Migration

Topic: Migration

Hundreds hit the streets of Beirut on 24 June 2018 to protest the kafala system, which strips migrant workers of their rights and binds them to their employers (photo: Antoine Abou-Diwan)

"Where is your bint from?" is not an unusual question in Lebanon. 'Bint' means girl in Arabic, but here refers to housekeepers, maids or nannies working in Lebanon under kafala sponsorship. It is a loaded term that refers to thousands of African and Asian workers arriving in Lebanon every year. By Antoine Abou-DiwanMore

Lebanon ARM (Anti-Racist Movement)Interview with Lebanese film director Nadine Labaki: "Children are the first to pay for our wars"Social inequality in the Arab world: There is no state in Lebanon

Migrants refuse to leave a container ship, having been rescued at sea and returned to Misrata, Libya (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Refugee camps in Libya

Guilty of torture and rape by association – Europeʹs dirty secret

An increasing number of refugees are being tortured and raped in Libya, a new study has found. The perpetrators, motivated by greed, sadism and the desire for power, include local European Union partners. By Nermin IsmailMore

Migration from Africa: For a tough stance on migrant human rights Migrating across the Mediterranean: Escape at all costs The EU's migration and asylum policy: Not in line with European values

Syrian chef Malakeh Jazmati (photo: ZS Verlag 2017)

The integration litmus test

Success for some means failure for others

The presentation in the media of the outstanding success stories of refugees in certain professions or in their studies misses the mark, in the opinion of Syrian author Housamedden Darwish. He believes that life after flight and integration into a new society should not be represented as some kind of testMore

Non-fiction: Aladin El-Mafaalani's "Das Integrationsparadox": Demanding a seat at the table Syrians in Germany: The need to find a voice Integration in Germany: On the right track - one refugee's story

Artist Nil Yalter in "Walls"; acrylic on offset print, Vietorstrasse, Cologne-Kalk. Exhibition "Exile Is a Hard Job". Museum Ludwig 9 March - 2 June 2019 (photo: Nil Yalter/H. Krause)

Interview with Turkish-French artist Nil Yalter

"Female immigrants are doubly imprisoned"

"Exile Is a Hard Job" is a spot-on title for the retrospective of Turkish artist Nil Yalter's oeuvre at Museum Ludwig in Cologne. For over 40 years, she has been exploring the situation of migrant workers. By Sabine OelzeMore

Egyptian photographer Heba Khalifa in interview: "A space for confronting our fears"Suspended Territories exhibition: Beyond the veil Portrait of the Israeli performance artist Adi Liraz: Provocation as a search for identity

The Brandenburg Gate illuminated in the colours and symbols of the Turkish flag on 29.06.2016 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/K. D. Gabbert)

“New Istanbul” in Berlin

Turkish brain drainers versus guest workers

Ever since the 2016 attempted coup in Turkey, an increasing number of well-educated people are leaving the country and settling in Berlin. However, they do not want to have anything to do with the so-called "guest worker Turks". Ceyda Nurtsch on a relationship informed by prejudice, aversion and ignoranceMore

Germanyʹs Turkish migrants: The need to be somebody A generation of 'German-Turks'Interview with the French-Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole: Europe's homegrown Turkish ethno-nationalists

Lebanese film director Nadine Labaki (photo: Getty Images)

Interview with Lebanese film director Nadine Labaki

"Children are the first to pay for our wars"

In "Capernaum", Nadine Labaki tells the dismal story of Zain, a boy living on the streets of Beirut. She calls the system behind it "modern slavery". Paul Katzenberger spoke to the Lebanese directorMore

Social inequality in the Arab world: There is no state in Lebanon Interview with Nadine Labaki: Thinking outside the box Nadine Labaki's film "Caramel": Rules of the game beyond the civil war

Information leaflets: Police in Lower Saxony are seeking to attract more migrants (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Hollemann)

Migrants and Germany's labour shortage

The tightrope between prospects and prejudice

Desperately seeking migrants? Teachers, policemen, tax officials – new Germans are in great demand, especially in the public sector. But despite better career opportunities, they continue to face significant prejudice. Astrid Prange reportsMore

Non-fiction: Aladin El-Mafaalani's "Das Integrationsparadox": Demanding a seat at the table Germany′s integration debate revisited: Piling on the pressure The issue of immigration: German monoculture is a thing of the past

Trailer of Florian Kunertʹs "Fortschritt im Tal der Ahnungslosen" (source: YouTube)

Berlinale 2019: "Fortschritt im Tal der Ahnungslosen"

Questing for a lost homeland

In the "Valley of the Clueless" in Saxony, where Arab contract workers were once employed alongside GDR factory workers, East Germans and refugees meet for a peculiar trip down memory lane. Rene Wildangel reports from this year's BerlinaleMore

