Cologne Catholic sex abuse probe seen as cover-up

Germany's secular panel on sexualized violence against children says Cologne's Catholic archdiocese has "severely damaged" moves to own up to its abusive past.



Cologne's archbishopric "severely damaged" the process of owning up to decades of sexualized violence against children in its ranks as demanded by victims and lay Catholics, a top secular German panel found on Monday.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse — a commission mandated by parliament since 2016 to probe cases across German society — decried the diocese's own internal review, saying this must be done instead by outsiders.

Its statement coincided Monday with Munich lawyers refuting a claim by Cologne Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki that their report, delivered to him last year but kept secret, only examined 15 selected cases out of "all 236 available cases."

All cases were examined, insisted the Munich law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW), but to protect victims from being re-traumatized the report focused on 15 anonymized examples.

Cardinal Woelki, facing widespread disquiet, even rebellion, in his diocese, has sworn to publish a second report compiled by a Cologne lawyer on March 18, with his office rebuffing calls to release the original WSW report.
Public sees 'cover-up"

The Berlin-based panel on Monday, referring to the "Cologne Archbishopric" but not Woelki by name, said from the outside" the public saw a "cover-up."

And, those affected — once children and adolescent victims, who had advised the archdiocese as a group during its internal inquiry — now felt "instrumentalized," said the panel.

Catholics wanting their church to face up to its past felt a "great burden" of disappointment, added the seven-member pane

Watch video 02:53 Refusal to publish abuse report criticized

Independent examination essential

The archbishopric's assertion in October that the WSW report could not be published due to "methodical flaws," had raised "considerable doubts about the (church's) willingness to honestly come to terms with the past," said the panel,

It pointed out that recommendations it made in 2019 on how to probe abuses within institutions, families and sport associations included, centered on the need for independence, transparency as well as direct consultation with persons victimized.

Germany's Independent Commission for Investigation of sexualized Child Abuse

Catholic community broadcasts satirical broadside

Cologne cabaret artist and author Jürgen Becker, delivering a satirical online sermon from the city's Saint Agnes church Monday accused archdiocese leaders of "systematically covered up the mass clergy sexual abuse for decades."

While Cardinal Woelki maintained a "holy silence," opined Becker, his predecessor, the late Cardinal Joachim Meisner, who died in 2017, had established a cover-up "system."

Becker's address, delivered via Youtube and Facebook by the church's own central Cologne community, had attracted tens of thousands of viewers by Monday evening as Rhineland stuck to coronavirus strictures ruling out its normal Rose Monday Carnival festivities.

Becker finished his address by saying Cologne's next bishop should not be Catholic and should be a woman, echoing demands by the Catholic women's initiative Maria 2.0.

ipj/aw (KNA, epd, AFP)

COVID: German politicians, scientists face threats online

German public figures who support pandemic restrictions have been targeted with death threats and abuse online. Officials are concerned by the anger directed at health authorities.



German politician and virologist Karl Lauterbach has received online hate and abuse


"Hang him from a tree, once and for all," one user wrote. "How is he still not locked up?" another asked.

These are just two examples of the online abuse received by the German member of parliament and epidemiologist Karl Lauterbach, who posted screenshots on his Twitter account over the weekend.

"A wave of hate is rolling over me online," Lauterbach wrote. "The death threats and insults are hard to bear. Again and again, there are calls for violence."

Much of the abuse centers around the prominent role Lauterbach has taken in calling for stricter shutdowns to counter the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The member of the center-left Social Democrats, the junior coalition partner in the government, has been vocal with his projections of possible developments in the pandemic without tight restrictions.

'Hostility against scientists'

Lauterbach is not the only public figure who has received more abuse online over the course of the past year. In Berlin alone, figures for reported online hate rose by 45% in the first 11 months of 2020 compared with the year before, according to the city's justice department.

Statistics for the rest of Germany for 2020 are still being compiled.

"It is certainly not a new phenomenon that people who are in the public eye are treated with hostility online," Christoph Hebbeckerm, from the Central Cybercrime Office in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, told DW. "But we suspect that there are more incidents because of the pandemic."

And counselors and advice services have also seen a spike in requests for help.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, we actually saw a decline in the number of inquiries for advice, which we could not really explain," said Josephine Ballon from HateAid, a Berlin-based foundation that offers support and counselling to victims of online hate speech. "A short time later, however, this trend was reversed and we are currently reaching new weekly highs in counseling rates."

"In the context of the pandemic, we have observed increased hostility against scientists and politicians," she added.

Watch video 02:08 HateAid: Help against hate speech

Scientists victimized

The virologist Melanie Brinkmann, one of the scientists who advises Chancellor Angela Merkel on pandemic response, told Spiegel magazine that she has been afraid in her home because of online threats she received. And Gerald Haug, head of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, told the media outlet RND that, although he himself is not active on the internet, he has received online hate and threats over the course of the last year.

A number of high-profile scientists have spoken out against the so-called Querdenker, or "lateral thinkers," movement, which has gained traction in Germany in the past year. Adherents believe that the coronavirus is a hoax and have held protests, sometimes illegally, to protest restrictions on public life. Participants at these demonstrations have included right-wing extremists who turned violent when police requested that they adhere to pandemic restrictions such as social distancing and wearing masks.

"We observed an increase in hate speech in connection with the criticism of the coronavirus measures," Ballon said. "In the run-up to the demonstrations in Berlin, we even saw very serious threats against people who, among other things, were standing up against conspiracy theory narratives and hate online."

And it is not just nationally known figures such as Lauterbach who have become targets.

"A doctor in Cologne who questioned reports that suggested wearing masks had a detrimental effect on the muscles of the respiratory tract, subsequently received hate messages online," Hebbecker said. "We never heard about incidents like that before the pandemic."

