Migration & Integration

African elected Mayor of German town

Dr Joy Alemazung has won the election for mayor of the city of Heubach, near Stuttgart, with an outstanding result on Sunday. The Cameroon-born politician, who ran as an independent candidate, won a whopping 66.22% of the popular vote, resoundingly defeating more than six other contestants. Speaking to the inhabitants and the press on Sunday evening after his election, the …

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African Mums in Deutschland wins Facebook Accelerator Program

African Mums in Deutschland, a support group for African women in Germany founded by Maame Adwoa Dentaa Amoo, has been announced as one of the winners of the 2021 Facebook Community Accelerator Program. The Community Accelerator is part of Facebook’s Community Leadership Program, a global initiative that invests in people building online communities. The Program helps leaders harness the power …

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Germany: African shot dead by police in refugee hostel

A 40-year-old asylum-seeker from Sudan has been shot dead by the police in a shelter for refugees and asylum-seekers in Lower Saxony, the news agency AFP has reported. Police officers were said to have shot the man on Sunday evening when he allegedly attacked them with a knife during an operation in the asylum-seeker accommodation in Harsefeld, Lower Saxony, AFP …

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Germany: Nigerian activist cries out over deportation of Nigerians

A member of the Nigerian community in Hamburg, Mrs Ngozi Utoh-Samuel, has called on the German authorities to temper justice with mercy on the situation of Nigerians whose asylum applications have been rejected. The civil society activist, who is the founder of Positive Life Global Empowerment (PLGE) e.V., took to her Facebook page on Tuesday to address the issue of …

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Gambia rejects deportation flights from Europe

The Gambia has formally announced that it would no longer accept flights bringing its citizens deported from the European Union, the AFP reports. Gambian foreign ministry spokesman Saikou Ceesay told the news agency that large numbers of returning migrants would cause “social upheaval” in the country. “We are trying to consolidate the peace, stability and democracy we have in this …

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Godfrey Evurulobi: African making a difference in Germany’s care sector

Nursing care is very critical to Germany’s health care sector due principally to the country‘s aging society. Carers help people who are physically or psychologically incapable of taking care of themselves on an everyday basis to live as independently and autonomously as possible and in dignity, despite their limitations. And the importance of the care industry will continue to grow …

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RosaLyn Dressman appointed Diaspora Focal Officer in Nigeria

The President of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Germany (NIDOG), Dr RosaLyn Dressman, has been appointed the Diaspora Focal Officer (DFO) of Bayelsa State. The appointment makes Mrs Dressman the chief adviser to the state’s governor, Senator Duoye Diri, on all matters concerning the diaspora. The DFO also officially liaises between the government of Bayelsa State and indigenes of Bayelsa …

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Berlin Global Village opens

The opening of the newly-built German capital’s one-world centre (Eine-Welt-Zentrum), the Berlin Global Village, was celebrated on Friday. The aim of the Berlin Global Village, whose construction was flagged off just about a year ago, is to provide working and meeting spaces for around 50 development and migrant-diasporic non-governmental organisations. The Berlin Global Village, whose construction was flagged off just …

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German nun fined for granting church asylum to Nigerian women

A German court has charged a nun €500 for assisting Nigerian women threatened with deportation from Germany. The two women reportedly fled from forced prostitution in Italy. Different groups criticized the court order and called for a decriminalization of church asylum. Benjamin Bathke reports Juliana Seelmann, a 38-year-old nun who lives and works in the Franciscan abbey of Oberzell in …

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Germany: Analysis of mobile phone data of asylum-seekers illegal — Court rules

The analysis of refugees’ mobile phone data to ascertain their identity violates their fundamental rights. This was the decision of the Berlin Administrative Court while ruling in the case of a 44-year-old Afghan woman. The verdict puts a question mark on the controversial practice to which the authorities sometimes resort to establish the true identity of asylum-seekers —- The controversial …

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Germany: Commission recommends measures to mitigate irregular migration

The commission set up by the federal government to look into the causes of flight and irregular migration has presented its report, recommending 15 key measures for the effective mitigation of these causes. —– An Expert Commission on the Causes of Flight appointed by the Federal Government in July 2019 has called for a more comprehensive political approach to combating …

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German police have become more diverse — new report

For the fourth time the MEDIENDIENST INTEGRATION conducted a research on diversity in the German police forces. Over the past years an increasing number of young people with an immigration background joined the police – partly due to successful recruitment-campaigns. By Fabio Ghelli Among the 46.500 employees of the German Federal Police (Bundespolizei) only 1,600 declare to have an immigration …

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Germany: Petition against obligation to report people without papers launched

An alliance of humanitarian and rights organisations are calling for the abrogation of the legal obligation to report people without residency status who seek medical care —– Almost 50 organisations and associations are demanding the abolition of the legal obligation to report people without regular residence status who seek medical care. Going to the doctor without fear is not possible …

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Make becoming German citizen easier, integration ministers appeal

Easier child access to German citizenship has been floated by integration ministers of Germany’s 16 states. But the idea is likely to face opposition from federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer. Children born to foreigners living in Germany should be granted faster access by law to German citizenship, integration ministers from Germany’s 16 states have urged in a majority appeal Meeting …

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Germany: How Berlin wants to hire more migrants into its public service

Integration Senator Breitenbach wants people with a migration background to be better represented in the civil service. She proposes a migrant quota of 35 per cent in public administration. ———- Berlin’s Integration Senator Elke Breitenbach, a member of the Left party, wants more people with a migration background to work in the civil service. A new draft law provides for …

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Maisha wins Award for empowering African women in Germany

Maisha – African Women in Germany e.V. has been honoured with yet another award for its efforts for the empowerment of African women in Germany. Maisha, founded in 1996 by Virginia Wangare Greiner, was recently bestowed with the “Corporate Livewire West Germany Prestige Award 2020/21” for being the best “Self-Help Group of the Year”. The organisation was honoured especially for …

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Germany finalises plan to improve integration in next 10 years

Chancellor Angela Merkel and state and civic leaders have finalised a plan to improve the integration of immigrants into society, the education system and the job market. It outlines a road map for the coming decade. Kathleen Schuster/DW reports Getting a job might have been once been considered enough to be successfully integrated into society as a foreigner. For Germany, …

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Minorities should be more visible in German media – Integration Plan

As part of its “National Action Plan on Integration”, the Federal Government wants to promote diversity in the media. The package of measures adopted by the federal cabinet on Wednesday (3 February) includes, as one of its core projects, training “for differentiated and factual reporting on the topic of migration and integration”. Other projects are intended to ensure that more …

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Awards for Berlin’s Business Owners with Migration Background – Nomination Opens

For the second time, Berlin is awarding prizes to entrepreneurs with a migration background operating in the city, which is also a federal state. The prize Vielfalt unternimmt – Berlin würdigt migrantische Unternehmen, first awarded in 2019, gives public recognition to the achievements of minority entrepreneurs who are contributing greatly to the economic development of the city. There are three …

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