LIVING IN GERMANY

The Embassy of Nigeria in Berlin has announced the suspension of its consular services. A statement published on the website of the embassy reads, “This is to inform the general public that all Consular Services of the Embassy will be temporarily suspended for two weeks from Monday, 09.03.2020 to Sunday, 22.03.2020. “The temporary closure of the Consular Section is to …

The Measles Protection Act (Masernschutzgesetz) entered into force on 1 March. The law, which was passed on 14 November 2019, is intended to provide school, kindergarten and day care children with better protection against measles. From the beginning of March, parents who want to have their child or ward admitted to a day care centre, kindergarten, school or other communal …

The 11th Federal Government Integration Summit took place on Monday at the office of the federal chancellor in Berlin. Since 2006, representatives from the worlds of politics, business, education and civil society have been meeting regularly at the summits to discuss key integration policy issues. Chancellor Merkel used the event this year to kick off a long overdue debate on …

The Embassy of Ghana in Germany has cancelled the official celebrations of the country’s 63rd independence celebrations originally scheduled for 6 March in Berlin. The Embassy on Tuesday sent out a notice of cancellation to guests invited to the event. In the notice, signed by Mr Louis Obeng, Head of Chancery, the Embassy wrote: “Following confirmation of some coronavirus cases …

Protesters turned out in Hamburg on Saturday (29 February), the last day of Black History Month, at a public demonstration against the controversial court decision legitimising the use of the derogatory word “neger” (subsequently referred to as the N-word in this report) to describe people of African descent in Germany. The state constitutional court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had ruled on …

March 2020 brings some changes for people living in Germany as a result of new or amended laws and regulations. Some of these changes include mandatory measles vaccination for children, introduction of repeat doctor’s prescriptions, the prohibition of speed camera warning app on your smartphone and easier immigration for skilled workers from non-EU countries, among others.

The mass murder in Hanau, a small town near Frankfurt, where on Wednesday a 43-year-old German man gunned down nine people at shisha bars, is the latest albeit most shocking incident in the increasing racist violence in the country. The murderer, identified as Tobias R, also shot his mother before killing himself. “On the suspected perpetrator’s home page, he had …

The Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to Germany, HE Gina Ama Blay, opened her country’s new honorary consulate for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in Dortmund on Tuesday, 18 February. The consulate is located in the building housing the headquarters of Auslandsgesellschaft – a German organisation that promotes international understanding. The president of Auslandsgesellschaft, Klaus Wegener, represents Ghana …

The Embassy of Nigeria to Germany has called on applicants who had scheduled appointments for the issuance of passport to reconfirm their appointments with the mission. A statement, dated 13 February 2020, signed by the Head of Chancery, Mrs Foluke Atanda, said: “I am directed to inform that the Embassy of Nigeria, Berlin, is upgrading its appointment scheduling portal for …

The head of the fast-food chain McDonald’s in Germany says refugees should be offered more certain future prospects. Holger Beeck also said that he could not understand why well-integrated migrants are deported. McDonald’s has employed more than 5,000 refugees since 2015, the company’s CEO in Germany, Holger Beeck, told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. “These are people who came to (McDonald’s), …

Foreigners who are in Germany to look for work or study are excluded from Hartz IV social-security benefits, the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) has ruled in two cases. In the two verdicts published on Thursday (6 February), the Bundesverfassungsgericht, Germany’s highest court on constitutional matters, dismissed the ruling of the lower Social Court (Sozialgericht), which considers the legal exclusion of …

 The Union of Ghanaian Associations in Germany (UGAG) elected a new National Executive Committee at its recent bi-annual conference held in Kassel. The conference, attended by representatives of local Ghanaian associations from all over Germany, chose the following 7-member National Executive Committee officials: Mr. Akwasi Opoku Edusei – President; Mr. Alexander Okai Anane – Vice-president; Mr. Aaron Hooper – General Secretary; Mr. Paul …

Berlin’s state parliament has passed a law to freeze rent prices in the capital for five years. The legislators by their decision on Thursday (30 January) cleared the final legal hurdle to the Berlin rent cap initiative. The Senate of Berlin, the executive body governing the city that is also a federal state, had on 22 October approved the rent-freeze …

February brings some changes for people living in Germany as a result of new or amended laws and regulations. Some of these changes have an impact on the pockets of consumers. Here is an overview of the important changes from 1 February 2020, by Sola Jolaoso Cheaper BahnCard 25 and 50 As part of its “Klimapaket” (climate-protection package of policies), …

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 …

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 …

A panel discussion on how the Black community could engage the state for its empowerment was part of the People of African Descent Week which took place recently in Berlin. Panellists, including Berlin minister for justice, looked at how problems faced by Black people could be solved through community engagement with the government. The historic People of African Descent (PAD) …

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. …

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., …

According to new figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the population of the country stood at 83.2 million at the end of 2019 – 200,000 more than a year earlier. The population figure represents a new high, Destatis said even though the population growth was much smaller than in the years 2013 to 2018. The agency also revealed …