Because of coronavirus restrictions, more people have turned to the internet to get information and interact with other people.

"We assume that the increased need for counseling is due to the greater shift of social life to the internet," Ballon said.

Hebbecker said his cybercrime unit was working on the "hypothesis" that more hate has gone online during the shutdowns because people are spending more time on the internet.

Watch video12:06 Spreading conspiracy theories, spreading coronavirus?

Worldwide problem

The phenomenon is not confined to Germany. A study by tech giant Microsoft indicated that reported hate speech was up 4% in 2020 in the Asia-Pacific region. In the United States, top immunologist and President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci has received hate online for his stance calling for strict regulations and criticizing former President Donald Trump's pandemic response.

And, aside from the pandemic, online hate speech has been the precursor to recent attacks and terrorist actions, for example the storming of the US Capitol on January 6.

In Germany, the neo-Nazi terrorists behind the 2019 killings in Halle and the murder of politician Walter Lübcke, were also reportedly radicalized online.

"The increased hostility against scientists and politicians is primarily aimed at undermining their legitimacy," Ballon said. "In our view, however, this already began in 2015 in connection with the so-called refugee crisis, in the course of which pro-refugee politicians were attacked and democratic structures were called into question."

Partly because of the attention that Lauterbach has brought to the issue, the German government is looking at tightening online hate speech laws. Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht told RND on Tuesday that she was aware that "anyone who contributes with facts to help us better combat the pandemic is overrun with threats."

"This must finally come to an end," she said.

But the government has yet to offer a time frame for new regulations to take effect. In the meantime, Lauterbach, for one, has indicated the online hate will not stop him from commenting on the pandemic.

Watch video02:57 GMF compact: Hate speech online and violence offline

DW RECOMMENDS


As hate speech online increases, so has the resistance

From international campaigns to grassroots Facebook groups, many targeted by hate speech are finding new ways to fight it.

Fighting racism and hate speech with community solutions

Automation and AI are increasingly being used to spread racism and hate speech on social media. Community-based solutions should have a role in fighting online propaganda and disinformation, says Renata Avila.

COVID pandemic can make teens easy targets for radicalization

Teens at home under coronavirus lockdown are dealing with unprecedented uncertainty about their future. Teachers are seeing an upswing in "existential fears" that could make students easy targets for extremist groups.

Opinion:
Crisis-crippled Burkina Faso needs urgent help

One million people have been driven from their homes by armed groups in Burkina Faso. The international community must address the world's fastest-growing displacement crisis, writes OCHA's Ramesh Rajasingham.

Unless the international community acts quickly, the crisis in Burkina Faso will become protracted

Last week in northern Burkina Faso I met Fatoumata, a mother of 10, by a water point in the northern town of Djibo. Violence had forced her from her home, leaving her life and all her belongings behind. She is now surviving with the help of aid groups in this local community.

Her wish, she told me, is to grow and sell vegetables in a local market to make a living and rebuild a future for herself and her children. But Fatoumata knows that for the moment, it's impossible. For her and her family, safety and security are of paramount importance and she is grateful for the host community that protects her. This is echoed by many displaced women who are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence by armed men.

Violence and climate change have drastically reduced food production. One person in 10 is food insecure. Without the humanitarian assistance that they receive, thousands of families would go hungry, not knowing where the next meal will come from.
COVID-19 exacerbates a dire situation

Nearly a million people have no access to medical care and COVID-19 and the subsequent economic problems have made the situation worse.


OCHA's Ramesh Rajasingham

Almost 2,200 schools are closed in affected areas across the country, depriving 311,000 children of education and putting them at risk of exploitation and abuse. In one of Burkina Faso's most affected regions, Sahel, school attendance has dropped from an already low average of 50-60% to 25% over the past two years. This has an enormous impact on children's futures, particularly for girls, who are often unlikely to return to school.

Aid groups have significantly scaled up their presence and tripled humanitarian deliveries since 2019. Last year, thanks to help from donors, they assisted more than 2.4 million people, including in areas that were previously very hard to reach. But the conflict continues unabated, and the needs keep growing.

People themselves are a key source of relief. In Djibo, the number of displaced people hosted by the community far exceeds the number of inhabitants in the town. Their generosity cannot be overestimated.
International community must act

Together with the government,the UN and partners have launched their Humanitarian Response Plan for 2021 to comprehensively address the needs in Burkina Faso. The plan aims to reach 2.9 million of the county's most vulnerable people with aid this year. It needs $608 million (€500 million) in donor funding to be able to implement the program.

Lifesaving aid must go hand in hand with sustainable action to build up resilience and reduce future needs. Humanitarian partners in the city of Kaya have launched several innovative steps to support local basic service networks and infrastructure — a more sustainable solution for the entire community.

Most important of all is peace to avoid a protracted humanitarian crisis which suffocates the hope and dignity of a proud people.

I have been struck by people's resilience in the face of near-impossible challenges. But communities desperately need international support to get back on their feet. Fatoumata needs more than just security and safety.

Humanitarian organizations have demonstrated that with adequate resources they can help more people in more places with more effective support. As I leave Burkina Faso, I urgently call on the rest of the world to help them do just that.

Ramesh Rajasingham is the Acting UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Meet the Creators of the Toni Morrison Project
In Celebration of an Iconic American Writer

By Rasheeda Saka

February 18, 2021

On this day, 90 years ago, the great Toni Morrison was born; and in a span of 88 years, she not only managed to publish 11 groundbreaking novels, which earned her a Pulitzer and Nobel Prize, but also championed some of the most enduring Black literary voices of our time.

To celebrate her birthday, I reached out to a few of her most dedicated readers, ones who have taken it upon themselves to honor her, her work, and her legacy—the creators of the Toni Morrison Project: Cameron Bell, Imani Thorton, and Ozichi Okorom.

