Can heat pumps be the answer to higher energy costs?

As the price for oil and gas explodes in Europe, heat pumps could be a meaningful alternative. In Germany, lavish state subsidies are making the idea even more attractive for single-family homes.

There is a huge backlog for heat pumps because of supply chain issues and a lack of qualified technicians

With blistering summer temperature around much of Europe, it may be hard to convince people to think about heat pumps. But a push for more renewable energy plus the ongoing war in Ukraine and the curtailing of Russian gas and oil means there has hardly been a more pressing time.

A heat pump is a system that moves around thermal energy. There are a number of different types of devices based on what they use, including exhaust air, ground and water.

Ground-source heat pump equipment taps into the nearly constant temperature below the soil's surface. These geothermal heat pumps draw heat into a building in winter and remove warm air in summer, acting like an air-conditioner. This type of system uses a network of water-filled pipes that are either laid horizontally a few feet underground or pipes drilled vertically much deeper into the Earth's core.

Advocates say the systems can be used nearly anywhere and are cheaper to run than other heating and air-conditioning systems like boilers, furnaces and electric radiators. As energy costs skyrocket they are a way to access energy locally. Most important for many customers, heat pumps run on electricity and not gas or oil.

Installing a heat pump system can be costly, and the technology is often not suitable for old buildings

Heat pumps made in Germany

The heating and air-conditioning manufacturer Viessmann is showing the way. It is one of the market leaders in Germany. At the beginning of May when the company presented its annual earnings report, it announced that it would €1 billion ($1.05 billion) more in the production of heat pumps.

The company, which has 13,000 employees worldwide, recorded a 41% increase in sales in the heat pump sector in the past financial year, while total sales grew by just 21% to €3.4 billion.

These figures are a reflection of a swing toward electric heat pump technology. Not least because of large subsidies from the federal government to support the technology. Originally these subsidies were designed to reduce emissions of climate-damaging CO2. Now increasing energy costs have put these incentives in the national spotlight.

The initial outlay for heat pumps

Heat pumps are significantly more expensive than gas or oil heaters because their technology and design are more complex. Installation is also more complex and takes longer. Many components are located outside of buildings. The buildings themselves must be well insulated. Underfloor heating systems or extra-large radiators make a heat pump more efficient.

"In almost all cases, the conversion goes hand in hand with structural changes and often with a more energy-efficient renovation of the entire building," Thomas Auer, a professor of building technology and climate-friendly construction at the Technical University of Munich, told DW.

Heat pump system make the most sense for new-builds, although most do not look as nice as this one

The necessary investments can quickly run into the tens of thousands of euros. The state covers up to 35% of the installation costs in old buildings, and 45% if an oil burner is replaced. Most of the costs for a professional energy check are also reimbursed.

With such incentives in place it is no mystery why demand for heat pumps is growing. This has led to long wait times for an energy consultation or for workers to come and install a system. The sector, like many others, is facing a labor shortage, supply chain problems and sudden price hikes.

The war in Ukraine is making oil and gas unpalatable

The Russian war in Ukraine and the price of fossil fuels is another reason for increased pressure to move away from oil and gas for heating. But can electric-powered heat pumps solve acute energy problems?

"There is a very simple answer: Heat pumps can completely replace today's heating technologies, when you take into consideration hybrid heat pumps that combine gas and electricity," according to Thomas Nowak from the Brussels-based European Heat Pump Association, which says it represents the majority of the European heat pump industry.

Heat pumps are one of the key building blocks for the energy transition and for making the building sector climate-neutral, Christian Stolte from the German Energy Agency (dena) told DW. "Heat pumps use renewable energy and can generate three to four units of heat from one unit of electricity," he said.

For many older buildings heat pumps are not usually worth the big investment

Taking the long view and quickening the pace

Of the many million heating devices in German buildings, just over a million are heat pumps compared with more than 19 million gas and oil systems. To meet current climate targets, 4.5-6 million heat pumps would be needed by 2030. The German government has set a goal of 6 million. That is indeed a tall order. In the past 10 years, only 880,000 heat pumps were installed in the country according to the federal statistics agency Statista.

"In 2021, 154,000 heat pumps were installed. That is at least 28% more than in the previous year. This pace must pick up," said Stolte. Still even the massive increase in the number of heat pumps will not be able to make up for the high proportion of gas and oil heating in buildings in the short term.

Energy expert Manuel Frondel from the Essen-based RWI-Leibniz Institute for Economic Research agrees. "In the short term, heat pumps are not a solution to making us less dependent on Russian gas and oil," he told DW.

