LIVING IN GERMANY

In the era of the coronavirus pandemic, we have to regularly adjust ourselves to new regulations. There are also legislative changes that have nothing to do with the pandemic and have been planned for some time. So that our readers don’t lose sight of new developments, The African Courier has selected important legal changes taking effect from 1 June 2020. …

Among the measures ordered by government at the outbreak of the new coronavirus epidemic in Germany was the prohibition of all religious gatherings. Even though the measure has meanwhile been relaxed, the danger of infection in worshipping houses is still present. This is made clear by the recent news of more than 100 persons who became infected with the dangerous …

AfricanTide Union traditionally holds a conference, usually attended by hundreds of participants, in the western German city of Dortmund to mark the African Union Day. The Day marks the anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union) on 25 May 1963. Due to the containment measures in force as a result of the new coronavirus …

Seven is a special number. It’s said that 7 is the number of completeness and perfection (both physical and spiritual). It is therefore an important occasion when an organisation clocks that figure. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Organisation for African Unity, eighty representatives of African-German organisations, representing the 54 African countries, came together in Berlin on 24-25 May …

The organisers of the first online anti-Black racism demonstration in Germany have called on people of African descent in the country to make their resistance to racism and discrimination more visible. Speaking on Saturday during the digital protest action, tagged ‘Racism in the Era of Coronavirus’ and anchored on YouTube, the moderators said only in making cases of discrimination more …

The Hamburg communal politician and jurist Irene Appiah addressed a video conference on Saturday on the obligations of parents and the state when it comes to parenting in Germany. The digital event was organised by The African Network of Germany (TANG), part of its series of virtual information sessions on issues ranging from refugee rights to children upbringing in the …

Black and anti-racism organisations will on 23 May hold an online demonstration against the word “neger” (subsequently referred to as N-word in this report). The event, titled “Rassismus in Zeiten von Corona” (Racism in the Era of Corona), is the continuation of the nation-wide protest movement to draw attention to the still prevalent use of the denigrating word to describe people …

A high-level special committee set up by the German government on right-wing extremism and racism has begun work. The committee, chaired by Chancellor Angela Merkel, is expected to recommend to the federal parliament concrete measures to effectively fight right-wing extremism, racism, anti-Semitism and other phenomena of group-related discrimination in Germany. “The Cabinet Committee to Combat Right-Wing Extremism and Racism has …

Afro-German activist Katharina Oguntoye has been honoured for her life’s work against sexism, racism and homophobia with the Lesbian Visibility Award for Berlin 2020. Reacting to the award, Oguntoye (61), who is of German-Nigerian heritage, said: “I’m committed to lesbian visibility because living in hiding is not an option”. The award ceremony of the Berlin Prize for Lesbian Visibility is …

The book “Wurzeln in zwei Welten – Westafrikanische Migranten und Migrantinnen in Hamburg” (Roots in Two Worlds – West African migrants in Hamburg) thoroughly examines the African immigration experience. Although its title might suggest a particularity – West Africans or Hamburg, but the book mirrors the entire experience of the African in Germany, even in Europe – the struggle to …

In January, unknown assailants shot at the office of Senegalese-born German politician Karamba Diaby. Germany was shocked by the brazen attack. But Afro-German politicians are otherwise rarely in the spotlight. Daniel Pelz of Deutsche Welle (DW) reports Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana is used to being the first. The first Afro-German city councillor. The first Afro-German member of the European Parliament. She was …

If life were a battlefield, Emeka Okoronkwo, killed when he went to the rescue of two molested women could be said to have died a valiant soldier with a bullet in the chest and a gun in his hand. But to Okoronkwo, life was about living in peace and harmony. Okoronkwo, then 21, sought to protect two Frankfurt women who …

The African Network of Germany (TANG) held its corona crisis video conference for the seventh time on Thursday. Attended by the regional representatives of the organisation from all parts of Germany, the event also launched the second phase of TANG’s ongoing awareness and sensitisation campaign about the COVID-19 disease. The first phase of the campaign tagged Coronavirus TANG #Telefonaktion, which …

Chancellor Angela Merkel conferred with the premiers of the federal states on Wednesday (May 6) in a virtual meeting and they jointly decided to further relax the anti-coronavirus containment measures in force in the country. However, the individual federal states (Länder) are responsible for implementing agreed measures in accordance with their local situations. The federal and state governments agreed on …

Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Member of the European Parliament, in this opinion piece comments on the Nigerian-born clergyman, Father Dr Patrick Asomugha, who was forced to resign from his position in the Catholic parish of Queidersbach, a small town in Germany, last month. —- After months of hostilities, Nigerian-born Pastor Father Dr Patrick Asomugha was forced to resign from his position …

An umbrella organisation of Africans in Germany has called on government not to neglect racism even as it’s making strenuous efforts to curb the spread of the new coronavirus in the country. The group made the call in a press statement, titled COVID-19: Alltagsrassismus kennt kein Ausübungsverbot! (Everyday racism doesn’t recognise official ban), issued on Thursday in Berlin. “The High …

In order to contain the consequences of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, new measures are adopted almost daily in Germany. But in addition to these short-term new regulations, there are also other laws that will take effect in Germany from May 2020. The African Courier summarises the most important changes here. —— Kurzarbeit: Regulations for additional earnings by short-time …

After a temporary closure of hair salons, part of measures ordered by the government to contain the spread of the coronavirus, hairdressing salons and barber shops may reopen from Monday, 4 May, but only under certain conditions.  Finally, after several weeks you can have your hair cut, styled or dressed again. However, a set of new rules, designed to protect …

As from Monday, 27 April, the wearing of face masks on public transport – trains, buses, trams, subways etc. – will be compulsory in all the 16 federal states in Germany. In fact, the regulation is already in effect in Saxony (since 20 April), Saxony-Anhalt (23 April) and Thuringia (24 April) and it will enter into force in Schleswig-Holstein on …

TANG, a network of hundreds of African organisations in Germany, has called on Africans in the country to continue to be vigilant as lockdown measures are being relaxed and active social life begins again —- As the gradual phasing out of the country’s lockdown measures takes off, Dr Sylvie Nantcha, chairman of The African Network of Germany (TANG), has called …