Cameron is a historian and bookworm from Virginia, who works as a community organizer and educator. Imani is a law school student and aspiring novelist. And Ozichi is a recent college graduate from Queens, New York, and an early career Black feminist artist and researcher.


After realizing they wanted to see more of Morrison’s presence in their everyday lives, they created the Toni Morrison Project with the hopes it would also allow people to find an opening to her work, which is occasionally regarded as too difficult (and rightfully so!). The Project operates across Twitter and Instagram, and posts a citation from a Morrison novel, short story, speech, or essay every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (with a few notable exceptions—today, for example). You can even submit a quote to their platforms, here.


More than that, though, the Project posts archival photos, videos, critical essays, and letters to showcase the expansive world of Morrison.

The Project began at the end of August and, as of today, has amassed a remarkable following. Some of its most popular posts include a quote from Song of Solomon: “Perhaps that’s what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? Or would you take it?”; and most recently, Beloved: “Love is or it ain’t. Thin love ain’t love at all.”


*

Rasheeda Saka: Why do you love Toni Morrison? What does her work mean to you?

Cameron Bell: Her WAY WITH WORDS! Her writing is so crisp, clear, and on point! Also, she consistently and unapologetically wrote about and to Black people—no little explanations to white people, no trying to “prove” Black people are also worthy and artistic. She just wrote!

Imani Thornton: Ms. Morrison’s work has represented the importance of second chances. I first read Beloved when I was in high school and hated it because I didn’t understand it. I revisited her with Tar Baby and God Help the Child which compelled me to try re-reading Beloved a couple years ago. To say I loved Beloved is an understatement. It was one of the most remarkable literary experiences I’ve ever had and it changed the way I think about slavery and its afterlives. I am thankful to Beloved for being around for me to read again.


Ozichi Okorom: I love Toni Morrison because her life and work is an example of a deeply rooted and radical love for Black people. While the English language mostly fails to represent Black feeling, memory, and other forms of knowledge, it never feels so close than when I’m reading one of her essays or books. She has taught me the importance of incoherence, misunderstanding, and silence in forming a narrative. Some things can’t be explained, you just have to feel it! She wrote with love for us and that love is palpable on every page.


RS: Why do you think people should read and engage with Morrison’s work?

IT: The characters that Ms. Morrison created somehow manage to be both familiar and unfamiliar. The best way I can describe it is with the theory that when you dream, every face you see is someone you’ve seen before because your mind cannot invent faces, but it may be a face you’ve seen only once in your entire life. That is the experience I’ve had reading Ms. Morrison’s work—reading characters who are not real but it’s clear they represent someone you or your grandmother or your great uncle may have encountered at some point.

OO: Her storytelling on Black interior life. She created worlds with her words almost as if casting a spell. She told stories about Black girls and women and the difficulty in finding security in the face of so much oppression and injustice. Her work is vital to understanding the nuances and contradictions of being Black in America and she shows us that Black literature captures history in a way that traditional archives don’t. Lastly, if you want to experience language that will tug at your heart, have you puzzled for weeks, warm your belly and make you laugh, then Toni Morrison is the one to read.

CB: Every novel, every article, every speech gives something new to chew on every time you read or reread it.


RS: What is your favorite Morrison novel?

OO: The Bluest Eye has meant a lot to me. I read it for the first time three years ago, after having already read some of Toni Morrison’s later works, and it was amazing to see where her career started. Morrison portrayed Pecola Breedlove’s all consuming desire to be loved as tied to her appearance with such innocence. She embodied the violence done to Black girls like Pecola who grow up fully convinced of their inferiority. This book allowed me to deeply reflect on the role desirability and colorism shaped my upbringing as a young Black girl and to continue to hold space and tenderness for other Black girls trying to find themselves among a world of hatred and misogynoir.


CB: Song of Solomon. I literally tell this story every time I talk about it, but it is just too perfect: I received this novel as a gift in college and to this day have no clue where or who it is from. I got a package with Song of Solomon and Ellison’s Invisible Man in February that I didn’t order and none of my friends or family ordered. I read it that summer and it pushed and challenged my imagination in ways I didn’t think possible. The historical and Biblical allusions are just *chef’s kiss* I also could not have read it at a more pivotal time in my life, coming off of a year of campus protests and trying to get the administration to do better, and entering a senior year where I had so many decisions to make about not only my senior independent work but also what I wanted my work to look like post-graduation.

IT: Sula. I have read most of Ms. Morrison’s books on trains or pacing around outside and I have very vivid memories of rushing through Sula on a spring day while commuting from work. There was something about Sula that touched me deeply, particularly its focus on the complications that arise out of friendships between Black women. It’s also a book that as soon as I finished it, I knew I needed to read it again one day.


RS: Which of Morrison’s books do you think is highly underrated?

CB: Paradise. I finally read it last year and was blown away, in a similar way to how I felt when I first read Song of Solomon. It is breathtaking, haunting, surprising, and timely in so many ways.

IT: Tar Baby. It’s the most mysterious Morrison novel (that I’ve read) to me.

OO: Jazz. The perspective shifts are extremely dynamic! It is sensuous, unconstrained and rhythmic like the musical genre.

RS: What book would you recommend to a first time reader of Morrison?

IT: The Bluest Eye, and it’s not just because it was written first!

OO: Beloved; it was the first book I read from her.

CB: Sula or The Bluest Eye.

RS: What is your favorite quote on the Toni Morrison Project’s social media accounts?

