“Let’s tear ourselves away from the roots that connect us to every form of domination” – this was the motto of the self-administered magazine “by/for migrants”, “KÖXSÜZ”, which appeared between 1995 and 2000. Its title, the former editors write in a self-conception, was always particularly criticized:
“Already after the first issue we had to deal with the critics_ who defended their previous roots (national or religious identities) or were looking for new roots. Many people from the left spectrum felt provoked and attacked by this name. Few from this spectrum were concerned with the content of the magazine. Especially people who were fixated on identity politics asked us “fine, but why “köXüz” (köksüz – rootless), all people have root…”
The magazine was launched in the early 1990s as a platform for “self-organization” and “self-defense” by various migrant groups from the Bremen, Oldenburg and Hamburg areas. “KÖXSÜZ” would appear, as a notice at the beginning of the issue always promised, as a “minimum 2, maximum X language magazine”. In most cases, this meant articles in both Turkish and German. In their self-portrayal, the creators consciously oppose the idea of a “multicultural paper” that addresses “any demands, such as ‘voting rights’ or ‘dual citizenship’ to the German state and the majority society. Rather, “köXüz (…) is primarily intended to give a voice to those migrants and refugees who see themselves as acting subjects and in this sense fight against state and societal racism. We are partial to those people who fight any kind of domination and dependent on those who think such a newspaper is necessary. This dependence presupposes absolute independence from any state. That’s why we decided against government funding from the beginning.”
Fortunately, all thirteen “KÖXSÜZ” issues can be read and downloaded free of charge from the magazine’s online archive. In this context, we would also like to refer to Ceren Türkmen’s article “Gastarbeitergeschichte zwischen Migrationsregime, Staat und kommunaler Befreiung,” published in the glokal publication “Connecting the Dots. Learning from History(s) on Oppression and Resistance.”
“Köksüz,” Ceren Türkmen writes here, “means ‘rootless’ in Turkish. However, the editors* replace the ‘K’ with an ‘X,’ referring to Malcom X and Black militant struggles in the U.S.”