Germany

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 …

Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, member of the European Parliament, MEP, has criticised Germany’s Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer, for stopping the planned investigation into racial profiling in the country’s police services. In a press statement issued on Wednesday, Ms Herzberger-Fofana, who represents Germany on the platform of the Green party in the European parliament, said Seehofer by his decision “denies the existence …

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 …

It’s time to demand concrete actions against anti-Black racism, Dr Sylvie Nantcha, chairman of The African Network of Germany (TANG), has said. She made the call on Thursday while speaking at the virtual conference of the organisation on the ongoing anti-racism debate in the country. “While we condemn racism in America, particularly the murder of George Floyd, we have to …

Dr Sylvie Nantcha, chairman of The African Network of Germany (TANG), has called on members of the Black community in Germany not to lower their guard in respect of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). She issued the advice on Thursday while speaking at a virtual conference attended by the regional representatives of the organisation from all parts of Germany. “The virus …

Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) says it has spent some €40 million on digital offerings to bridge the interruption of integration and language courses caused by COVID-19. According to BAMF, close to a quarter million migrants in Germany are currently having to pause their courses. Benjamin Bathke reports — Many government services in Germany have been suspended …

In Germany, almost half of first-time participants don’t successfully complete their German language courses. A parliamentary inquiry also showed that the share of those who failed tests has steadily been increasing since 2017. According to the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper, almost half of first-time participants in German language tests for immigrants (“Deutschtest für Zuwanderer“, or DTZ) did not successfully complete …

Dessau is notorious for two brutal deaths of Africans in separate incidents — one of which occurred in police custody and remains unresolved. Even today, few of the city’s white residents see racism as a daily problem. Ben Knight reports In the last 20 years, the eastern German city, where fewer than 4,000 of the 80,000 inhabitants are non-German, has …

Yemi Babalola, a Media and Communication student of Technische Universität Ilmenau, reports on the situation of African students in Germany as a result of the new coronavirus pandemic. News about the new coronavirus started getting prominence in the earlier part of the year, but March saw a lot of countries begin to enforce lockdown measures. Germany enforced the lockdown in …

As tens of thousands in Germany flock to anti-racism protests, two prominent Green politicians have called for the term “race” to be removed from German discrimination law. “We need to unlearn racism,” they said. Elliot Douglas reports The term “race” should be removed from the German constitution, two leading Green politicians said Monday (8 June). In recent weeks, Germany has …

Nigeria has commenced enrolment and issuance of National Identification Numbers (NIN) to its citizens in 16 countries across five continents. The Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr Aliyu Aziz, made the announcement on Wednesday in Abuja. He was speaking on “Strategic Roadmap for ID Development’’ at a video conference with newspaper editors. The civic registration exercise, being …

The following is the statement issued by the Zentralrat der afrikanischen Gemeinde in Deutschland (Central Council of the African Community in Germany or ZAGD), an umbrella body for African associations in Germany, on the worldwide protests on the police murder of George Floyd on 25 May in the American city of Minneapolis. ———– Police Violence, Racism and Afrophobia! We, the …

Speech by Bob Hooda, founder of  power4africa e.V., at the demonstration against racism tagged “I can’t breath” in Dresden on Saturday, 6 June —— As the lawyer of the Floyd family said, the corona pandemic is not the reason why we gathered here today. Another type of pandemic brought us here today, which has been up to mischief in our …

Tens of thousands of people joined Black Lives Matter protests across Germany on Saturday (6 June) against the police murder of George Floyd on 25 May in the US city of Minneapolis. According to The African Network of Germany (TANG), more than 200,000 protesters took part at rallies, which also drew attention to racism and discrimination against people of African …