OO: “Imagine yourself in that dark, all alone in the sky at night. Nobody is around you. You are by yourself, just shining there. You know how a star is supposed to twinkle? We say twinkle because that is how it looks, but when a star feels itself, it’s not a twinkle, it’s more like a throb. Star throbs…Stars just throb and throb and throb and sometimes, when they can’t throb anymore, when they can’t hold it anymore, they fall out of the sky.” –Tar Baby

In this quote, Son is telling Jadine what it feels like when they are together, likening their passion to stars about to burst. The world around us (and beyond) contains so many metaphors for human relationships and Toni Morrison draws on them when literal description are inadequate. I think it’s brilliant. It’s a kind of knowledge that I feel is taken for granted but is well within our oral and literary traditions as Black people.



CB: “Can’t nobody fly with all that shit. Wanna fly, you gotta give up the shit that weighs you down.” –Song of Solomon

I mean, you already know what it is! This is my favorite quote from my favorite book. My man Guitar was always speaking unfiltered truth. I just adore how direct and apt this statement is, for this point of the story and in general. It evokes literal flight in a way that pushes my imagination of what it means to be free and how we get there. It is a simple yet profound assertion and advice: flying (liberation) is possible, if only we can give up the shit that weighs us down. Now, not to go toooo far on a tangent, how this plays out in the story is also complicated by questions of what exactly is weighing the characters down? Who and what do they leave behind in order to flee? What is that legacy?

IT: “This soil is bad for certain kinds of flowers. Certain seeds it will not nurture, certain fruit it will not bear, and when the land kills of its own volition, we acquiesce and say the victim had no right to live.” –The Bluest Eye


The care that Ms. Morrison took in writing The Bluest Eye and her other works, is captured in this line. Her work, while not perfect, isn’t interested in the pathologization or victim-blaming of its Black characters but is invested in something deeper—about what kind of world we live in where “tragedy” is not only the norm but required to make others feel good about themselves. I also think this is one of the best metaphors I’ve ever read.




Rasheeda SakaRasheeda Saka is Literary Hub's 2020 fall-winter Editorial Fellow. She graduated from Princeton University, where she studied English and Creative Writing. In 2018, she was named one of Epiphany Magazine's Breakout 8 writers for her short story "The Killers' Den."

Myanmar coup: Thousands rally against military build up

Demonstrators are blocking roads with vehicles to stop troops from moving through the country's largest city. Experts warn that the protests could spark a wave of violence.

Demonstrators block a road in Yangon

Thousands of anti-coup protesters took to the streets of Myanmar on Wednesday in even larger demonstrations than seen in previous days.

Demonstrators rallied in Yangon, the nation's biggest city, with protesters blockading roads with vehicles to stop troops from moving through the area.
Fears the protests could turn violent

UN special rapporteur Tom Andrews warned that reports of soldiers being brought into Yangon could lead to a largely violent situation.

"I fear that Wednesday has the potential for violence on a greater scale in Myanmar than we have seen since the illegal takeover of the government on February 1," Andrews said in a statement.

"In the past, such troop movements preceded killings, disappearances, and detentions on a mass scale,'' he added.

The UN Special Envoy on Myanmar echoed those concerns. "We also should not forget that we have around 21 ethnic armed organizations in the country who are against this coup. So the potential for violence is very high… this could end in a very severe situation," Christine Schraner Burgener told DW.

Watch video 04:31 Maung Zarni, Human Rights Activist from Myanmar: regime has zero regard for citizen’s lives

Activist Phyu Phyu Thaw told DW she was "not afraid" of the consequences of an ongoing civil disobedience campaign.

"We have been under military control for years. This time we have to finish them. We want true democracy. We no longer want the military ruling our country."

Internet blackouts continue

Organizers took to social media to call for protests, despite ongoing internet blackouts. "Let's march en masse. Let's show our force against the coup government that has destroyed the future of youth and our country,'' Kyi Toe, a spokesman for detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party wrote on his Facebook page late Tuesday.

The military additionally ordered an internet blackout for the third night in a row on Tuesday, almost entirely blocking online access from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. local time. It has also prepared a draft law that would cirminalize many online activities.

There were also unconfirmed local reports that trucks and private cars had blocked trade roads between China and Myanmar.

Watch video01:51 Protests continue in Myanmar as Suu Kyi faces new charges

What's behind the latest protests?

The protests kicked off amid rumors Suu Kyi had gone on trial in secret.

Suu Kyi is facing a new charge of violating the country's disaster management law, according to her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw.

He added that while Suu Kyi's trial was set to begin on March 1, there were signs that she had already made an initial appearance in court on Tuesday, without legal representation.

Suu Kyi was first charged after her detention on February 1, for possessing unregistered walkie-talkies.

Coronavirus: Mallorca caught in mass tourism trap as poverty rises

The popular Balearic island is experiencing rising poverty that's even spreading to its wealthier quarters. The next holiday season is unlikely to heal the wound from the pandemic.




More and more Mallorcans are dependent on food donations from charities

Tom Mardorf considers himself to be among the wealthier and more privileged parts of the population in Mallorca. He owns two houses on the well-known holiday island where he has been living since 1996 as a part-time resident. The German businessman has been selling organic cosmetics and nutrition supplements.

Mardorf is officially registered as a citizen of Malta because that's where his main residency is. But the 58-year-old German says he feels drawn to Mallorca and comes to the Balearic island as often as he can. His visit last September though came as "a shock" to him, he told DW.

"The canceled summer season has left ugly wounds everywhere," he says, adding: "Poverty is rising rapidly."

Following the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020, Mallorca was the first Spanish tourism resort that had been allowed to reopen. But it was only a brief period that lasted for no longer than two months.

Watch video 02:01 Border control: Three cheers for tourists in Mallorca

Amid rising infections in Spain over the summer, the four Balearic holiday islands were shuttered again and have remained in a permanent lockdown ever since. Mallorca is said to be suffering the most of all Spanish resorts from the collapse in tourist arrivals.

