselves emotionally from the suffering of others was low.
Often they had already had experience of corona disease in their direct surroundings.
Yemane found this out through a follow-up survey in which around 60 percent of those willing to help took part.
Yemane didn't just want to know who was helping - above all, who was being helped.
The Center for Integration and Migration Research in Berlin and the Science Center Berlin for Social Research (WZB), which are behind the study, specialize in this type of question.
The study took place within the framework of the "National Discrimination and Racism Monitor".
The names of those seeking help are therefore deliberately chosen.
Ayse Yilmaz sounds Turkish, Xiu Ying Wang Chinese, Angelika Schneider German.
The results of the as yet unpublished study, which is available exclusively to SPIEGEL, suggest what other studies have already shown: Anyone who has an apparently "foreign" ethnic origin, a foreign-sounding name or a certain skin color, is less likely to be invited to and received for job interviews rarely commitments for a visited apartment.
And, as Yemane's study shows: Even in a society ravaged by a pandemic, he receives less help.
299 people wanted to help Angelika Schneider - only 227 Ayse Yilmaz
By far the most offers of help arrived for Angelika Schneider, 299 people responded to her request.
Wang and Yilmaz were clearly behind with 244 and 227 offers of help.
“These groups benefit less from neighborhood help,” says Yemane.
A study by the Bertelsmann Foundation came to this conclusion last year: people with a migration background experienced less social cohesion - in contrast to the rest of the population, which on average even moved closer together.
"For those who were previously disadvantaged, the situation in the crisis is even more difficult," said a spokesman for the foundation.
So Germans are more likely to help Germans, which at first glance doesn't seem surprising.
But it's not that simple, realized Yemane and her team.
She was surprised by one trend: The Chinese are also helping the Chinese, to put it simply.
And Turks, most likely Turks.
43 responses to Yilmaz's request came from people whose last name Yemane and colleagues coded as "sounding Turkish" - a disproportionately high proportion.
Apparently we prefer to tackle where we feel at home.
Yemane speaks of a high level of “in-group love”, that is, love for members of one's own community.
The scientist does not want to talk about racism, after all, Wang and Yilmaz also received many offers.
The extent of the discrimination can be measured.
Compared to studies from other countries on discrimination on the labor market, however, it is moderate.
However, Yemane admits that the responses to the requests showed significant differences - depending on the presumed origin of those in need.
In emails to Angelika Schneider, for example, no one asked how things would go with paying for the purchases.
If the letters were sent to Wang or Yilmaz, however, the question often came up directly.
According to Yemane, however, one thesis has not been confirmed: namely that someone with a Chinese-sounding name would be particularly disadvantaged.
According to Yemane, the geographical origin of the coronavirus in China was not reflected in her study.
After telling the truth to helpful people, Yemane didn't have to wait long for an answer.
"A few people were disappointed that they were not real requests." It was a scandal to deceive people like that, some wrote.
The scientist contacted those who were angry or wanted clarification personally.
She then made a few phone calls in the days after, says Yemane.
And explained to people again and again how valuable their participation was.
For a good cause, for science.