Chemnitz: A stronghold of Germany's far-right AfD

FROM STALINISM TO FASCISM 

NO BIG JUMP

Hans Pfeifer

DW

TODAY

In almost all of eastern Germany, the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the strongest political force. Even in Chemnitz, this year's European Capital of Culture.

Nico Köhler, AfD leader in Chemnitz, has campaigned on security and anti-immigration sentiment

Image: Hans Pfeifer/DW

"The blue wave" — this is how supporters of the far-right populist Alternative for Germany party (AfD) have celebrated their party's recent successes. Blue is the color of the radical right. On an electoral map of Germany, where the AfD emerged as the strongest political force in the recent European and local elections, practically the entire eastern part of the country is blue — including the city of Chemnitz.

"You can really tell that people are waking up," explains Nico Köhler. The 48-year-old AfD district chairman in Chemnitz is pleased. He is an entrepreneur and represents the AfD on the city council. He is friendly, dressed in sporty casual clothes, and is happy to take the time for a chat. His party has become the strongest political force in Chemnitz, winning 24% of the vote in the local elections and 28% in the European elections. What does his party plan to do with this success?

"Order and security, that's what we need to establish," he says. He is calling for more police in his city: "People don't like going into the city center, especially at night. A lot of things happen, whether it's muggings or people being robbed, or women being groped. It has been constant since 2015." He could also have said: "It's the foreigners," but instead he says, "since 2015."

Fear and mistrust in Chemnitz  02:50

For the AfD and the political right, the year 2015 is code for just about everything they think is wrong with Germany. In 2015, some 2 million people fled to Europe from Syria and Iraq. Most of them to Germany. The AfD opposed them being welcomed and rose in the polls.

AfD: against refugees and migrants

According to police crime statistics from 2023, Chemnitz is one of the safest cities in Germany. And Germany is one of the safest countries in the world. But the AfD is fomenting mass prejudice and fear against migrants.

Chemnitz has a population of 250,000, and the number of foreigners has risen to almost 35,000. They have become part of the city's landscape, where tea rooms, shisha bars, and Arab grocery stores can be seen.

Nico Köhler is calling for tough measures against migrants and foreigners in Chemnitz: he wants to see their children removed from classrooms: "The proportion of migrants in classes must fall," he says. And he is calling for a ban on foreigners with a criminal record from entering Chemnitz.

The monument of Karl Marx is an iconic landmark in Chemnitz

Image: Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance/dpa

Ukrainian refugees

The asylum and migration debates intensified after Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022, triggering a new influx of refugees into Germany. Along with it came a sustained backlash from the AfD.

The party calls the acceptance of refugees a "population exchange." It has declared all other parties to be enemies of Germany for destroying the country and pushing it into war with Russia. This is catching on with voters.

"I would say that someone who comes from western Ukraine, where everything is pretty much fine, is someone I shouldn't have to feed," says Nico Köhler in reference to a region, which has seen fewer Russian attacks than the east of the country.

Köhler is against German arms deliveries to Ukraine. He feels it is quite reasonable that the AfD faction in parliament almost unanimously boycotted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the Bundestag on June 11, 2024.

Campaigning against the AfD

Zeran Osman has been living in Chemnitz for eight years. She studied here and now does educational work in development policy for the ASA-FF association, a network for democracy and against racism. She has a very different view of her city than the AfD.

Zeran Osman (right) and the staff of the ASA-FF association in Chemnitz have been fighting for a cosmopolitan and tolerant city for years.

Image: Hans Pfeifer/DW

Zeran thinks it's good that there are now more foreigners living in the city than 10 years ago. "The streets in the middle of the city used to be completely empty — now they've been revitalized and that wouldn't have happened if there weren't migrants living here." Zeran Osman is fighting for a democratic and diverse Chemnitz. And against the AfD.

The rise of the AfD has had real implications for life in Chemnitz: verbal abuse, insults, and attacks against migrants in the city are on the rise. Statistics from victim counseling centers prove this.

Chemnitz — safe haven for neo-Nazis

Chemnitz has been a refuge for German neo-Nazis for many years. TheNational Socialist Underground (NSU) , a neo-Nazi terror group, was able to operate from here in the late 1990s. It was able to rely on a large network of sympathizers and helpers in the city.

In August and September 2018, neo-Nazi marches and riots continued for days in Chemnitz, sparked by the killing of a man at a festival a few days earlier. According to media reports, the alleged perpetrators had a migration background. As a result, a far-right mob went on the hunt for real or alleged migrants, counter-demonstrators, police officers, and members of the press. Right-wing extremists also attacked a Jewish restaurant in the city.