An estimated 75% of all income generated on the island is directly or indirectly linked to the travel industry, which has led to both rising living standards and higher costs of living for its residents. "Those downsides of mass tourism are now becoming brutally visible," says Mardorf.

Despite the current pandemic-induced hardships, the government of the Balearic Islands region is planning to extend the sweeping measures until March, insisting the "balancing act" is necessary to avert the risk of continuing the shutdown over the popular Easter holiday season.

Mallorcans are increasingly venting their anger about lockdown measures including curfews

To make matters worse, both the national and the regional governments have announced that they want to spend the €140 billion ($169 billion) earmarked for Spain under the EU's pandemic rescue package for purposes other than tourism. The money is to flow into "future-oriented industries" Madrid says, and the regional government is prioritizing funding for universities, culture and agriculture.
Citizens' initiatives alleviate the plight

In view of the drama that's unfolding across Mallorca, Tom Mardorf feels his professional skills as a merchant and money manager are needed more than ever before. In collaboration with the Santa Ponsa Community Church, he has organized a food bank and a fundraising campaign. With the help of private donations that he and his team of 27 local helpers collect, they buy food to support about 70 families in Santa Ponsa.

Most of his fellow fundraisers are foreigners like him, and Mardorf fears that some of them could themselves become dependent on donations for their livelihoods if the pandemic endures.

Tom Mardorf (center) together with his staff at the food pantry in Santa Ponsa

Former hotel worker Paul Cameron is one of those delivering food to the needy in Santa Ponsa. The 40-year-old British citizen says Mallorca's rising poverty doesn't show itself in higher numbers of beggars in the streets or squatters in empty hotels. Poverty comes on "sneaking feet," he says, affecting not only jobless restaurant and hotel workers, but increasingly architects and lawyers, too.

"We're seeing more and more people in Palma [de Mallorca] living in tents along streets," he told DW, adding that he, his wife and their three children barely make ends meet by living off their savings.

For Bart Mooji, a 55-year-old restaurant owner from the Netherlands, the financial squeeze from the lockdown is also becoming more dramatic by the day. He's already amassed €23,000 in debt to cover running costs and says the Spanish government's aid is too slow in coming. "I've received roughly €2,000 in direct aid so far. The situation is really dramatic."

Restaurant owner Bart Mooij (left) is just one of many who don't know if their business will survive the pandemic

The fateful dependency on mass tourism

As most Mallorcans blame the regional government in Palma for their hardship, the problem of the holiday island's lopsided economic development goes much deeper, and for a good part way back into the past.

In the 1970s, former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco attempted to turn Mallorca into a primary holiday destination for people from wealthier and more industrialized nations in northern Europe. The concept of mass tourism was born, fostering Mallorca's long-held image as a place of unbridled revelry and excessive fun in the sun.

The destination became a money-spinner, also making many Mallorcans richer. In the 1980s and 1990s, more and more foreigners were drawn to the treasure island, trying to scoop up some of the new-found wealth as hotel and restaurant owners, physicians, lawyers and real estate brokers.

After Spain's entry into the European Union in 1986, Brussels fueled the boom by funding road projects and bridges as well as high-speed train connections and airports.

But now, after Britain's decision to leave the EU and the collapse of travel company Thomas Cook in 2019, Mallorca's fortunes appear to be turning, and the boom seems to be ending. The global coronavirus pandemic is likely to finish off the island's mass tourism model forever.

In the small town of Santa Ponsa, situated close to rich tourist hubs in the southwest of the island, poverty isn't directly perceptible in the streets. The province of Calvia, in which it lies, is home to many large hotels with around 60,000 tourist beds. And yet, some 1,500 households in the province rely solely on welfare benefits at the moment, says Mardorf.

The number of food packages delivered by the Santa Ponsa outlet has been growing steadily

The majority of the province's wealthier inhabitants are foreigners, including many Brits, Scandinavians, Germans and Americans. Living in their luxury condos and holiday rentals, he argues, they hardly take notice of the plight of the local population. It's like a parallel world, he finds, in which hardly anyone speaks Spanish or tries to integrate into society.

How to profit from a pandemic

Hardly surprising, the coronavirus pandemic is also offering rich pickings for some people living in Mallorca. Real estate agents are presently riding the wave of virus-caused foreclosures and bankruptcies, brokering lucrative deals for investors who are bargain-hunting for cheaper offerings especially in the lower and middle segment of the market, where prices have been falling.

By contrast, the market for luxury real estate has remained stable despite the crisis, showing that demand for premium estates on the island is far from abating.

But renting a luxury villa has never been cheaper because operators don't want to let their first-class homes stand idle even during the lockdown. Fabian Dudek, the founder of Berlin-based startup Glassdollar, used the opportunity in Mallorca last fall, when he moved parts of his company to the island. The lockdown is "easier to sustain close to the beach," he says, and the rent he pays for his finca in Deia is "really affordable."

For food bank helper Paul Cameron, there's little consolation in all of this. About 35% of those lining up for food at the Santa Ponsa distribution outlet every day do this for the first time in their lives, he says. "They're having enormous fear and uncertainty about the future." He would return to Britain only in case of an emergency, he says, because Mallorca is "actually a safe place to raise your children without drugs and social conflict."

Leaving Mallorca isn't an option either for Bart Mooji, the Dutch restaurant owner. He has invested in his business and wants to raise his children here, he says. But at the same time he believes the crisis is "definitely changing" the holiday island.

AUDIOS AND VIDEOS ON THE TOPIC


Spain: Poverty in Mallorca

Is India's COVID vaccine giveaway risky diplomacy?