In new construction, heat pumps are the most frequently used heating technology in Germany, well ahead of oil or natural gas heating systems. But new buildings represent only a small part of the country's approximately 20 million residential buildings. In older buildings, retrofitting heat pumps is an expensive solution, both in terms of initial investment and operating costs.

Currently, most buildings in Germany are heated using oil or gas

Even the massive government subsidies do not change that, according to Frondel, who heads the Environment and Resources department at RWI. He calculates that if 2 million heat pumps were subsidized for older buildings by 2024, it would cost the government at least €42 billion. "Such a sum cannot be justified by anything, especially not with climate protection arguments," he said.

Keeping out the cold with better insulation

To make matters worse, there is no guarantee that homes with subpar insulation will actually get sufficient heat from a heat pump. "Experienced heating engineers therefore advise against installing a heat pump in poorly insulated houses, and rightly so," said Frondel. This lack of efficiency means buildings may have to keep their traditional heating system in addition to any new heat pump.

"For every single household, switching to a heat pump is, of course, a big step forward in terms of independence from natural gas," Jens Schubert, an energy expert at the German Environment Agency (UBA), told DW.

Using more renewable energies to heat and implementing more measures to make buildings energy-efficient should be encouraged now even though they will only have an effect in the medium term, he argues. Until then, customers will have to wait in line to get their heating systems updated and can expect a big installation bill afterward.

Part of this article was originally published in German.

James Webb Space Telescope: Just a huge thermal camera

Astronomers have long used infrared technology — the same as in thermal imaging — to see deep space. Our biggest space telescope takes it to another level.

Scientists are abuzz with anticipation for the first full-color images from the James Webb Space Telescope, the biggest and most powerful infrared space-based telescope, which will be revealed in July.

"[The images] are sure to deliver a long-awaited 'wow' for astronomers and the public," said Klaus Pontoppidan, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in the US.

It took more than two decades to develop the James Webb Space Telescope, at a cost of about $10 billion (€9.48 billion), and it's hoped that these first images will go some way to justify all the work, time and money.

A joint project between NASA, the American space agency, and the European and Canadian space agencies, the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in December 2021.

It uses infrared to allow scientists to see deep into space. They want to see distant galaxies and stars and understand how they have formed.

They also hope the telescope will allow them to learn more about exoplanets — planets that orbit stars than our own sun — and to look for signs of life.

What is infrared?

As with visible light, the kind we can see with our eyes, infrared is a form of electromagnetic radiation.

Electromagnetic radiation comes in different wavelengths that lie on a spectrum, which starts with radio at one end and includes microwave, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma ray.

Infrared is itself a large part of the electromagnetic spectrum and is divided into near-infrared, mid-infrared and far-infrared.

If you've seen movies like "Predator," the documentary series "Planet Earth" or the performance by Thirty Seconds to Mars at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, you'll be familiar with infrared light and some of its uses.

All of the above examples used thermal cameras, which capture infrared light.

Thermal cameras are also used at airports to measure peoples' body temperature, which increases when you get a fever, for example from an infection with SARS-CoV-2.

Some snakes like vipers, pythons and boas have special "pit" organs that can detect infrared radiation — or body heat — from their prey as well.

How do infrared thermal cameras work?

Anything that is above absolute zero (-273.15 degrees Celsius / -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit), whether living or inanimate, emits infrared radiation — that includes you and the chair you're sitting on.

Even if we can't see the object with our eyes, it will emit heat radiation. We can detect that radiation with infrared and then convert that data into an image, using different colors to illustrate the intensity of the infrared radiation. And that creates a contour with detailed outlines of the object.

The James Webb Space Telescope will deliver the sharpest images of deep space to date

That's similar to how infrared telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope create images from space.

Why use infrared on the James Webb Space Telescope?

Astronomers need infrared to be able to see the earliest stars and galaxies.

Infrared allows us to see through dust clouds that would otherwise block our view.

Dust clouds are where stars and planets are born, and being able to see through them will help us better understand how those stars and planets form.

The James Webb Space Telescope has a massive mirror to capture light from distant stars and planets.

The mirror is six times larger than the one used on its  predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope should be able to see objects that are 10 to 100 times fainter than what Hubble could see, and take much sharper and detailed images in infrared than any previous telescope of its kind.

A new era in infrared

Infrared was discovered in 1800 by German-born British astronomer William Herschel, one of the main astronomers behind the discovery of Uranus.

