World

German Reporters with Foreign Roots Fight Racism in Theater

Published

9 years ago

March 17, 2015

In this Saturday, March 7, 2015 spectators watch the ‘Hate Poetry’ show in the Theaterlabor in Bielefeld, Germany. A troupe of German journalists with immigrant backgrounds have put together the traveling show Hate Poetry addressing cliches and racist prejudices by reading out the hate mail they’ve received from their readers. (AP Photo/Oliver Krato)

KIRSTEN GRIESHABER, Associated Press

BIELEFELD, Germany (AP) — Yassin Musharbash, a leading German journalist with Jordanian roots, pulls out some recent “fan mail” and starts reading on the stage.

“We want to be informed by knowledgeable compatriots, not by foreigners,” the 39-year-old quotes from a letter-to-the-editor that landed at the prestigious Zeit newspaper.

Gasps turned to incredulous laughter as he continues: “Musharbash is an Islamist who is secretively involved in jihad. He is trying to weaken the defensive forces of the West from inside.”

Musharbash is among a troupe of German journalists with immigrant backgrounds who have been touring with a show called “Hate Poetry” that has sold out across the country. The show explores the growing rancor against Muslims in Germany by revealing hate mail filled with clichés and abuse — and seeks to combat it with humor.

The journalists, none of them professional actors, confront prejudice head-on in the show. But they also use irony, poking fun at the stereotypes by appearing on stage dressed like migrant workers from the 1960s or disguised as radical Islamists wearing caftans and face masks.

“We’re being abused not for what we are writing, but for who we are or for who these people think we are,” Musharbash told The Associated Press in an interview before the show. “Apparently there are some people out there who have a big problem that writers with Middle Eastern names work for serious German newspapers.”

The attempt to promote tolerance through theater appears to be working.

“I would have never expected anybody to write such things … I guess I was a bit naive,” said Ute Grave, a 55-year-old saleswoman who saw the show. “It’s is a great way of simply countering the hatred with laughter.”

There are an estimated four million Muslims living in Germany — a country of 80 million. Most are children or grandchildren of Turkish guest workers who came in the 1960s when Germany recruited foreign workers for the country’s booming postwar economy.

Most have found a place in society, speak German as their native language and contribute to society in myriad ways. But many ethnic Germans still have problems with the fact that Germany is increasingly diverse — a society where more than 15 million citizens claim foreign roots.

Despite achievements, immigrant communities themselves face problems — adding complexity to the tensions. Children of immigrants fare worse in school than their ethnic German counterparts, according to government statistics, and the overall unemployment rate is far higher. Immigrants are underrepresented in fields like teaching, academia or journalism. Unlike the United States, Germany does not have affirmative action programs. It is difficult to tell whether poor results are a result of prejudice, underperforming communities or a combination of both.

Many Germans say that Muslims simply refuse to integrate. And in the past few months, Germany has seen a backlash against Muslim immigrants, with tens of thousands of Germans marching in weekly rallies through Dresden and other cities protesting the perceived Islamization of Europe, though the numbers have waned recently.

Recent deadly terror attacks in Paris and Copenhagen add a further challenge — deepening suspicions against Muslims as a whole, even though the jihadists are only a tiny minority of Europe’s diverse Islamic population. In the wake of the terror, Musharbash and his colleagues have noticed a big increase in hate mail.

Journalist Ebru Tasdemir started the show three years ago after she saw a writer friend’s hate mail on Facebook: “We dissected it, marked the spelling mistakes with a virtual red pencil,” Tasdemir recalled. “And then I asked her: Why don’t we do this on stage?”

There is no clear profile for the readers who send hate mail, the journalists say. It comes from all over the country, from all kinds of people.

“We get mail from students, teachers and professors, Germans, German-Turks, Kurds, Nazis, people saying they’re leftists, Christians, atheists,” Musharbash said. “Anybody, really anybody.”

The journalists share the hate mail not only to shock the audience — but also to entertain.

The troupe sits on the stage behind a table overloaded with Turkish and German flags and items stereotypically associated with migrants — including plastic bags from discount market Aldi and bunches of garlic that immigrants smell of under the German stereotype. The troupe smoke and drink plenty of champagne during the long performance, further eroding Muslim stereotypes.

