asylum

August 25, 2016 0

The Value of Foreign Life: when the law demands “integration”

Until now, immigration policy in Germany has followed a pathway defined by residency, employment, and [Read More!]

February 8, 2016 0

“Not our Women” after Cologne

Sounding like the crescendo long-awaited by right-wing populists, the attacks on New Year's Eve in Cologne occurred. "Will they treat our women well? Will they know how to speak to and appreciate our women?" a Cologne politician asked on national German public radio in the days following the attacks. It is no slip of the tongue that a possessive article precedes "women". Belonging to a place can quickly devolve into sentiments of ownership, as well as xenophobia. [Read More!]

December 18, 2015 1

Lens: Four Hours at Lageso

This is Lageso (Das Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales), the State Office for Health and Social Affairs. This is Berlin's primary registration center for the initial reception of asylum seekers. This is Germany's most infamous symbol of the refugee crisis. Two days prior I had signed up to volunteer on a website called Volunteer Planner. After a cursory registration process, a click of a button was all it took to commit to a shift at a registration center, refugee home, or other institution in the city where help is needed (read: basically everywhere). [Read More!]

September 28, 2015 1

Moralpolitik and the Ressentiments of Change

According to headlines, the German government has pledged haven – albeit temporary in many cases – to up to 800,000 refugees or migrants applying for asylum in the country. The U.S., despite initial wavering, has signaled that it will work to raise its refugee quota yearly, with the goal of a 100,000 cap by 2017. Yet within and around this historical moment of humanitarian crisis and measured political response are the inflammatory words of Donald Trump. He recently roared to a crowd in Iowa that, if elected, he “will deport all of the 11 million illegal migrants in this country.” [Read More!]

April 30, 2015 4

Refugees Welcome: Local Interventions for an EU Dilemma

This article is intended to inform, as well as to encourage advocacy and action. As any seasoned volunteer or activist knows, engagement relies heavily on context, identifying not only how to get involved but why and in which capacity, based on the complex landscape of need one encounters. [Read More!]

Orhan and Sophia pre 2014 Berlin half marathon

March 30, 2014 1

Interview: The Taxi Driver

Orhan was 5 when his father moved to Berlin in 1972. It was only one year before West Germany would halt guest worker recruitment from non-European countries to fill labor shortages after World War II. His mother followed 7 years later with his youngest sister and they lived in Rudow in southeastern Neukölln - where they still live over 30 years later. "They got jobs as cleaners in an office," Orhan recounts, "but they were fired!" he adds, snorting in laughter. I look up from my notepad, surprised... [Read More!]