Sechs Tage in Folge veröffentlichen wir Interviews mit Aktivist*innen von Mpower, Jugendliche ohne Grenzen und Women in Exile zu den Fragen: „Was empowert dich?“ und „Was wünschst du dir bzw was ist deine Forderung an Politik & Gesellschaft?“
Ihr könnt die Kampagne hier oder auf unseren Social Media Kanälen verfolgen.
(Jugendliche ohne Grenzen)
Wo sind aktuell für dich die größten Herausforderungen oder Probleme, um in Deutschland sicher und selbstbestimmt zu leben?
Als geflüchtete Frau fühle ich mich durch die ständigen Diskussionen über Migration und Remigration unsicher und ausgegrenzt. Rassismus und Diskriminierung erlebe ich in der Schule, an der Uni, bei der Arbeit und im Alltag. Besonders auf der Straße und in öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln werde ich oft angefeindet. Ich wünsche mir, in Deutschland ohne Angst und Vorurteile leben zu können.
Was stärkt dich?
Mich stärkt es, mit Menschen über Rassismus, Diskriminierung und Feminismus zu sprechen und aktiv gegen Ungerechtigkeit zu kämpfen. Der Austausch gibt mir Kraft, besonders wenn ich spüre, dass meine Stimme etwas bewirken kann. Es ermutigt mich, laut zu sein und Missstände sichtbar zu machen. Gemeinsam erheben wir unsere Stimmen – für uns selbst und für all jene, die unterdrückt, überhört oder zum Schweigen gebracht werden. Es erfüllt mich mit Stärke, ihre Worte in die Welt zu tragen und ihnen eine Plattform zu geben, damit sie endlich gehört werden.
Was wünschst du dir für die Zukunft? Was soll sich ändern? Hast du Forderungen (an die Politik, an die Gesellschaft…)?
Ich wünsche mir eine Welt ohne Krieg, Unterdrückung (von Frauen) und Diskriminierung – eine Gesellschaft, in der alle Menschen in Frieden, Gleichberechtigung und Würde leben. Solidarität, Gerechtigkeit und Menschlichkeit sollten überall selbstverständlich sein. Mehr Zusammenhalt, Verantwortung und aktives Eintreten gegen Ungerechtigkeit sind entscheidend, damit alle Menschen
frei, sicher und mit Respekt leben können.
(Mpower)
What are the biggest challenges or problems you currently face in living safely and independently in Germany?
I think the most important thing is that a lot of people don’t notice what kind of privilege they have, they don’t accept it in a way, and they don’t want to show that they have privilege. I think this is the most important thing in this society: A lot of people don’t accept the fact that “oh I should be using my privilege to actually do something”, because it would mean to notice your privilege. And it means less discrimination, less hate. It would mean to be more mature about what’s going on outside of the box, what’s going on outside of their environment.
This is the thing that really hurts me.
Once I was at a demonstration for Palestinians and I had this situation where I was standing there and had my keffiyah on and I was pushed, but like so hard from a policeman…. I don’t feel safe now when police walks or if there is police attendance, I am scared, I have this fear in me, even though the police should be giving me a safe feeling. You should feel that you’re safe, but that’s not the case for people like us.
What empowers you?
I think what empowers me is the fact that there are people on the same side as mine. They are fighting for the same rights and the same safety feeling that I’m fighting for and this gives me power: the existence of a lot of communities like ours, organisations like Mpower, this is already a powerful move towards achieving this safety that our society should have received a long time ago.
What do you want for the future? What should change? Do you have any demands (on politics, on society…)?
I see that Germany is going into this phase that nobody ever wished for. We are going back in time, and I think right now everything is on the table, you can see everything, but no one is doing anything about it. The fact that there’s like 22 million people in Germany who can’t even vote, and I can’t imagine the danger that they are facing right now.
So many people are facing danger, just because of the political situation right now in Germany. And I see that Germany is just going through hell and if we don’t change that it’s gonna stay that way. We are going into a place that is just dark and obviously closed in front of millions of people who actually helped to build this country.
(Jugendliche ohne Grenzen)
Wo sind aktuell für dich die größten Herausforderungen oder Probleme, um in Deutschland sicher und selbstbestimmt zu leben?
Eine der größten Herausforderungen für mich ist, mich wirklich frei, wohl und willkommen zu fühlen. Manchmal gibt es bürokratische Hürden oder gesellschaftliche Einstellungen, die es schwieriger machen, sich vollständig integriert und akzeptiert zu fühlen. Besonders die Regelungen zur Familienzusammenführung sind oft kompliziert, was für viele Menschen eine große Belastung darstellt.
Was stärkt dich?
Aktuell gibt mir das Lernen für mein Studium viel Kraft. Es hilft mir, mich weiterzuentwickeln und meine Zukunft aktiv zu gestalten. Bildung ist für mich ein wichtiger Schlüssel zur Selbstbestimmung und Unabhängigkeit.
Was wünschst du dir für die Zukunft? Was soll sich ändern? Hast du Forderungen (an die Politik, an die Gesellschaft…)?
Ich wünsche mir, dass sich Deutschland noch stärker für ein offenes und unterstützendes Umfeld einsetzt, in dem sich alle Menschen willkommen fühlen können. Besonders wichtig wäre, die Familienzusammenführung zu erleichtern, damit Menschen nicht von ihren Liebsten getrennt sind.