The entire ensemble is made up of seven writers or Turkish and Arab backgrounds and two moderators, although not all of them tour at the same time. In Bielefeld, a group of four was on stage, swinging to Middle Eastern pop tunes as a guest worker is heard rapping in broken German about his miserable life in Germany.

Throughout the show, the performers mingle with the audience. Getting down off the stage, they offer salted sun flower seeds — a popular snack brought to Germany by immigrants from the Middle East — and ask viewers to choose which journalists presented the most outrageous hate mail.

“Why is a foreigner allowed to write in Germany about Germans?” reads out Deniz Yucel, the son of Turkish immigrants who was born in Germany and writes for die tageszeitung newspaper. “This guy has no idea about soccer … Even Hitler knew more about soccer.”

Judging from the audience’s applause, Yucel’s hate mail scored high marks for the insult factor. But Mely Kiyak, a columnist and daughter of Kurdish immigrants, may have edged him.

“One should not be deceived by Western-clothed Muslims,” she reads, to howls from the crowd. “Just because they’re not wearing a headscarf, it doesn’t mean they’re not fanatics.”

By exposing the hatred, there’s a measure of liberation and catharsis: “We’re just throwing all the hatred back into orbit,” said Musharbash, the son of a Jordanian father and German mother.

“We’re having a lot of fun with this show,” he said. “And we’re experiencing a lot of solidarity, which is great.”

But that doesn’t mean the insults have lost their sting.

“For us, the best day will be when we no longer have to make hate poetry.”

___

Follow Kirsten Grieshaber on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/kugrieshaber

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

3 days ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.

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Bay Area

Nigerian Bank Chief Killed in Helicopter Crash on Way to Superbowl XVIII

According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dept., the crash occurred near Nipton, on the edge of the Mojave Desert Preserve. The poor weather conditions — rain, wind and snow showers—may have contributed to the accident, although the investigation is not complete. All six aboard were killed. Herbert Wigwe, 57, founded Access Bank in 1989, and it became the country’s largest competitor, Diamond Bank in 2018.

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Herbert Wigwe with his wife, Chizoba Wigwe, left, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, right. ENigeria Newspaper image.

By Post Staff

The co-founder of one of Nigeria’s largest banks died with his wife, son and three others when the helicopter transporting them from Palm Springs, Ca., to Boulder City, Nev. to attend the fifty-eighth SuperBowl at the stadium outside Las Vegas crashed on Feb. 9.

Herbert Wigwe, 57, founded Access Bank in 1989, and it became the country’s largest competitor, Diamond Bank in 2018.

More recently, Wigwe was planning to open a banking service in Asia this year after making successful expansions to other parts of Africa, including South Africa, Kenya, and Botswana.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu described Wigwe’s death as an ‘overwhelming tragedy.”

Oakland resident and Nigerian immigrant Kayode Gbadebo agrees with Tinubu. He met Wigwe in Nigeria but crossed paths with him in London in 2006. Wigwe, he said, “took risks.”

He was young and people thought he couldn’t do what he intended, which was not so much about money but community.

“He was more like Jesus in washing the feet of the poor– Wigwe was culturizing community,” Gbadebo said.

“There will never be another like him. This is a deep, deep loss” and he hopes everyone will eventually “be comforted.”

He was also disappointed that a replacement has already been named even before Wigwe is buried. “It is not reasonable. You don’t want a vacuum, but it’s” not fair to the family, Gbadebo observed.

Wigwe had also been working to solve the migration issues from African countries, believing that “investing in higher education was key to controlling mass migration, which “is destabilising countries across the world,” BBC News reported.

“We need to take a holistic approach to address global migration, starting with our traditional framework for international development,” Wigwe wrote.

To that end, according to BBC News, Wigwe was preparing to open Wigwe University in Niger, where he was from.

“The best place to limit migration is not in the middle of the Mediterranean or the English Channel or the Rio Grande. It is in the home countries that so many migrants are so desperate to leave,” he wrote, saying his university was an opportunity for him “to give back to society.”

Besides Wigwe and his wife, Chizoba Nwuba Wigwe, and one son, two crew members and Bimbo Ogunbanjo, former group chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, were also killed in the crash.

According to Wikipedia, three other children survive Wigwe.

In his statement reported in People magazine, Tinubu described Wigwe as “a distinguished banker, humanitarian, and entrepreneur.”

“I pray for the peaceful repose of the departed and ask God Almighty to comfort the multitude of Nigerians who are grieving and the families of the deceased at this deeply agonizing moment,” the president said.

