Category Archives: Uncategorized

The World War One in Africa Project: What happened in Africa should not stay in Africa

For the next four years, the world is celebrating the Centenary of World War I, and once again Africa is not invited to the party. This project a attempts to tell the stories of Africans’ involvement in the Great War. For example, throughout the East Africa campaign, the longest and deadliest part of the war on the continent by far, both Britain and Germany relied heavily on porters, to the tune of four per one soldier. This translated into one million Africans under British command carrying, cooking, cleaning, and dying of exhaustion, malnutrition and disease, in a guerrilla war of short raids and long treks from present-day Kenya to Zambia over the course of four years. In Germany, berlin postkolonial contributes to challenging Europe’s colonial amnesia with a project that questions the idea that the war only lasted four years and rather embeds it in the longer history of Europe’s colonial endeavours.

Sexist shitstorm and declarations of solidarity

After scientists who are engaged in gender and sexuality research were insulted in the strongest sexist and homophobic way and personally threatened because of their sexual pedagogical publications in the last weeks in media like Facebook, in blogs and with e-mails, colleagues and initiatives declare their solidarity by declarations of solidarity. These then in turn become the target of hostility. Even the university establishment has been moved to issue a statement in light of the scale of the attacks.

 

Racism kills: Now also in the outdoor pool?

On Saturday, July 19, a young black man drowned in the Plötzensee lake in Berlin-Wedding. The lifeguard on duty at the outdoor pool was outed as a neo-Nazi a year ago after racist incidents of violence at the lido. Now, apparently, he has remained conspicuously inactive in the swimming accident, and the outdoor pool management categorically backs him. On the Facebook page of the outdoor pool, there was intense discussion about the incident and the reaction of the outdoor pool company. Questions as to whether the signature of the pool attendant under a declaration of withdrawal from the right-wing scene or the partly “migrant” composition of the pool staff were sufficient to remove the accusation of racism in principle were probably too much for the pool operators: the Facebook page has disappeared. But one thoughtful person made this and the discussion public. However, the most unpleasant because critical comments had already been deleted by the outdoor pool.

Criticism of documentary about anti-racism training on ZDF

On July 10, 2014, ZDFneo showed the documentary “Der Rassist in uns”. Volunteers take part in the so-called “Blue-Eyed Training”, which is designed to let participants experience first-hand what discrimination means. Does the experiment really make clear how racism works? Does it help fight and push back against racism? “Miteinander – Netzwerk für Demokratie und Weltoffenheit in Sachsen-Anhalt e.V.” finds no and argues in the article “The authoritarian character. The ZDF Project ‘The Racist in Us'”that the experiment contradicts an “emancipatory educational work”. In our opinion, the approach of Blue-Eyed trainings, which aim to evoke empathy and understanding in White people (“in four hours you can empathize with what racism feels like”), rather trivializes racism experiences of Black people and People of Color. Racism is reduced to an interpersonal level instead of addressing the complex interaction with societal and institutional levels. From our perspective, the experiment neglects not only perspectives of resistance, but also the historically grown, structural character of racism, which Ahmer Rahman’s clip on Reverse Racism sums up well.

NSU slam on police: ‘State & Nazis hand in hand’ does not denigrate state

On the recently blogged criminialization of political anti-racist work, Migazin reports:

“What followed could not have come at a more embarrassing time for the Berlin State Criminal Police Office. On June 10, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office discontinued the criminal proceedings initiated by the police on the grounds of denigration of the state. The prosecution assesses the disputed statement [Staat und Nazis Hand in Hand] as a permissible expression of opinion in the context of the findings on the NSU complex and emphasizes “that the phrase ‘state and Nazis hand in hand’ does not express an equation of the state with Nazis, but only denounces a close cooperation of the state with Nazis.”

This may be provocative and exaggerated, the public prosecutor’s office admits, but adds: “But against the background of the public debate about the role of state organs in connection with the NSU attacks and the topicality of this debate due to the ongoing trial in Munich against those involved in the NSU, as well as the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack in Cologne, the statement is nevertheless to be accepted as a permissible expression of opinion.””

Forced eviction of the school occupied by refugees in Kreuzberg

According to media reports and statements by the district councilor Hans Panhoff (Bündnis 90/GRÜNE), a forced eviction of the occupied Gerhart-Hauptmann-Schule, which has served refugees for one and a half years as a refuge and center of the common struggle against compulsory residence, placement in camps, deportations, etc., is imminent. For the protest against this, here is a mobilization video.

 

Poverty Immigration – A Populist Myth

Amaro Foro e.V. and the Rroma-Informations-Centrum have issued a joint press release in which they criticize the planned tightening of the law by the German government, which is to take action against the alleged social abuse by Romanian and Bulgarian citizens. The two organizations point out that this populist measure promotes racist prejudices and stirs up fears. Social abuse takes place first and foremost on the part of the German economy, which profits from the precarious situation of many immigrants. To the press release