Herschel used a prism and a thermometer to measure how different colors of light influenced temperature and noticed the biggest increase in temperature was in a region that became known as infrared.

The James Webb Space Telescope launched in December from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana

There have been many more discoveries and technological improvements since then, including the first detection of infrared radiation from the moon on 1856.

In 1878 came the invention of the bolometer, an infrared measuring device, that was used in an updated form on the Herschel Space Observatory until 2013.

Infrared detectors continue to improve in sensitivity and accuracy, allowing scientists to detect infrared light from planets like Jupiter and Saturn.

The James Webb Space Telescope will now add to this rich history by looking further back in time than ever before, and with unprecedented detail.

If we're lucky, it will reveal what the universe looked like just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.

Edited by: Zulfikar Abbany

How Germany and the EU combat child abuse

The perpetrators are babysitters, neighbors, teachers, or fathers. International leaders have pledged to put an end to sexual abuse of children — a global phenomenon with Europe as a hotspot.

Everybody knows victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse, says Germany's Commissioner

"We commit to strengthening our fight against human trafficking and our efforts to prevent and combat sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children worldwide, both online and offline," the G7 leaders pledged in their final declaration of the summit in Germany.

Wibke Müller of the victims' group Brave Movement called this a historic step. "When I was a child, no one protected me from sexualized violence," she said. "Today, for the first time, G7 leaders have collectively committed to being the protectors that all children deserve."

Germany has recorded a rise in child sexual abuse cases. Yet another came to light in Wermelskirchen, a town outside the western city of Cologne, just recently, when a 44-year-old male babysitter is believed to have sexually abused 12 babies, toddlers, and children with disabilities. His youngest victim seems to have been only one month old.

The latest major case that came to light involved a male babysitter

Police caught him at his computer and arrested him. He is suspected of trading child abuse images and videos with more than 70 other people. The investigation is still ongoing.

Police in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia have uncovered several major abuse networks involving multiple perpetrators and victims. 

Kerstin Claus, head of the German government's new Independent Commission for Child Sexual Abuse, told DW that "the Wermelskirchen case illustrates the fact that, via the spread of digital media, acts of violence of the most monstrous kind are becoming more visible, although they existed before the Darknet emerged."

The difference is that "today we can prove that violence occurred," she said. 

Kerstin Claus has been the Independent Commissioner on Child Sexual Abuse since April 2022

A race against time

Finding victims and perpetrators is the job of the Cologne police's cybercrime task force, headed by prosecutor Markus Hartmann, who has launched more than 9,300 cases against nearly 9,900 suspects in the past two years.

Many of the tip-offs about sexualized violence online come from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). 

A prerequisite for prosecution is that perpetrators are identified quickly, but Hartmann said that tips often reach investigators too long after the fact for IP addresses to be traced. For that reason, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has thrown her support behind a measure that would require internet providers to hold onto this information for longer.

Police statistics show a steady increase in the number of child sexual abuse cases uncovered every year

Mountains of data

Commissioner Claus stresses that victims are "often at the mercy of their tormentors for months and years," sometimes in their own family or immediate environment. The number of unreported cases is likely many times higher than the statistics show, she says, calling it a "scandal" how much is still unknown.

The victims who advise commissioner Claus have pointed out that sexualized violence "remains one of the safest crimes for perpetrators," and that two-thirds of investigative proceedings are dropped, especially if they come down to the victim's word against the perpetrator's word.

More than 30 terabytes of data were seized in Wermelskirchen, and the NRW cybercrime unit uses artificial intelligence tools that can identify 90% of child abuse images, Hartmann says. This allows investigators to gain a quick overview of large amounts of data to figure out whether a child somewhere is currently being abused.

In the end, however, humans have to assess images and videos, so there are calls for more personnel and equipment.

Prosecutor Markus Hartmann heads Cologne police's cybercrime task force

International cooperation needed

Statistics show that Europe is a hub for abuse imagery. So Commissioner Claus welcomes the European Commission's plans for an EU center to complement national law enforcement agencies and support victims in their right to delete depictions of abuse.

Markus Hartmann would also like to see more international cooperation. There has already been some success in working with specially-trained partners in the Baltic states, Hartmann said. "Sometimes cooperation across European borders has been even faster than across [German] state borders," he remarks.

Awareness has risen over the past years, says Commissioner Claus, "but many people still don't want to admit that it affects children around them. "We all know victims, so we also know perpetrators," she says. 