He added, “Their passing is an overwhelming tragedy that is shocking beyond comprehension.”

Besides feeling the tremendous loss, Gbadebo fears the disorder and greed that will follow. “It’s a mess,” he said.

People magazine, BBC News and Wikipedia were the sources for this report.

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Activism

No Valid Reason for Failing to Condemn Hamas’ Act of Terrorism

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists crossed the Israel-Gaza border and indiscriminately slaughtered Israeli civilians in their homes. They killed nearly 300 young people at a music festival and took at least 200 hostages including 30 children. The atrocities they committed included massacres of families, abduction of the elderly and children, burning of babies and rapes of women.

Published

6 months ago

November 3, 2023

Oakland Post

iStock image.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr.

California Black Media

OPINION

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists crossed the Israel-Gaza border and indiscriminately slaughtered Israeli civilians in their homes.

They killed nearly 300 young people at a music festival and took at least 200 hostages including 30 children. The atrocities they committed included massacres of families, abduction of the elderly and children, burning of babies and rapes of women.

The horrific surprise attack deserves universal and unequivocal condemnation. President Joe Biden called what Hamas did “an act of sheer evil” and pledged to defend the lives of Israelis and Jewish Americans.

He said, “Let there be no doubt. The United States has Israel’s back. We’ll make sure the Jewish and democratic state of Israel can defend itself today, tomorrow, as we always have.”

Hamas killed approximately 1,400 people including 32 Americans. Citizens from 40 different countries including the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, and Thailand were killed or reported missing.

Hamas fighters breached Israel’s border defenses on the final day of Sukkot while soldiers were away due to the holiday and launched attacks on 22 towns outside the Gaza Strip. This security lapse has been described as a catastrophic failure of Israel’s intelligence agencies..

Hamas is an extremist Islamist militant organization that has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007. It is recognized as an Iranian-backed terrorist group by the U.S. and the European Union and has a long history of violence against Jews and Palestinians, the latter of whom they often use as human shields.

While there have been plenty of groups who have unequivocally condemned the massacres, there are a number who haven’t, including organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Black Alliance for Peace, Red Nation, and independent Black Lives Matter (BLM) chapters (excluding the national Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation).

The DSA San Francisco chapter put out a statement on Oct. 9 that said, “Socialists support the Palestinian people’s, and all people’s, right to resist and fight for their own liberation. This weekend’s events are no different.”

Student organizations at a number of universities and colleges in California signed a solidarity statement titled “Resistance Uprising in Gaza” from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The statement attributes the violence of the Hamas attack to what it refers to as Israeli apartheid and occupation.

The SJP statement written by Bears for Palestine at UC Berkeley says, “We support the resistance, we support the liberation movement, and we indisputably support the Uprising.” Essentially, these students are indirectly associating themselves with Hamas’ barbaric acts under the guise of “resistance.”

Signing the statement were 51 student organizations including those from Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, UC San Diego, CSU Sacramento, and USC.

A statement signed by 34 Harvard student organizations said, “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”

Many university leaders, where these students are enrolled, have been guilty of failing to unequivocally condemn Hamas and for inadequately addressing their students’ expressed support for Hamas.

Several Stanford faculty members, including three Nobel laureates, condemned Stanford’s administrators’ weak response to acts of terrorism and the expression of pro-Hamas sentiments by students on campus.

Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005. It dismantled 21 Israeli settlements in the territory and handed them over to the Palestinian Authority.

The assault by Hamas on Oct. 7 was not an ordinary clash with Israel. Hamas’ actions resulted in the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust.

While there are valid reasons for protesting Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and a real reckoning with the Israeli government on its policies is long overdue, nothing justifies Hamas’ attack.

Israelis who were killed largely had nothing to do with the conditions of Palestinians in Gaza. Some of the victims weren’t even Israeli — they were just tourists.

The students blaming Israel for the atrocities committed by Hamas have faced criticism. Some groups have withdrawn their endorsements because of the backlash aimed at them. Others have doubled down on their activism. SJP held a “National Day of Resistance” on several campuses.

Several CEOs have asked Harvard to disclose a list of members from the organizations assigning responsibility to Israel to insure they do not hire any of their members. A Berkeley law professor has also urged firms not to hire his students who have publicly blamed Israel for the war.

This California Black Media report was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.