India's government has been supplying countries around the world with free coronavirus vaccine doses. However, there is some worry that this "vaccine diplomacy" will come at a cost to vulnerable Indians.



India has donated COVID vaccine doses to at least 17 countries

 https://p.dw.com/p/3pRgF

On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for use in its COVAX vaccination program, which aims to provide poorer countries around the world with "equitable access" to COVID-19 vaccines.

The Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine maker by volume, has agreed to produce 1.1 billion doses for delivery.

And India is leveraging its manufacturing capabilities to launch its own initiative aimed at bolstering its global image as the "pharmacy of the world."

India has already started distributing millions of its domestically produced coronavirus vaccines for free to some of its neighbors and several countries around the world.

The "vaccine maitri" (Hindi for vaccine friendship) initiative was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi days after India began its nationwide vaccination campaign in January.

"India is deeply honored to be a long-trusted partner in meeting the healthcare needs of the global community," Modi said last month. "Supplies of COVID vaccines to several countries will commence [on January 20], and more will follow in the days ahead."

Watch video 12:06 India's vaccine rollout presents mammoth logistical challenge

The initiative started with countries in India's immediate neighborhood and key partner nations in the Indian Ocean. The doses were distributed as "gifts" — in line with New Delhi's "Neighborhood First" policy. Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean were among those further afield.

Several countries, including Nepal and Bangladesh, purchased additional doses on top.

According to the Foreign Ministry, India dispatched more than 15.6 million doses to 17 countries in the first two weeks. 

Is 'vaccine diplomacy' risky?

The Indian government's global vaccine initiative has received a mixed response at home.

India has approved two coronavirus shots so far: one developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, and another produced by Indian firm Bharat Biotech.

India has been shipping out the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, domestically produced by SII in the western city of Pune, and known in India as "Covishield."

Critics have questioned whether exporting precious vaccine doses is the right move, instead of speeding up the vaccination drive in India.

India, which has the world's second-highest caseload of coronavirus, plans to immunize 300 million people by August. It vaccinated about 3 million healthcare workers in the first two weeks of the campaign that began on January 16 and will need to step up the pace to meet the summer target.

Some argued for involving the private sector in the vaccination campaign.

Former Indian diplomat KC Singh has tweeted several times that the country was indulging in "vaccine diplomacy," amid initial concerns that the number of doses exported was more than those administered domestically. 

However, Raja Mohan, Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, said that New Delhi was making a smart move by using it's vaccine production to improve international relations.

"Delhi is showing both the political will and the diplomatic sensibility to use the cards it has," Mohan told DW.

"You cannot consume all the vaccines you produce yourself in a short time. They have a shelf life," he added.

"India is rolling out a national program, and they can take a bit of that to other countries," he said adding that India's large production capacity makes the initiative possible.

"Over the last four decades, India has become a major manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, generic drugs, and vaccines. Biotechnology research has also grown in India, which has given it more capabilities to be able to undertake such an initiative," he said. 

What are India's benefits?

Closer to home, India's vaccine outreach could play a role in repairing strained ties with its immediate neighbors such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

India-Nepal relations plummeted last summer after a diplomatic spat over a border dispute.

Both countries have made competing territorial claims over a stretch of disputed land that lies at a strategic three-way junction with China.

India's relations with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been similarly frayed, and China has been a factor, with varying degrees, in these two cases.

Watch video 03:00 Mistrust curbs India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive

But as neighboring countries line up to receive vaccines from India despite their outstanding issues, foreign policy analysts believe it indicates the pragmatism that governs the bilateral interactions.

"Generally, all of the neighbors have their problems with India," said Mohan, adding that New Delhi has something these countries need, and can take advantage of demand.

"It shows a new political will in New Delhi that whatever capabilities you have, they can be deployed smartly for diplomatic purposes."

"This is something that has changed in the foreign office under the current leadership," Mohan said. "When there's an opportunity to do something good, you build some trust." 

Pakistan not interested

Pakistan, unsurprisingly, is not among the countries receiving COVID vaccine shipments from India.

In a press briefing, the Indian Foreign Ministry said that they had not received any requests from Pakistan seeking vaccine supplies.

Pakistan's Foreign Office and Health Ministry did not respond to DW's requests for comment.

The country started its vaccine campaign on February 3 after receiving half a million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine donated by its longtime ally China.

"It's not that India excluded Pakistan. They don't want to take vaccines from India," Mohan said. "So many things have happened between the two countries that no Pakistani leader will ask India for help, even in the best of times," he added.

Watch video 1:33 Coronavirus: Anti-vaxxers pose major public health threat in Pakistan

Alternative to Chinese vaccines

India's global vaccine distribution also seeks to offer the developing world an alternative to Chinese vaccines, which Beijing has been pushing in countries that cannot afford multibillion-dollar deals with pharmaceutical giants, or as an alternative in countries experiencing supply bottlenecks.

Over the past couple of decades, China has made significant inroads in smaller South Asian countries, which India views as part of its sphere of influence. Beijing has outspent New Delhi in trade, investment, and infrastructure.

Vaccine production is one of the areas where India could still flex its muscles.

But the goodwill generated through this initiative is unlikely to make India's neighbors more agreeable toward its interests.

"All this doesn't mean that overnight everybody is going to love India." Mohan said.

A documentary film honors Germany's 'guest workers'

Facing a labor shortage after World War II, Germany designed a program to bring in so-called guest workers. The documentary "Gleis 11" by Cagdas Yüksel tells their story.



Between 1955 and 1973 thousands of people came to Germany from other countries to work

Platform 11 at Munich's main train station is where many of Germany's "gastarbeiter" — which literally translates as "guest workers" — arrived from 1955 to 1973.

