LIVING IN GERMANY

The city-state’s new law explicitly bars public authorities, including police, from discriminating based on skin colour, gender and other factors. Lawmakers say the new rules help to address systemic racism in Germany. Rebecca Staudenmaier reports Berlin became the first German state to pass its own anti-discrimination law on Thursday, with a majority of state lawmakers approving the law. The law …

Tens of thousands of people joined Black Lives Matter protests across Germany on Saturday despite coronavirus containment measures that discourage such large gatherings. Even though many wore masks, but social distancing rules were impossible to observe as protesters rally across 26 towns and cities in Germany to protest racial discrimination and police brutality. The passion of participants about racism was …

The Zentralrat der afrikanischen Gemeinde in Deutschland (Central Council of the African Community in Germany or ZAGD) has moved its office to Berlin. The organisation, an umbrella body for African associations in Germany, has been operating from Hanover since its founding in 2012. The chairman of Zentralrat, Abayomi Bankole, said moving to the federal capital would enable the organisation to …

The Zentralrat der afrikanischen Gemeinde in Deutschland (Central Council of the African Community in Germany or ZAGD) is currently running a digital training programme for individuals and associations in the African community. The initiative, tagged ‘Setting the future right through digital empowerment’, especially seeks to equip associations with digital skills to enhance their administrative capacity. Akinola Famson, a member of …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says governing parties have agreed on a €130 billion stimulus package to help revive the virus-hit economy. Under the wide-ranging measures, value-added tax will be temporarily slashed. Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that Germany was set to plow 130 billion euros ($146 billion) into rebooting an economy severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The measures include …

The Federal Government has approved the draft of a law to strengthen the security of passport, ID and immigration documents. Citizens can decide whether they can be photographed by the issuing authority for a fee of six euros or have their photograph taken in a photo shop. If they choose to have their photograph taken in a photo shop, the …

Since George Floyd was killed by a policeman on 25 May in the city of Minneapolis, people across the United States have been protesting anti-Black racism and police violence. In solidarity, members of the Black community in Germany will rally nationwide on Saturday to register their protest against racism not only in the US, but also in Germany and globally.

As Germany grapples with the coronavirus crisis, Chuks Lewis Ehiwario,  migrant rights activist and Vice Chairman, Foreigners Advisory Council of the city of Kassel, makes a case for refugees and asylum-seekers whose situation seems to be forgotten in the public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 epidemic: —– Today, our way of life has changed because of COVID-19 and the …

Leading migrant organisations launched a campaign tagged Aktion #beiunsauch (Action #samehere) against anti-Black racism in Germany on Monday (1 June). The campaign, an initiative of The African Network of Germany (TANG), in collaboration with the Turkish Community in Germany (TGD), Each One Teach One (EOTO), German Dream, BAGIV and more than 100 other migrant organisations, was inspired by the ongoing …

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 …