Experts believe that in every school class, one or two children are affected by abuse.

Early childhood trauma — shorter life-expectancy

Psychologist Matthias Franz has worked with victims of child abuse. He explains that even infants store memories of events that caused them fear and pain in a special part of their brain, the amygdala. So early experiences of abuse or violence can be written into pre-linguistic memory.

"If I experienced bad things as a child, the memories might rise up again 40 years later, say, if my boss at work gives me a look that reminds me of the way my father looked before he beat me up," Franz explains. "Stress hormones are then released, which can trigger a panic attack so I may end up in hospital with a suspected heart attack." Often such patients, says Franz, are just sent home again. If they are lucky, a doctor may diagnose a panic attack and suggest psychotherapy.

"We know from long-term studies of severely abused children that they are much more likely to develop psychosomatic or addictive disorders later on," Franz says. "There are studies that show that children with severe abuse experiences can have a reduced life expectancy of up to 20 years."

The psychologist says it should be easier for adult victims to get diagnosed and find easy access to therapy.

Psychologist Matthias Franz works with victims of child abuse and with perpetrators

Research on perpetrators

When perpetrators are unmasked, their colleagues and neighbors often remark on how inconspicuous they seemed.

Psychologist Matthias Franz explains that many perpetrators lack empathy and seek power over weaker people. "It gives some people…an intoxicating feeling of omnipotence to leave all ethical boundaries behind," he says.

The dissolution of boundaries on the internet acts as an accelerant: Perpetrators reinforce each other's belief in the legitimacy of their actions. "We urgently need more research on this," says Franz. "How do perpetrators get to be that way? Is it treatable?"

Experts believe that in every school class, one or two children are affected by abuse.

Prevention and protection

Hartmann's cybercrime task force also conducts public information campaigns to warn potential perpetrators that they risk getting caught. Investigators have also produced teaching materials to combat what is known as grooming, when a perpetrator first establishes contact with a child over a long period in order to make them more amenable to abuse.

Educating children, teachers, and parents is important, says Claus, but she also calls for binding rules for digital spaces in which children largely move alone: protective default settings, low-threshold offers of help, stricter age restrictions, and moderation of websites.

And she wants to launch a campaign later this year to ensure people know exactly where to find help in protecting children from abuse, just like they know how to trigger a fire alarm.

This article was originally written in German.

Environmentalists slam UN inaction at ocean conference

Experts and activists said delegates at a UN conference did little in the way of making real progress in protecting the world's crucial oceans. Ocean ecosystems are on the brink of collapse due to climate change.

Environmental-protection groups called a UN conference to protect oceans a missed opportunity

Environmental protection groups called out the United Nations on Friday, calling the UN ocean conference a missed opportunity to promise real action in an ecosystem struggling under overfishing, warming temperatures, pollution and acidification.

In a statement, numerous NGOs, including BUND, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Germany-based Brot für die Welt criticized the conference's closing declaration as non-committal and therefore meaningless.

"We have seen many declarations before, we have heard many promises, pledges and voluntary commitments," said Laura Meller of Greenpeace. "But if declarations could save the oceans they wouldn't be on the brink of collapse."

Marco Lambertini, director-general of the WWF, said, "The ocean, climate and coastal communities worldwide need real progress, not promises."

Treaty expected in August

The environmentalists added that the five-day conference in Portugal did not even present a report on the progress of the goals set out at the last UN oceans summit, which took place in New York in 2017. 

The only positives outcomes, according to the statement, were the numerous individual initiatives announced in Lisbon in areas such as deep-sea mining, fishing and underwater noise pollution.

In August, UN member states hope to finally hammer out a new treaty, which has been in talks for more than a decade, to protect critical ocean ecosystems. Greenpeace said the success of the Lisbon conference could only be measured after the treaty had been adopted.

es/sms (dpa, Reuters)

Why Germany's socialists are failing

Socialist political parties have been celebrating election victories in Portugal, Spain and Colombia, and are on the rise in France. In Germany, the far-left can only dream of such successes.


The post-communists from Germany's Left Party have seen voter support dwindling


Germany's socialists have been enviously eyeing their colleagues in neighboring France. The French left-wing alliance forged by Jean-Luc Melenchon emerged as the second-strongest force in the June parliamentary elections. In southern Europe, socialist parties have been in government for several years: Pedro Sanchez in Spain, Antonio Costa in Portugal. And then there's ex-guerrilla Gustavo Pedro, who was recently elected president in Colombia.

The far-left message can still resonate with voters, it seems. But not in Germany.