Official "Fortschritt im Tal der Ahnungslosen" website Berlinale 2018: ″Central Airport THF″ by Karim Ainouz: Lives lived in waiting Germany′s Berlinale: Where film meets reality

Turkish flag flying in a refugee camp (photo: picture-alliance/AP/L. Pitarakis)

Turkey's local elections

Playing ping-pong with the Syrians

In the run-up to local elections in Turkey, the government and opposition are trying to instrumentalise the refugee issue for their own ends. Experts warn against a rhetoric of division. Hilal Koylu reports from AnkaraMore

Syrian refugees: The burden of hospitality Syrian refugees boost economy in Turkey Qantara photo essay: Syrians forge new lives in Istanbul

Refugee newspaper "Migratory Birds" (photo: Marie-Christine Spies)

"Migratory Birds" newspaper

Giving refugees a voice

The idea originated in a Greek refugee camp: fifteen young Afghan women founded "Migratory Birds" – a newspaper made by refugees for refugees. For the young authors, reporting about their own lives is an act of self-empowerment. By Gordon WullnerMore

Germany′s first Arabic newspaper for refugees: Newcomers, not refugees "Human Cargo" art project: Plumbing the depths of refugee pain Exiled Turks in Greece: Bridge-building in 'enemy country'

French author Cecile Oumhani (source: YouTube)

Book review: Cecile Oumhaniʹs "Tunisian Yankee"

Life is elsewhere

In her award-winning historical novel, French author Cecile Oumhani depicts the life story of a young Tunisian, who dreams of airship travel and a free and autonomous life, until his odyssey takes him via New York to the battlefields of the First World War. By Volker KaminskiMore

Interview with Habib Selmi: "Tunisians are mature enough"Book review: Joseph Andras′ ″De nos freres blesses″: A shameful chapter Germans and Ottomans in the First World War: A partnership of privilege

Sociologist Aladin El-Mafaalani (photo: www.mafaalani.de)

Non-fiction: Aladin El-Mafaalani's "Das Integrationsparadox"

Demanding a seat at the table

Unlike their parents and grandparents, the children and grandchildren of those who emigrated to Germany one or more generations ago now want a say in how things are done. In his new book "Das Integrationsparadox" (The Integration Paradox), Aladin El-Mafaalani explains why this leads to conflict. Daniel Bax read the bookMore

Racism in Germany: Time to talk about racism Integration in Germany: Finally growing up The issue of immigration: German monoculture is a thing of the past

A blank volume (photo: Imago/Chromorange)

The language of migrants

Being a stranger in a second language

Kurdish writer and translator Nabaz Samad Ahmed reports on his ambivalence towards second languages as a result of his socialisation in IraqMore

Kurdish in exile: The right to a mother tongue Operation Anfal in Iraq: Victims without a lobby War crimes in Iraq: Shared agony of Kurds and Shias

Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole (photo: picture-alliance)

Interview with the French-Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole

Europe's homegrown Turkish ethno-nationalists

According to prominent Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole, many European countries have failed to integrate their Muslim and Turkish citizens. In interview with Luca Steinmann, Gole argues that this has served to deepen social polarisation in EuropeMore

Interview with the French-Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole: "Islam is taking root in Europe"Countdown to the 2018 Turkish election: Erdogan beats the nationalist drum Qantara dossier: "Integration in Germany"

Her parents' home town in Syria; German-Syrian Huda Al-Jundi with her book at the Frankfurt Book Fair; Worms on the Rhine (photo: private)

The integration game

A German-Syrianʹs trip to the hairdresser

"And where do you come from?" Hmm, what should I say now!? I could say Worms, the ancient German town where I was born and enjoy the unsatisfied look on the hairdresserʹs face, or I could say Syria, which is what sheʹs really asking about; most people arenʹt interested in where I was born and grew up. By Huda Al-JundiMore

The issue of immigration: German monoculture is a thing of the past Racism debate in Germany: Integration – a process of give and take Islamophobia in Germany: "We need a new debate about racism"

Rose Coco from South Sudan with her son Yusuf (photo: Goethe-Institut/Aya Nabil)

Egyptian society

Migrants – ever the foreigners?

People have come to Egypt over the centuries for many reasons. Fleeing war, injustice, or simply in search of a better life. You would think Egyptʹs acceptance and ability to integrate would have been strengthened as a result. But the reality is different. By Aya NabilMore

Syrian boat refugees in Egypt: "Head straight on to Europe!"Egypt's economic disarray: Whether to topple President Sisi...Qantara dossier: Refugees

Topic: Migration

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