The AfD's victory in the June 9 European vote and the local elections "was to be expected, and yet it hit harder, and is even worse than feared," says Osman.

Far-right politician Björn Höcke (m) took part in a far-right march in Chemnitz in 2018

Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Hirschberger

The AfD has been on the rise in Germany for years although, or perhaps even because, it is becoming increasingly radical and extremist. It is also becoming more aggressive when it comes to debates with other parties. What Zeran Osman finds particularly alarming is the voters' reaction: "I personally have the feeling that voters want these changes. And it's quite shocking to realize that."

People like Zeran Osman and many politically-committed associations in the city have been passionately fighting for change in the city for years. And they have also received a lot of support. But the rise of the AfD has put that support at risk. This is because the AfD generally rejects democracy projects like those by Zeran Osman at ASA-FF.

Yet Zeran Osman is not discouraged by the AfD's successes. Neither are her fellow activists. Instead, they feel even more determined. After all, it's their city, their country. At the same time, however, the rise of the AfD also raises concerns about possible attacks. Not only for Osman.

"There are some parts of Chemnitz that I wouldn't dare go to," says Avery. The 19-year-old sits in front of the Karl Marx monument in the heart of the city. It is a city landmark, which was still called Karl-Marx-Stadt in the former GDR. "People shout 'f***ing faggot' at me." Because there is a rainbow printed on his sneakers, the symbol of the LGBTQ+ movement.

The AfD has rejected all accusations that it incites hatred. And that it is an extremist and racist party. It calls itself "normal." In Chemnitz, normal means that Lars Franke, a man who once walked around in a T-shirt with a Hitler smiley face, is joining the city council for the AfD. A man who has taken part in neo-Nazi marches. And has been linked with the far-right terrorist group NSU. He is a friend of AfD member Nico Köhler.

Also in front of the Karl Marx monument, our DW reporter meets Leon, a friendly guy in a hoodie who rides a BMX bike. Yes, he voted AfD, he admits. Because of the foreigners. What does he think of the fact that opponents of the AfD say it's a Nazi party? That doesn't bother Leon. He thinks it over. Maybe that's partly true. But Hitler also did some good things. But I don't really know German history that well, says Leon.

This article was originally written in German.

Play explores dark chapter of German–Romanian history

Medana Weident

DW

During the Cold War, Germany bought the freedom of about 220,000 ethnic German Romanians from the communist dictatorship in Romania. A new play explores this little-known chapter of German–Romanian relations.

The play 'Humans. For sale' by Romanian author and director Carmen Lidia Vidu was staged in the German cities of Karlsruhe and Berlin

Image: Ovidiu Zimcea

"Humans. For sale" is the title of a play by Romanian playwright and theater director Carmen Lidia Vidu about a little-known chapter of German–Romanian relations that saw the government of West Germany buy the freedom of about 220,000 ethnic German Romanians from Romania's communist regime between 1969 and 1989.

The German State Theater in Timisoara (DSTT) brought the play to Germany, staging it in Berlin and Timisoara's twin city, Karlsruhe.

Romanian author and director Carmen Lidia Vidu has made a name for herself with documentary plays about her country's present and recent past

Image: Marian Adochiței

"This deal is unique in recent European history," director Carmen Lidia Vidu told DW.
People exchanged for money and goods

Ethnic Germans known as the Transylvanian Saxons and the Banat Swabians came to what is now Romania in the 12th and late 17th centuries respectively.

During the 24 years of Nicolae Ceausescu's rule (1965–1989), many of these ethnic Germans wanted to escape the poverty and oppression of the communist dictatorship and move to West Germany.

The regime in Bucharest realized the potential involved and effectively sold its German minority to West Germany for hard cash. The details of the deals and the extent of this human trade only came to light more than 20 years after the collapse of communism.
Secret negotiations in Cologne and Bucharest

Working on behalf of the West German government was Christian Democrat lawmaker Heinz Günther Hüsch, who kept all his dealings with the Securitate — Romania's communist-era secret police force — carefully under wraps.\

Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was leader of communist Romania from 1965 to 1989, when he and his wife were executed on Christmas Day after a hasty trial during the Romanian Revolution. 

Image: dpa/picture alliance

Bucharest insisted that the deal remain secret and threatened on a number of occasions to break off negotiations.

Hüsch, who died in October 2023, regularly met Securitate officers either in the Romanian capital or in Cologne to negotiate the number of Romanian Germans who would be allowed to leave Romania every year and the sum that Bonn, which was the seat of the West German government, would pay Bucharest.

