Delicate tópic - racism

#1

Hi peeps, i have a rather delicate question to all the Expats living in Berlin or Germany or any other european country that is german speaking.
I have had 2 different students in the last month that told me that they have had very bad experiences in Berlin with racist behaviour towards them.
I was rather shocked by this and would like to know if there are more people affected by racist behaviour?
I dont want to sound naive but i thought that Berlin of all places in Germany would be the least problemátic regarding this topic…
Thank you for sharing your experiences and please know that those kinds of comments/behaviours make me very sad and ashamed at the same time.

I wish you all lovely holidays and please stay healthy

Larissa

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#2

Hi @Lari1108,
yes shocking to hear that. I live in Berlin and my husband is black, he never told me about that he himself experienced any direct racist behaviour, but he might say something different.
I heard from the news that there were / are every now and then anti Jewish incidents in Berlin, which I find difficult.
I myself, I am in a wheelchair and so far I haven’t witnessed anything negative or discriminatory.
Best,
Melanie

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#3

dear larrissa
im oly 11 years old but Im asian and people are saying to me ling ling and some stuff and im from switzerland

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#4

Hi @Lari1108,

I lived in Berlin a year ago. This may seem shocking to you, but as a Jewish person, I have heard plenty of anti-Semitic remarks.

I love wearing jewelry (I’m a girly girl :blush:) and I often wear my Hamsa pendant or my Magen David earrings. While shopping at Rossmann, a woman noticed my earrings. She came to me and said loudly “Wird Zeit, dass der Führer zurückkommt und aufräumt”.

This is not to say that Germany is a racist or anti-Semitic country. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had so many incredible experiences and met some pretty amazing people while living there. It’s just that we shouldn’t see racism, discrimination and anti-Semitism as relics of the past. It is still a serious problem, pretty much all around the globe.

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#5

Do you have Instagram, @Lari1108? While there are many inspiring people from all over the world (Germany included) that do a lot of important work to end racism, this is one (German) account that reminds me weekly of the importance of this fight and how much work there is still to do.

Here’s the link, even if you don’t have Instagram you can get an impression: “Was ihr nicht seht”.

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#6

I am incredibly angry at the fact that so many people have to endure racist or anti-semitic comments (and worse: behaviours) today, especially given Germany’s recent history and the amount of funding that has apparently gone into raising awareness, adapting school curriculums etc. I think even as a priviliged, white, person who was born in Germany, you cannot help but notice how “casual” racism in the form of jokes, “funny comments” etc can still be found in every part of our, and other, society(ies). At the end of the day, this shows how important it is to speak up, even in those small instances, as these microaggresions are what makes anybody deemed “other” feel unwelcome and uncomfortable, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Luckily, most Germans I know love meeting new people, finding out about people’s unique differences and cultures, but they don’t realise the harm that they are doing each day by not addressing inappropriate jokes, topics and so on. Anyway, long story short: Thank you for opening this topic, it is so important for everybody to understand that we are still years away from a truly welcoming society/world, and that is takes all of us to speak up and listen up to achieve a better way of life for all of us.

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#7

Hi!

I just came across this post, I know it’s a bit old but it reminded me of this super important and interesting DW video called “Strangers in their own land: Who belongs in Germany?”:

I definitely feel related to this! sadly, racism and microracisms (not sure if this word exists in English) still exist.

Adiós!

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#8

Muchas gracias @aligcrespo por compartir :slight_smile: .

It is indeed an informative and interesting video, and I think these type of videos help others to realize how is this issue still present. Even for the new generations that are German, but others think they are not, simply because of their looks.

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#10

It is a problem and probably will be in the future… In Germany, we call it Alltagsrassismus (everyday racism) and it’s microaggression’s ugly cousin. Even I, born and raised in Germany with German parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on, have been experiencing verbal and physical aggression because I don’t fit the German stereotype when it comes to looks. The most severe cases were, when I was a kid. I think those incidents made me aware of the importance of equality, fairness, and kindness towards the unfamiliar.

Because of this old idea of inherited “German-ness” (which is just ridiculous), we have a far-right party in the Bundestag again. It’s every German citizen’s duty to be aware of those shifts, even the small ones, and stand against it. In the U-Bahn, on the street, at the dinner-table at home.

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#11

thanks guys for picking up this topic again! I think it is so important to be discussed and talked about. Living in a foreign country and having biracial children definitely made me even more aware of the topic…

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#12

Thanks for sharing the video @Toby. Very important topic indeed. I case you don’t know him, the guy in the wheelchair is Raul Krauthausen. He founded the “Sozialhelden”, a non profit organisation

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#13

Thanks for the tip, @Germanlady! I’m following Raul on Instagram and think he’s an amazing advocate! I totally recommend any German speaker and advanced German learner to follow him, too.

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#14

You’re right @kjanina he is an amazing person. Besides other things he created the “wheelmap” ( find wheelchair accessive places


and for Berlin

It’s always a pain if an elevator doesn’t work
…and I thinks likes to be called “the man with the hat” rather than “the guy in the wheelchair” ( what I said :roll_eyes:
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