LIVING IN GERMANY

Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of government of the federal states (Laender) have agreed on further measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Germany. At the meeting held in Berlin on Thursday, the following directives were issued to people living in Germany:

Perhaps no other phrase uttered during Angela Merkel's long chancellorship has made such an impact. The words "Wir schaffen das" ("We can do it") were meant to express confidence in the face of a huge, self-imposed task. How has Germany and those who came to seek asylum in the country managed since then?

The renaming of streets in Berlin should be made easier if the name heroicises or trivialises colonial injustice. That is the objective of a draft resolution submitted by Regine Günther to the Senate of Berlin, the executive body governing the city that is also a federal state, on 18 August. According to the resolution, the Berlin street law is to …

"In addition to individual spectacular outbreaks that have become known nationwide, there are transmissions in the family and domestic environment that do not necessarily lead to many secondary cases and only show a few cases per outbreak, but apparently occur very frequently"

In what could be described as a major victory for the Black community’s long struggle for the renaming of streets bearing names derogatory or disrespectful of Africans in the federal capital, the District Assembly (Bezirksversammlung) of Berlin-Mitte has approved the name change of the Mohrenstrasse (Moor Street). On Thursday evening, the assembly decided to rename Mohrenstrasse. In the future, the …

Hundreds of participants will gather on 22-23 August in the German city of Cologne to take part in activities marking the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. The night of 22 to 23 August 1791, in Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) marked the beginning of the uprising that would play a …

Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn has decided to make corona testing mandatory for people entering Germany. It will apply to all travellers entering Germany from high-risk areas from Saturday, 8 August. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany’s centre for disease control, lists the countries that are classified as high-risk areas on its website. The list of high-risk areas currently …

The new month begins with a number of legislative changes that you should be aware of. From August 2020, not only corona tests will be mandatory for people returning to Germany from some countries, but there will also be more financial support for pupils, students and employees in further education and training. Moreover, there will be changes affecting government assistance …

The share of people with a migrant background in Germany rose to 21.2 million last year, the Federal Statistical Office said in a report on Tuesday. They represent roughly 26% of Germany’s population. The figure represented a 2.1% increase from the previous year, but it was the slowest rise in people with a migration background since 2011. In Germany, a …

The Nigerian community in the southern German state of Bavaria has elected a new executive committee to pilot the affairs of the association for the next two years. At the event, which took place in Munich on Saturday, 25 July, Kazeem Ojoye was elected the new chairman of the Nigerian Community Germany Bayern (NCBG) e.V. Mr Ojoye, a former Financial …

The FrauenComputerZentrumBerlin e.V.  is offering a free digital empowerment training program to improve the media competence of women migrants and refugees in the city. The course, which begins on 12 August, aims at improving the computer and language skills of the participants, who will learn how the Internet, computer and smartphone work and how they can use these technologies independently …

Racism in different forms and places is a common experience for the more than one million people of African descent in Germany. Black people are often subjected to police identity control more than other groups. Also, they experience discrimination in public offices, at the workplace, while accessing healthcare, looking for apartment, in schools, in the justice system, in their neighbourhoods …

Estimates of the number of Ghanaians living outside their homeland range from one to three million out of a general population of about 30 million. Ghanaians in Germany are reputed to form the second largest of the country’s diaspora populations in Europe, after the United Kingdom. Journalist, translator and community activist Sam Atsu Nove*, who first arrived in Germany in …

The decision of the Federal Minister of the Interior, Horst Seehofer, to call off an investigation into racial profiling in the police is drawing anger and criticisms not only of migrant associations but also political parties, including the junior governing coalition partner SPD. Following the Black Lives Matter protests in Germany, questions are being raised about racism in the country’s …

The Zentralrat der afrikanischen Gemeinde in Deutschland (Central Council of the African Community in Germany or ZAGD) has relaunched its website and introduced a new logo on Tuesday. The move by the organisation, an umbrella body for African associations in Germany, is part of its efforts to increase its visibility in the country. The relaunch ceremony, held by video conference …

Government had planned to probe the scale of ethnic profiling after a federal lawmaker claimed that “latent racism” exists in German police ranks. The proposal followed a wave of protests in the US against police brutality. The study has now been dropped, according to a new report ——- Research planned to investigate alleged racial profiling by German police forces has …

After years of agitation by Black activists and their German supporters, a Berlin underground train station will be renamed. According to the management of the Berlin public transport authorities (BVG), the “U-Bahnhof Mohrenstrasse”, the station on Line U2 of the city’s metro network, will be changed to “U-Bahnhof Glinkastraße”. The decision, announced on Friday, came as Black Lives Matter protests …

Residents of Germany can expect numerous changes again in July 2020. Several of these are related to the ongoing corona crisis, such as the reduction in VAT or the end of tenancy protection or the easing of travel ban on non-essential travel into EU member countries. Pensioners, on the other hand, can look forward to a pension increase. The African …

The number of inhabitants in Germany is the highest that has ever been recorded, the Federal Statistical Office has reported. At the end of 2019, the total population was 83.2 million, which is 147,000, or 0.2% more than the previous year. The population has been growing continuously since 2011, according to the report, partially due to migration. The increase in …

Black Lives Matter protests have led to the toppling of colonial and slavery monuments in the US and several European countries. In Germany, an online campaign has been launched calling for the renaming of a popular street in the country’s capital city. Mohrenstrasse, located in the central district of Berlin, is the focus of attention of activists who are questioning …