Germany paid an estimated DM 2 billion to resettle ethnic German Romanians

The size of the payment for each Romanian German fluctuated over time and was mainly defined by Bucharest on the basis of the person's skills and qualifications. Although a definitive sum was never actually revealed, it is estimated that West Germany paid Romania about DM 2 billion (about €1 billion or $1.07 billion in today's money).

This was in addition to numerous loans and goods that the Ceausescu regime demanded in return, such as limousines, medical technology and bugging devices.
Taking advantage of people's misery

But it didn't end there: Ethnic Germans who wanted to move to Germany were forced to pay bribes to Securitate officers to get the papers they needed to leave Romania.

The fortified church in the Transylvanian village of Cristian, Romania, was built by German (AND DUTCH)  settlers in the 13th century and celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2023

Image: Medana Weident/DW

The money had to be in foreign currency, even though Romanian citizens were strictly forbidden to hold such money. As a result, many had to borrow from friends and relatives in Germany. Then there were those, who promised to either accelerate the process — or at least not to sabotage it — in exchange for hard cash.

Bringing history to life on stage

Director Carmen Lidia Vidu made a name for herself in Romania with documentary plays about the bloody 1989 overthrow of the communist regime, cities and towns during the Ceausescu dictatorship and the hopes and problems of today's youth. Her productions are multimedia.

"Humans. For sale" is based on extensive research in the Securitate archives, interviews with historians and secret service experts, West Germany's chief negotiator Heinz Günther Hüsch and Securitate officer Stelian Andronic.

Vidu also spoke to Romanian Germans who were themselves directly involved. Extracts from these interviews and television documentaries from the Ceausescu era are integrated into the play.

Hüsch's family and some of the ethnic Germans who came to Germany also speak of this dark chapter in German–Romanian relations either in the form of video extracts or live acting.

Should one negotiate with dictators? How much is a human life worth? Can people be saved if they are treated like goods? These are just some of the questions addressed by Carmen Lidia Vidu's play 'Humans. For sale'

DW/Medana Weident

The play also highlights the fate of people who either emigrated through legal channels or fled. For example, one character talks of how his father suffocated while trying to flee Romania in a tank.

The long-term impact of the deals

Should one negotiate with dictators? How much is a human life worth? Can people be saved if they are treated like goods? Did the deals struck by Bonn and Bucharest sound the death knell for about 800 years of German culture in Romania? How did the Romanian Germans fare in their new country? How did their departure affect their ethnic German neighbors and relatives who stayed in Transylvania and Banat? These and other questions are addressed in Vidu's play.

Vidu is in absolutely no doubt that Hüsch had the best interests of this ethnic group at heart. "Heinz Günther Hüsch really wanted to help these people," she told DW. "I was touched by his humanity."

The challenges of performing abroad

"Going on a foreign tour is challenging — both for the DSTT and probably any other minority theater group — because you only have a limited audience back home," Lucian Varsandan, the ensemble's manager, told DW.

Both the play and the discussion highlighted the ongoing pain experienced by those who lost their home and their roots when they left Romania

Image: Corina Fratuțescu

Varsandan said that performing in Germany was particularly special for the group, which was curious to know how a German audience would respond to the subject matter.
Great interest in post-performance discussion

Many audience members in both Romania and Germany could relate to Vidu's play because either they or their relations hailed from Romania.

The play was a resounding success in Germany, with demand for tickets in Karlsruhe so great that additional seats had to be brought in. The performance in Berlin on June 14 was sold out despite the fact that it coincided with Germany's opening fixture at Euro 2024.

In Berlin — as in Karlsruhe and Timisoara – there was great interest in the post-performance discussions. Romanian Germans in the audience told their stories, while people who had nothing to do with the events at the time had questions and were keen to know more.

Both the play and the discussion highlighted the ongoing pain experienced by those who lost their home and their roots when they left Romania. In Berlin, television journalist Hanni Hüsch, daughter of West Germany's chief negotiator, shared her memories of her father's involvement and of her lasting interest in both the subject and in Romania.

"In a way," said manager Varsandan, "the post-performance discussion was a continuation of the performance itself."

This article was originally published in German.

Medana Weident Writer, reporter and editor, especially for DW's Romanian service

Germany: Attacks on Sinti and Roma double

German authorities documented more than 1,200 attacks on Sinti and Roma over the past year. Prejudice and discrimination are to be found on the streets as well as at government agencies.

