Over 3 million people in Germany work more than one job, many because of financial difficulties. Opposition politicians are calling for the minimum wage to be raised. The number of people in Germany working a second job rose nearly 4% in the space of a year, according to figures from the Federal Employment Agency. They were revealed in response to …
Read More »Berlin confronts Germany’s colonial past with new initiative
The German capital has launched a five-year project to mark its part in European colonialism. Streets which still honour leaders who led the Reich’s imperial expansion will be renamed — and some locals aren’t happy. Ben Knight reports Berlin’s relationship with its colonial history is being reconsidered, despite opposition from far-right politicians and some disgruntled locals unhappy at plans to change the …
Read More »Germany’s Black community says NO to N-word at Cologne rally
About 200 people took the streets of Cologne on Saturday in a public demonstration against a recent controversial court ruling allowing the use of the word neger (subsequently referred to as the N-word in this report) to describe people of African descent. The protesters demanded that the use of the derogatory word be made illegal as it degrades Black people. …
Read More »Germany: Empowerment Centre for Africans opens in Dortmund
The western German city Dortmund will witness the grand opening of a centre for Africans on 31 January. Afrika-Haus promises to be a veritable centre for community empowerment, as it’s a place to seek help to the myriad of issues faced by African migrants, as well as an entertainment hub. Afrika-Haus Dortmund, established by the non-governmental organization AfricanTide Union e.V., …
Read More »New rules for Schengen Visa go into effect in February
The revised Schengen Visa Code includes an increase in application fee, lengthier visa validity, extended application period, sanction for citizens of countries that refuse to readmit their citizens, among others.
Read More »Outpouring of support for Karamba Diaby after shots were fired at MP’s office
Condemnations trail attack on the office of Karamba Diaby, a Senegal-born member of the Bundestag, in Halle. Germany’s foreign minister called the attack “disgusting and cowardly” The citizens’ office of Karamba Diaby, an SPD member of the Bundestag, in Halle was attacked between Tuesday and Wednesday. Diaby said the windowpanes had five bullet holes. “I condemn this violence. I know …
Read More »Germany: How Black people should deal with racial profiling – former police officer
Black people are often singled out as potential culprits in society which is why they are frequently stopped and searched by the police, followed in the supermarket, asked for their ticket by controllers in public transport or closely observed by security personnel in official premises. Since Black people are subjected to these experiences more frequently than members of other groups, we talk of their racial profiling.
Read More »Protesters demand justice for Oury Jalloh, 15 years on
Hundreds of protesters turned out in Dessau on Tuesday to commemorate the death of Oury Jalloh in the city fifteen years ago. The Sierra Leonean burnt to death mysteriously in police custody in the eastern German city on 7 January 2005 and until today, the circumstances of his death have not been fully cleared despite a sustained campaign for justice …
Read More »German states wooing migrants to become train drivers
There are not enough applicants for the training as train drivers in Germany. For every 100 spots, there are only 23 applicants.
Read More »Sick without papers in Germany: Here’s where to get help
According to estimates, about 1 million people in Germany have no health insurance. There are many reasons for this: mainly because they do not have a regular residency status but also because they cannot afford to pay for health and nursing care insurance as students. There’re organisations that helps people without health insurance, regardless of whether they have legal residency rights or not.
Read More »German Chancellor’s New Year Message: ‘Dedicating all my strength’
The German chancellor struck an encouraging tone in what is likely to be one of her last New Year’s addresses. Merkel addressed the challenges of the climate crisis, digitalization and migration. The climate crisis, the digitalization of the labour market, and European solidarity on migration formed the main themes of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s traditional New Year’s address, broadcast on Tuesday evening. But …
Read More »N-Word: Noah Becker‘s victory in Berlin and the setback in Magdeburg
The State Constitutional Court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Landesverfassungsgericht Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), sitting in Magdeburg, ruled on 19 December that sanctioning an AfD member of the state parliament, Nikolaus Kramer, over the use of the word “neger” during a debate in the house amounted to a restriction of his right to free expression. Kramer had taken the leadership of the state parliament to …
Read More »“Stop bastardising Igbo culture in Germany!” – Group warns
“Ndi-Igbo Germany is calling on all Ndi-Igbo, both home and abroad, to join hands with us and halt this cultural aberration which erodes, cheapens and bastardizes our value system of hard work, honesty and enviable benefit-and-reward system."
Read More »OPEN LETTER: Germany, We are not your Negroes! – by Charlotte Nzimiro, petitioner against N-Word
Charlotte Nzimiro launched the ongoing petition against the scandalous judgement of the State Constitutional Court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), de facto recognising that the word “Neger” (Engl. Nigger, Negro) could be used to describe people of African descent in Germany. Nzimiro’s petition, launched on 20 December and which has already gathered more than 42,000 signatures within 2 days, calls for …
Read More »Germany: Black activist petitions against court decision allowing use of N-Word
Activist launches petition campaign for the classification of “neger” as a racist word in Germany after eastern state court gives AfD member the right to call people of African descent by the derogatory word. AfD is a xenophobic, extreme right-wing party. The state constitutional court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) ruled on Thursday (19 December) that sanctioning the leader of the …
Read More »TANG mobilises diaspora for African development
The African Network in Germany (TANG) celebrated the concluding forum of its municipal development policy (kommunale Entwicklungspolitik) activities on Saturday, attracting participants, ranging from German government officials and communal politicians to representatives of African diaspora organisations. Declaring the event open, Dr Sylvie Nantcha, chairman of TANG, gave a brief introduction of the organization, a network of more than 600 African …
Read More »Germany-based company builds for diaspora Nigerians at home
Millions of Nigerians live and work in the diaspora and they send billions of euros back home annually. In 2018, remittances of Nigerians living abroad amounted to about €20 billion, according to figures released by the Central Bank of Nigeria in March. Most of the funds are sent to friends and relatives for various purposes, with real estate, food, education …
Read More »German court rules against landlord who refused to rent to an African
Major victory over housing discrimination in Germany as court fines a landlord for refusing to let his apartment to an African. It’s symbolic that the verdict was delivered on 10 December, the International Human Rights Day. A court has ruled that it’s illegal for a landlord or landlady to refuse to rent a flat to a would-be tenant on account …
Read More »Afrozensus: Measuring anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Germany
While speaking at the opening of the People of African Descent (PAD) Week Germany on 28 November in the Bundestag, Goran Buldioski, co-director of Open Society Initiative for Europe, called for more data on the experience of Black people, including on racism and discrimination. That is precisely the objective of a unique project, presented at one of the workshops on the …
Read More »Migrants strongly underrepresented in public service in Germany – study
Every fifth person of working age has a migration background in Germany. But they only make up six per cent of the employees in the civil service. This was revealed by a recent study. Experts call for intercultural opening of public administration. Citizens with foreign origin are severely under-represented in the civil service (öffentlichen Dienst). This is the conclusion of …
Read More »