Germany's socialist Left Party is the smallest in the Bundestag and has seen a string of election failures in recent years, and they are currently represented in only nine of Germany's 16 state parliaments.

Constant infighting has not helped. In April, the party was shaken by sexism accusations, after news magazine Der Spiegel published allegations of sexual misconduct in the Left Party's branch in the state of Hesse over a number of years. The former partner of co-chair Janine Wissler was among those accused of wrongdoing.

Since June 2022, Martin Schirdewan and Janine Wissler are the co-chairs of Germany's socialist Left Party

The Left Party has also been hurt by its contradictory position on foreign and security policy, especially in response to Russia's war on Ukraine.

At the party conference in June, the majority of Left Party delegates supported a motion labeling Vladimir Putin a "brutal aggressor and conqueror" and supported sanctions against Russian oligarchs and war profiteers.

"The criminal war of aggression cannot be justified by anything," said the newly re-elected party co-chair Wissler.

But the 41-year-old politician also reiterated the Left Party's anti-NATO stance. She argued that the party was justified in criticizing NATO's expansion eastward after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. "It was a mistake not to dissolve NATO," according to Wissler. Some delegates went even further, speaking of Western "imperialism."

Before the party conference, foreign policy spokesman and former party leader Gregor Gysi accused the left-wing of his party of holding on to their "old ideology" of "NATO is evil, the US is evil, the German government is evil." However, Gysi stressed that NATO had "not committed a single mistake that justifies Russia's war."

But despite these divisions, all delegates stood united in their rejection of plans to boost Germany's military, the Bundeswehr, and the planned special fund of €100 billion ($105 billion) to buy new equipment.

In 2020, Left Party lawmakers Gregor Gysi (r) and Sevim Dagdelen traveled to Moscow and met with US whistleblower Edward Snowden

The Left Party traditionally has good relations with Moscow, partly because its roots lie in East Germany's communist dictatorship, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which ended with the peaceful revolution of 1989/90 and the country's reunification.

The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), which had ruled East Germany for decades, reformed and renamed itself, initially as the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS).

From 1998 to 2005, a coalition government of center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens radically restructured the labor market, introducing a series of business-friendly labor-market reforms that significantly toughened the conditions under which people could claim welfare or unemployment benefits.

Disenchanted members of the SPD and trade unions then joined forces with the eastern German post-communists and gave themselves a new name: the Left Party.

Its greatest national success came with the 2013 federal election, when it became the largest opposition party. But the Left's best results were at the state level in eastern Germany, where the disgruntled who felt left behind after reunification found a home in the Left Party.

Left Party pragmatist Bodo Ramelow has been heading the state government of Thuringia since 2014

The Left sought to establish themselves to the left of the SPD throughout the country, though in some places, like the wealthy regions of southwestern Germany, the party failed to make headway, and have never made it into any state parliament.

The Left Party can take comfort in the fact that it is a coalition partner in four of Germany's 16 state governments: Berlin, Bremen, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Thuringia.

In the latter, Bodo Ramelow, the first and only Left Party state premier to date, has long been urging greater unity: "A party that is only interested in its ideological conflicts, which have no relevance to the outside world, can very quickly disappear from the scene altogether," he warned.

Party leader Janine Wissler, however, draws hope from a recent study by the party-affiliated Rosa Luxemburg Foundation — which surveyed 2,300 individuals in April 2022.

Some 18% of respondents in cities and urban areas, but also in smaller towns said they could imagine voting for the Left Party. And even up to 24% of those living in low-income households with a monthly income of up to €2,500 ($2,600), for whom the Left Party's core issues, like combatting social injustice, are potentially a top priority.

"But we have to ask ourselves: why are we not using this to our advantage?" Wissler said. Her own answer is sobering: In the face of key issues such as the COVID pandemic, refugee policy, and climate protection, the Left has been more concerned with itself rather than taking on "our political opponents."

This article was originally written in German.

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

DW RECOMMENDS

Things to know about Germany's socialist Left Party

Germany's socialist Left Party is the smallest party represented in the Bundestag. Why is it not more successful?

The Left Party and its anti-military unique selling point

Germany's Left Party is campaigning on a platform with a focus on social care. But it is also calling for an end to all Bundeswehr missions abroad, to stop all weapons exports and for the NATO alliance to be scrapped.

European flights canceled and delayed amid ongoing strikes

Airlines hoping to cash in on renewed demand are facing labor agitation after firing swathes of workers during the pandemic.


Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport is Europe's second-biggest after London's Heathrow


Hundreds of flights from various European airports were canceled or delayed on Saturday as the industry struggles with ongoing worker strikes.

Labor action by cabin crews at the two low-cost airlines EasyJet and Ryanair as well as by airport workers in Europe's second-busiest airport — Roissy-Charles de Gaulle in Paris — are causing major headaches for airlines just as the first school summer holidays begin after two years of pandemic restrictions.

One in five flights from the main Paris airport were canceled on Saturday morning, while the EasyJet and Ryanair strike led to the cancellation of 15 flights to and from Spain with another 175 delayed.

Ryanair's cabin crew also announced another 12 days of work stoppages. Paris airport workers said they will walk out again on July 8 to 10.
Low-cast airlines facing further strike disruptions

The striking cabin crews are demanding improvements to their working conditions and pay to put them in line with other European airlines.

Ryanair employees have been striking since June 24, with the aim of bringing the company to the negotiation table, while EasyJet cabin crews joined the strike on Friday.

"After six days of strike and in view of the unwillingness of the company to listen to its staff and its preference for leaving thousands of passengers grounded rather than sitting down to negotiate an agreement under Spanish law, we have been forced to call new strike days," Lidia Arasanz from the USO union that has organized the Ryanair workers was quoted by AFP as saying.

Arasanz said that the initial strike had seen a total so far of "more than 200 flights canceled and almost 1,000 delays," adding that the new strike could cause even more disruptions.


Strike action in France and Scandinavia

Airport workers at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle are fighting for a wage hike to balance out rising costs from inflation.

They had been offered a 4% pay increase on the condition that they end the strike on Friday, but this was rejected.

"A majority of workers think the offer is not good enough," Daniel Bertone, who represents the CGT union, was quoted by Reuters as saying. "They don't trust management and they don't accept the 'it's this or nothing' blackmail."

The industry slashed thousands of jobs during the pandemic when people were unable or unwilling to fly, but they have been unable to refill positions as the new post-restrictions demand has soared.

Airports in the UK and the Netherlands struggled to deal with the surge in traffic earlier in the year, while France was largely spared.

Pilots for the Scandinavian SAS airline delayed a planned strike on Saturday after negotiations with company management showed some progress. If the 900 pilots go ahead with their strike, hundreds of flights per day will likely be canceled.

ab/rs (dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters)

GASTARBITER

Will Turkish workers ease Germany's airport chaos?

Airports in Germany face dire staff shortages. That's why many are thinking about hiring experienced airport personnel from Turkey. Turkish media have welcomed the plan.

Crowds of holidaymakers wait in line at German airports these days, like here in Düsseldorf.

Germany has faced serious labor shortages in a range of sectors. That is hardly news. Most recently, however, German airports have been affected, too. After two years of travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, many people in Germany are now eager to go on holiday. Yet once holidaymakers reach airports, they are all too often confronted with long queues, delayed or even cancelled flights — all because of staff shortages.

Given this tense situation, German airports are thinking about recruiting Turkish workers to help out. There are plans to temporarily hire some 2,000 people, chiefly for baggage handling. None of these foreigners would, however, be permitted to help screen passengers as they pass security. And that's the sector in which staff have been especially hard to come by.

Time to cut red tape

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Wednesday said the government will support the aviation industry in these tough times.

"We are providing short-term relief, allowing companies to use foreign workers, mainly from Turkey," she said during a press conference. "We will quickly issue residency and work permits."

At the same time, Faeser said, foreign workers must pass the same demanding background checks as everyone else.

German Labor Minister Heil, Transport Minister Wissing and Interior 

Minister Faeser (pictured left to right)

This was confirmed by the German Aviation Association (BDL), which told DW German authorities should speed up checks for potential staff from countries that aren't EU members so they can be employed if and when needed this summer. BDL spokeswoman Julia Fohmann told DW that screenings should be completed in two to four weeks, rather than "two to three months," as is the norm.

Germany has yet to reach out

Turkish labor unions and ground handling companies in Istanbul and Ankara have not yet been approached by German authorities about the possible recruitment drive, says Emre Eser, a Turkey-based DW correspondent. TAV Airports Holding, a Turkish airport operator, and Turkish Airlines have neither. The German embassy in Ankara told DW it is not part of the recruitment scheme.

Mustafa Kocabayraktar, founder of Turkey-based Bonnair Tours travel agency, which helps organize work visas, says many people are asking about employment in Germany. But he says he has little information about the envisioned hiring drive.

