Turd World Blues: Austrian Children Forced to Learn Arabic to Communicate With Classmates
19th June 2025
In a first-grade class of a primary school in Vienna, out of twenty-five pupils, only three can speak German, according to the grandfather of one of the German-speaking children.
In a letter to Austrian daily Heute, Bernhard K. complained that his grandson is trying to learn Arabic so he can understand what his classmates are talking about when they get together during break, or after school: “How else is he supposed to communicate with his schoolmates?”
This statistic highlights the dire situation Austrian, and especially Viennese, schools find themselves in. The influx of migrants and their inability to integrate has completely transformed school life, with many non-German speaking pupils unable to understand what they are being taught.
Muslims have recently become the largest religious group among pupils in Vienna’s primary and secondary schools.
A host of teachers in Vienna have come forward to express their frustration about the difficulties of trying to teach migrant children.