Außerdem sollten Studierende mehr staatliche Unterstützung erhalten, damit sie sich auf ihr Studium konzentrieren können, ohne ständig finanzielle Sorgen zu haben. Bildung sollte für alle zugänglich und fair finanziert sein.
(Women in Exile)
What are the biggest challenges or problems you currently face in living safely and independently in Germany?
One of the biggest challenges I face here in Germany isracism. Every day we face a different kind of racism. I’m a victim of racism. Somebody tried to stab me. Not only that, we are discriminated against in the trains, in the busses and even in the supermarket. Another one is the denial of the right to work. You go to school, you finish your integration, but still, you’re not allowed to work, and that is my main challenge.
What empowers you?
What empowers me is that I joined Women in Exile. Through meeting other women and social connection I have been empowered, such that I can speak for myself and also, I can request for something that I feel I should get. Even though I don’t get it, but at least I don‘t live in fear anymore. I can speak for myself and I give voices to others who don’t have a voice. So I would say my biggest empowerment is joining and connecting with women.
What do you want for the future? What should change? Do you have any demands (on politics, on society…)?
To the government I would request that we are given equal rights to work and to live, because I feel when we are isolated in the camps and we are denied the right to work, the society doesn’t know who we are and maybe they think, we are not here with good intentions or good morals. But that is not thecase. If we are allowed to work and to join the society, then I think it’s something that can be changed. And what I would like to change in the society is to stop discrimination and racism. Because we are all equal and I think we are all the same. Don’t judge us by color, by our ethnicity. Then I think we can live peacefully and in harmony. No one needs to hurt one another, no one needs to hate each other or be racist.
(Mpower)
Wo sind aktuell für dich die größten Herausforderungen oder Probleme, um in Deutschland sicher und selbstbestimmt zu leben?
Ich finde das größte Problem, dass es hier in Deutschland gibt ist, dass sehr viel Rassismus herrscht. Junge Frauen werden verurteilt … viele denken z.B., dass ich unterdrückt bin, nur weil ich Kopftuch trage, aber das stimmt nicht.
Meine Freundinnen erzählen von den gleichen Erlebnissen. Sie erzählen, dass sie Rassismus oft in der Schule erleben, oft von den Lehrerinnen aber auch von anderen Schülern.
Was stärkt dich?
Mich stärken meine Eltern, aber auch Vereine, zu denen ich hingehen kann und wo ich mich sicher fühle.
Was wünschst du dir für die Zukunft? Was soll sich ändern? Hast du Forderungen (an die Politik, an die Gesellschaft…)?
Ich wünsche mir für die Zukunft, dass die Leute toleranter werden und dass sie aufhören islamophob, homophob und frauenfeindlich zu sein!
(Women in Exile)
What are the biggest challenges or problems you currently face in living safely and independently in Germany?
One of the biggest challenges I face while living here in Germany is racism. That is the biggest challenge which I had not faced before in my country. But when I came here I found out there is a lot of difference between black people and white people and that’s a big challenge for me, especially when I’m walking along the streets, and in the busses, on the train, and you see people looking differently at you.
Another challenge is job opportunities, which are very rare, especially when you go and look for a job and they ask where is your work permit or where is your Ausweis and they check it and they tell you in your Ausweis it is not indicated that you are supposed to work. In the internet or in the magazines, they say that there are so many job opportunities, but then the government that registers you does not accept us or give us permission to work. Why am I not given permission to work? Why am I isolated in the camp? So those are the two challenges that I face here: Racism and not equal rights for job opportunities.
What empowers you?
What empowers me and what motivates me is Women in Exile. It’s a group of women, it’s an organization which fights for the rights of women and children and it has empowered me in so many things. When I came, I had so many expectations in this country and all these expectations came to nothing. It was not what I thought. When I got to know about Women in Exile, they called me out of the camp and I started going to their meetings. I came to know that I have rights to stay in this country, I have rights to a job opportunity, I have rights to go to the hospital, I have rights to go to a lawyer, I have every right to live here, to go in and to come out. So I became motivated and today, the fear that I had, the stress that I had has gone away. So when I think of Women in Exile, I feel good. So I’m able to start today and face this nation with my eyes open, because I know I have a backup, because they have stood with me.
What do you want for the future? What should change? Do you have any demands (on politics, on society…)?
Yes, I have a demand. We should be given equal job opportunities. The government should stop isolating people in the camps. There are so many job opportunities. The government should let us work. If I don’t work, they will deport me. They make us go to school. A few hours we can go to work, a few hours we can go to school. The problem is this free money they give us. So if they empower us through work and they give us opportunities – because they are out there, there are so many, we know that – then let us go work. Then don’t keep us there in the camps. It should not be like that, we should not be isolated. Be open to us, give us opportunities so we can work as soon as we arrive here, even if there’s the registration. We should continue doing the registration in the system while we are working, so that the government doesn‘t spend so much money keeping us in the camps, paying for our insurance, paying for our hospital bills, doing that for us, because we come here when we are strong. So they should give us jop opportunities and let us work and then you’ll see there’ll be a lot of changes in this nation. That is my input and that’s my request for the government of this nation.