Turkey cannot afford to lose airport staff

In any case, workers so highly sought-after by Germany are also desperately needed at Turkish airports ― in particular, as German Interior Minister Faeser says, those with knowledge of and "experience in aviation and ground handling at Turkish airports."

Turkish DW correspondent Eser says Turkey cannot afford to lose airport staff, especially during the tourist season. Highly qualified personnel that speak German or English are currently in high demand at Turkish airports.

Istanbul airport is a major aviation hub

Tourism is a key pillar of the Turkish economy. As such, expectations are up after two years of coronavirus pandemic, says Eser. He says Turkey would face serious challenges if skilled workers were to leave for Germany.

Broad media coverage

In any case, Germany's idea to hire Turkish workers has sparked broad media coverage in Turkey. Many publications have run headlines announcing Germany is set to hire Turkish laborers and plans to pay handsomely. Some reports have claimed workers will receive €4,000 ($4,170) a month, while others have said as much as €6,000 ($6,250) can be expected.

These early reports left many Turks ecstatic, says Emre Eser. "Many workers thought they can move to Germany and stay there, living there permanently, or for a long time, at least." 

But as time passed, and more details of the recruitment drive became clear, this euphoria vanished. Germany wants to hire Turkish workers on a short-term basis only. In fact, the German Airports Association (ADV) wants to employ Turkish workers for no more three months.

History repeating itself?

The current situation reminds many of the German-Turkish recruitment agreement of 1961. Then, like now, Germany was keen to make up for acute labor shortages by temporarily hiring Turkish workers. 

The deal saw scores of Turkish workers and their families relocate to Germany, where they greatly contributed to the country's post-war boom.

Many Turkish media outlets covering the latest recruitment drive have drawn parallels to the historic deal. 

So can one expect Germany's new recruitment drive will be broadened to encompass other sectors as well? The official answer is no. In a joint press conference, Germany's Transport Minister Volker Wissing, Labor Minister Hubertus Heil and Interior Minister Faeser stressed the hiring drive will remain a temporary measure only. Heil said it would not cause "permanent immigration into Germany."

Similarities and differences

Yunus Ulusoy, a scholar at Essen's Center for Turkish Studies and Integration Research, says comparing the 1961 deal and today's recruitment drive is not helpful. That is because the circumstances are very different.

"Back then, Germany needed skilled workers but was not in a position to invite them [into the country], which is why bilateral agreements were made; today, Germany has a legal framework in place to attract skilled workers from all over the world," says Ulusoy.

In 2021, German President Steinmeier talked to workers on the 60th anniversary

 of the German-Turkish recruitment agreement.

And yet, Ulusoy does see certain similarities between then and now. Back in the 1960s, "Turkey was regarded as a stopgap solution: It would send thousands of workers to Germany for a limited time. There were no plans for them to be reunited with their families," says Ulusoy. "But the workers proved their mettle, and German employers did not want to let them go." 

In light of the latest labor shortages, Germany's aviation industry hopes authorities will soon ease restrictions for foreign workers wishing to come to the country. "For years, we — in conjunction with the German economy — have been calling for labor migration rules to be simplified in Germany," BDL spokeswoman Fohmann told DW.

Then, like today, German recruitment drives are fueling the hopes of many Turkish people. After all, Turkey finds itself mired in an economic crisis and faces rampant inflation.

 

This article was originally written in German.

Being LGBTQ in Africa still draws stigma, violence and criminal charges

In Africa, same-sex partnerships are only legal in about half of the continent's 54 states. Many countries outlaw homosexuality and LGBTQ people still live in fear of attacks, imprisonment and even the death penalty.



A participant at a protest by the LGBTQ community in Kenya


The persecution of LGBTQ people by the state is brutal in Africa. In some countries, sexual minorities fear for their lives due to the threat of the death penalty or lengthy prison sentences.

There are also drastic restrictions on LGBTQ freedom of expression, as well as discrimination.

That was evident on a football field in France recently.

In mid-May, Senegalese international and Paris Saint-Germain soccer club player Idrissa Gana Gueye refused to wear a rainbow jersey as a symbol of greater tolerance and support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, also known as LGBTQ, and people with other sexual minorities.

 

TOP 10 MOST QUEER-FRIENDLY TRAVEL DESTINATIONS

Canada

Canada is considered the most queer-friendly travel destination in the world. It legalized same-sex marriage in 2005, making it one of the earliest countries to do so. Canada is also well-known for staging numerous LGBTQ events, such as Toronto Pride in June (pictured), and Fierte Montreal Pride Festival in August of each year.