At the time, laborers were urgently needed to keep the machinery of the German industrial powerhouse in operation. After World War II, the country lacked a working-age population because of death, imprisonment and other war-related consequences. As a result, labor recruitment agreements were made with several countries to ensure that the flow of men — and later women — would not stop.

During these 18 years, thousands of people, primarily from Italy, Spain, Greece and Turkey, made their way to Germany. (YUGOSLAVIA RELIED ON GUESTWORKER REMITTANCES FOR ITS GDP MORE THAN ANY OTHER EXPORT) Without internet or social media, they were connected to their homelands through pay phones, letters and packages, some of which took weeks to arrive.  REMITTANCES WHICH COUNTRIES STILL RELY ON, LIKE THE PHILLIPINES WITH ITS OTW PROGRAM, WERE SENT BACK THE BY AMERICAN EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS

In 2021, Germany looks back on the 60th anniversary of its labor recruitment agreement with Turkey. In the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, around one-third of residents have a migration background.

These days, many of those who came to Germany after the first call for labor are well into old age. Their children and grandchildren, the second and third generations of the immigrants, have long been and continue to be a topic of discussion in the media, in films and academic discourse.

But the first arrivals, those who went directly from the train platform into the mine shaft or into the sewing shop, have rarely been represented in the media or in film.


Different stories to tell in 'Gleis 11'

A homage in film

Filmmaker Cagdas Yüksel, who belongs to the third generation of Turkish immigrants, set out to change that with his documentary film Gleis 11 ("Platform 11").

His grandparents came to Germany as so-called guest workers, and like many others, they stayed. His grandfather died young in a traffic accident, leaving his grandmother to raise eight children alone in a foreign country. Her story inspired Yüksel to honor her and others from her generation. He wanted to "let this generation speak for itself" he told DW.

Initially, it looked as if Gleis 11 would never make it to the big screen. The topic was criticized as "irrelevant," and not cinema-worthy Yüksel said. These opinions did not stop him from sticking with his project over many years. "Every time I talked to these people, I was convinced that they had so many exciting stories that would be perfect to tell in a film." 

The director's grandmother (left) with her family shortly after her arrival in Germany in 1970

He wanted to prove that his subjects and their stories were worth telling, the 27-year-old told DW. He persevered "with tears, patience and coffee," he recounted at the premiere of his film. He finally found the support he needed as part of the #IchDuWirNRW integration and appreciation campaign run by North Rhine-Westphalia's Ministry for Children, Family, Refugees and Integration and Serap Güler, the state secretary for integration.

The film team shot the protagonists in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia

First-hand accounts

Gleis 11 begins with sound bites from German passers-by in reports from the early days of the recruitment agreement: "There are too many of them here," says one woman. "They only want to earn money, but not work," says another. Other perspectives are also present; one person says: "I don't think we can do without guest workers."

The film tells five parallel stories about migrants from that era.

One of them is the story of the filmmaker's grandmother, Nezihat, who came to the West German city of Mönchengladbach from rural Turkey in 1970 with four daughters and later, after having four more children, opened her own small shop. She lost her husband at an early age and then had to raise eight children alone.

Osman Yazici in the 1970s as a successful restaurant owner

Osman, another main protagonist in the film, came from northern Turkey in 1963, and worked in Essen before later opening the first local Turkish restaurant.

Bartolomeo from southern Italy, explains how he met "a beautiful woman" and found happiness in Germany.

Marina, from Greece, came to North Rhine-Westphalia via Munich and reports — still somewhat embarrassed — how she threw the banana given to her in a "welcome bag" out of the train window because she simply didn't know how to eat it.

And in one of the film's most moving scenes, the couple Esref and Ayse return to their home in southern Turkey after 49 years.

Unwavering optimism

Yüksel lets his interviewees recount their dreams, their expectations and tell of the hopes they had when they arrived. The movie thus bears witness to the unshakable optimism and stamina of migrants who sought and found happiness alone in a foreign country.

Yüksel told DW how remarkable he found it "that despite this initial situation, a person can bring and cherish so much optimism." Whether intentionally or not, Germany appears in Yüksel's film as a country where it is constantly grey or raining. In this way, the contrast to the home country of those who emigrated becomes even clearer and represents the immense homesickness that some of them report. 

Yüksel celebrated the online premiere of his film on Janaury 24, 2020

A virtual premiere

On January 24, the premiere of Gleis 11 took place at Essen's Lichtburg, Germany's largest movie theater. Only Yüksel's staff were present — and four of his protagonists. An online premiere was also held, and so many people logged on to watch the film that the server of Yüksel's website crashed. In non-pandemic times, these 1,300 viewers would have meant a sold-out theater — for a film that had once been rejected as being too "niche."

There has also been a great deal of interest in Gleis 11 from Turkey. Numerous people in the country purchased tickets for the virtual premiere. Some Turkish schools and universities have expressed interest in screenings, and Turkish distributors have also shown interest.

One of the film’s main characters, Yüksel’s grandmother Nezihat, was also present at the premiere. Lovingly, she watched her grandson as he moderated the digital event. She answered questions from the audience at the virtual premiere, which were read from a smartphone. She says she has never regretted coming to Germany.



This article was translated from German by Sarah Hucal.


DW RECOMMENDS


European migration stories told one object at a time

Europe wouldn't exist without migration, says the director of a German virtual migration museum. From "guest-worker" recruitment signs to audio cassettes from Turkey, the museum's archive is a treasure trove of stories.

Turkish guest workers transformed German society

In the 1960s, Turkish workers arrived in Germany to fill the demand for cheap labor in a booming post-war economy. Many of them never left, creating a minority community that changed the demographics of Germany forever.

'Turks in Germany still lack a sense of belonging'

It's been 55 years since Germany's recruitment agreement with Turkey. But many Turks still don't feel well integrated, says Gökay Sofuoglu, chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany (TGD).