12345678910

The rhetoric against LGBTQ people has increased among Senegalese social media users since the incident at a league match in France.

In France, Gueye was criticized but in Senegal the player has received much support for his behavior, even at the highest level.

" I support Idrissa Gueye," Senegal's President Macky Sall tweeted. "His religious beliefs must be respected."

Around 95% of Senegal's population is Muslim and so-called "unnatural acts" with a person of the same sex are punishable by law with prison terms of one to five years.
Increase in attacks

Members of the LGBTQ community report that attacks and homophobic incidents in the West African country have increased in recent years.

Meanwhile, violence against LGBTQ people in Cameroon is also on the rise, according Human Rights Watch.

The country still criminalizes same-sex relationships, according to Lewis Mudge, the organization's director for Central Africa.

"This law creates this atmosphere in which LGBTQ people are targets," Mudge told DW.

"Homosexuality, same-sex conduct, is difficult for some people in Cameroon to accept, as it is in other African countries," he said.

The police are also not on their side, he added.
Where in Africa do LGBTQ people have rights?

In the past decade, five African countries have legalized homosexuality. Angola now allows same-sex relationships after passing a new law that came into force in February 2021.

In a landmark ruling in 2019, Botswana's Supreme Court decriminalized both male and female same-sex relationships.

The new law overturned legislation that dated back to 1965, when the country was still under British rule.

In 2015, Mozambique removed a colonial era clause from its penal code that banned same-sex relationships. It had designated them a "vice against nature."

Lesotho and Seychelles are also among the frontrunners in terms of acceptance, according to a 2020 global overview by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.

Uganda held its first LGBTQ pride march in 2012

Same-sex partnerships are only legal in 22 of Africa's 54 countries, according to the overview.

In some countries, they are punished with imprisonment, in others even with death — that includes Mauritania, a dozen states in Nigeria and Somalia where Sharia law applies.

The maximum sentence is life imprisonment in Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, while in Gambia, Kenya and Malawi, prison sentences of up to 14 years are possible, according to the overview.

In Zambia, President Hakainde Hichilema has just reaffirmed at a church service that his government would not stand up for the rights of homosexuals in the country.

Kenya is often a destination for LGBTQ people fleeing other parts of Africa

While same-sex relationships are not criminalized in Rwanda, members of the LGBTQ community criticize the government for not protecting them enough from stigma and violence by security agencies.

This is confirmed by the Kigali-based Health Development Initiative.
Fighting discrimination and stigmatization

The initiative's director, Aflodis Kagaba, commissioned a study on the challenges facing the LGBTQ community in Rwanda.

"Leaving no one behind means addressing stigma and discrimination," Kagaba told DW.

"We must ensure that all those inequities that make some of us feel unwelcome or condemned in our society are eliminated."

Institutions that support women should also consider LBGTQ people, one Rwandan activist told DW.

"We want to see ways they can improve their social or economic status, in the private or public sphere, without paying attention to gender identity or sexual orientation because we are more than that."

Prejudices are also evident in schools, workplaces or in the health care system, according to Jean Claude Cedric, an LBGTQ activist from Rwanda.

"The employees in health centers openly refuse to treat us. This forces many people in our community to stop visiting these facilities. Our government must enact laws that improve our lives and fight those in the community who harass us," Cedric told DW.

QUEER LIFE IN SOUTH AFRICA: ZANELE MUHOLI'S PHOTOGRAPHY

Black is beautiful

Zanele Muholi, shown here in a self-portrait, celebrates the lives of the LGBTQ communities of South Africa through photography and other kinds of visual art. The language of Muholi's depictions of queer African identities builds on visual contrast, and also focuses on the explicit portrayal of acts of introspection.

12345678

South Africa as a role model

Many persecuted people seek refuge outside their home country, especially in comparatively more liberal South Africa.

Although violence and social discrimination against LGBTQ people is still widespread there, the rights of sexual minorities are enshrined in the country's Constitution.

In this respect, South Africa is a role model in Africa.

Other countries are also seeing some progress.

The small kingdom of Eswatini, which neighbors South Africa, held its first gay pride parade in 2018 — an event that has been on the public calendar in South Africa for years.

In 2006, South Africa became the first country in Africa — and one of just a few nations worldwide at the time — to legalize same-sex marriage.

Nasra Bishumba contributed to this article. It was originally written in German and has been adapted by Benita van Eyssen.