Date 16.02.2021
Author Philipp Jedicke
Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3pNHZ

Berlin hotels open their doors to homeless during pandemic

Berlin's shelters have run out of space during the coronavirus winter. Hotels are empty, so some have decided to let people experiencing homelessness stay for free. This is changing lives.

Watch video 09:58 Bringing the homeless in from the cold

Christian is smiling as he steps through the door into his hotel room. He puts his backpack down, takes his jacket off and sits down on the bed. He already feels at home in the Pension Reiter in Berlin's Friedrichshain district.

Since November, people experiencing homelessness have been permitted to stay in the hotel for the night. Christian, who does not want to give his full name, has been living on the street for several years. "For the past few days I slept in a dumpster, that was okay for me," he says. "But this is much better."
Social distancing in the shelter

In the past, he used to spend winter nights in a shelter run by the Catholic Church. It provides 40 beds for homeless men. But this winter, things were different, says Wolfgang Willsch, who runs the shelter. They had to reduce the number of beds by half, to comply with social distancing requirements in the pandemic.

It was no longer possible to have several men share a small room or sleep on mats on the floor in the large assembly hall.

Wolfgang Willsch managed to find a solution: "We are very grateful that the Pension Reiter has offered to help. That means we never have to have more than two or three people sharing a room," he says.


Pension Reiter is one of several hotels helping people experiencing homelessness
Freezing temperatures in Berlin

Pension Reiter is one of several Berlin hotels taking part in this project to help people experiencing homelessness. And there is a benefit for them, too: The city government pays a small compensation for the beds — badly needed income at a time when tourism and business travel are still all but impossible in Germany.

Over the past few days, it has become apparent just how vital shelters are for people experiencing homelessness in wintertime: Temperatures plummeted well below -15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit), which makes sleeping on the street a deadly risk. So Berlin charities stepped up their efforts to get hotels to open their doors to people in need and managed to secure a total of 1,426 beds — the most ever, said Stefan Strass, spokesman for Berlin's social services.

Many of the hotels provide more than just a bed: They serve breakfast in the morning and a warm meal at night. That is even more important now, as homeless people have few means of making money; the downtown areas are empty and people are taking care to keep a distance. Still, Christian sets off every day trying to sell the newspaper for the homeless — more often than not, without success.

Sister Martha Arnould works with people experiencing homelessness

New opportunities arise

In the basement of the Pension Reiter there is a common room. "No Smoking" reads a sign on the door. A note with "Smokers' Room" has been pasted over it. Christian is sitting at one of the wooden tables. The sparsely furnished room is stuffy. In the harsh neon light, a scar right across Christian's face is very noticeable. Sister Martha Arnould brings him a cup of tea, saying: "Two sugars for you, as usual," as she sets it down.

Sister Arnould works with the shelter for people experiencing homelessness. But her main job is to lend an ear and offer assistance. The hotel beds are a big help, she says. The homeless men have the security of being able to spend the night indoors in a proper bed every night — if they abide by the rules.

"When the men come they are exhausted and dirty, suffering from depression and having given up all hope," Sister Arnould says. "But, after a few weeks, things are completely different. They reach a point where we can sit down and make plans for the future," she says, pointing out that some find jobs and rent apartments. "They have a chance at a better life," she adds with a smile.

A home of his own, that's what Christian wants for himself, too. He has managed to save a bit of money and is planning to return to his home country, Romania. "Maybe this summer, when the coronavirus crisis is over," he says, as he sips his hot tea. Until then, he knows he has found a place where he is safe and protected from the cold.

This article was translated from German.

Algeria: Thousands take to the streets to relaunch protest movement

The Hirak movement, which ousted former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, has been given a new breath of life after a year of coronavirus restrictions.



The protests mark the one-year anniversary of the first Hirak protests

Over 5,000 people gathered in the northern Algerian town of Kherrata on Tuesday to mark the two year anniversary of the Hirak protest movement that ousted the country's long term president from power in 2019.

Protesters gathered in the town where the movement originally began — 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of the capital Algiers — hoping to kick it off again a year after the coronavirus pandemic forced it off the streets.

"We came to revive the Hirak that was stopped for health reasons. They didn't stop us. We stopped because we care for our people. Today coronavirus is over and we will get the Hirak back," Nassima, a protester, told Reuters.

The protesters waved Algerian flags and chanted: "A civilian state, not a military state" and "The gang must go."

What is the Hirak movement?

The Hirak protests were successful in forcing the veteran former president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, to step down, but protests numbering in the tens of thousands continued.

Protesters called for "Freedom of the press and of expression"

They called for the complete removal of Algeria's political elite and dubbed the elections that followed Bouteflika's resignation a charade.

Abdelmadjid Tebboube, who was elected in the December 2019 vote, praised the Hirak movement, but failed to pass any major reforms.

Around 70 people are currently in prison for their connection to the Hirak protests, the CNLD prisoners' support group said.

Karim Tabbou, a prominent figure in the protests, who was given a one-year suspended sentence in December for "undermining national security" was also present in Kherrata.
What do the protesters want?

Hirak is a leaderless movement, but supporters have spent lockdown discussing online how to reinvigorate the protests while under Algeria's COVID-19 lockdown.

Watch video 01:38 Looking back on the Arab Spring

Smaller demonstrations have been taking place across the country in recent weeks in a build-up to the February 22 anniversary of the first nationwide protests.

"It is a revolutionary process for a very precise goal, which is the departure of the regime, the whole regime with all its components," another protester, Hamid, told Reuters.

The movement is seeking to overhaul the country's political system which has been in place since it gained independence from France in 1962.

ab/aw (Reuters, AFP)