Sinti and Roma face discrimination from society and government agencies

Image: Michal Cizek/AFP


According to the Antiziganism Reporting and Information Center (MIA)— a federal data tracking agency — the number of attacks on Sinti and Roma registered in Germany nearly doubled in 2023, to 1,233 — up from 621 in 2022.

Speaking of the dramatic jump at the report's presentation in Berlin, Romani Rose, head of the Central Council of Sinti and Roma in Germany, said, "This causes us great concern against the backdrop of history."

Germany is home to some 150,000 German Sinti and Roma, as well a further 100,000 Roma migrants.

Sinti and Roma were among those people singled out for extermination by the Nazis during the Holocaust, with some 500,000 killed.
Insults, threats, prejudice and discrimination

Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus of the Green Party called anti-Roma sentiment a "sad part of everyday life" for those affected and demanded society and government treat it with the same urgency as racism and anti-semitism

Federal Antiziganism Representative Mehmet Daimagüler was especially critical of police, who were a focus of the report.

Three of the ten "extremely violent" incidents documented in the 2023 index involved police; and in one, the use of police dogs on handcuffed detainees.

MIA Chair Silas Kropf called for fundamental changes among police in order to combat systemic discrimination.

 

'Shameful' that there is no public outcry over anti-Roma attacks

Image: Metodi Popow/picture alliance

Daimagüler noted that the underlying prejudice evident in police attitudes toward Roma and Sinti, as well as a lack of trust of Roma and Sinti for police, had also led to an underreporting of discriminatory incidents.

Nevertheless, Kropf said the higher number of reported incidents did not necessarily reflect an increase in incidents — of which official numbers may only represent a small number of actual cases — but rather to the greater ease with which they can now be reported online, via mail or telephone in six German states.

In all, authorities recorded 50 violent attacks, 10 of which were characterized by "extreme violence," 46 threats, and 27 instances of property damage. Evidence of neo-Nazi motivation was found in 89 cases.
Prejudice baked into the German administrative system

MIA Chair Kropf said a rightward lurch in society, the failure of politicians to call out anti-Roma discrimination, and the deep-seated prejudices baked into the German administrative state were ultimately driving the numbers.

The study found discrimination most frequently occurred at schools, places of residence, and government agencies. Roma monuments and graves have often been targeted — with swastikas recently painted on the home of a Holocaust survivor, for instance — and racist chants and incitement are common.

Kropf implored the federal government to renew financing of the MIA — which was created in October 2021 — so that it can continue to get a more realistic idea of scale of anti-Roma sentiment in German society.

Federal Antiziganism Representative Mehmet Daimagüler said lack of public outcry over anti-Roma discrimination was "shameful," asking, "Where is society's indignation?"

My family was murdered - Sinti and the Holocaust  12:36

DW

js/lo (AFP, dpa, epd, KNA)

China hit by deadly flooding and extreme heat at same time

Southern regions have been hit by torrential rain and flooding while high temperatures bake northern China. There have been reports that four have been killed in a landslide in Fujian province.

Torrential rains have forced the evacuation of 36,000 people in southeast China's Fujian Province

Image: Huang Jiemin/Xinhua/picture alliance


Large parts of China have been put on alert for extreme weather as sweltering heat threatens drought in the north while at the same time, southern regions have been battered by heavy rain and flooding.

State television reported on Monday that flooding in the southern province of Guangxi had caused total economic damage of around 329 million yuan ($45 million, €42 million) after it blocked transport routes and impacted homes and crops.

Farmland in Fujian province has already suffered direct losses of around $225 million across 12,350 hectares.

The capital Beijing has issued its second-highest heat warning, with temperatures expected to exceed 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday.

China struggles with extreme rain and heat  01:39

Deaths reported after landslide in Fujian province

Local media reported that around 11,000 in need of vital assistance in Guangxi had to be relocated from flooded streets in rubber dinghies while elderly people had to be carried through the flood waters.

Another 11,100 in Guangdong were evacuated from areas near dykes as a precautionary measure.

The Reuters news agency cited state broadcaster CCTV in a report that a landslide in Fujian province left four people dead and another two missing after seven days of heavy rain.

Authorities in the province evacuated around 36,000 people due to flooding as rains were expected to continue beyond Monday.

Rain storms with severe downpours of more than 70 millimeters per hour were forecast in southeastern and western provinces on Monday.

Days of heavy rains have wreaked havoc in many parts of Fujian, which has declared emergency response to rainstorms

Image: /Xinhua/picture alliance

Sweltering conditions in northern China

Meanwhile, northern China, including the capital Beijing, has endured high temperatures for the past week with hot conditions expected to persist.

The National Meteorological Center issued a heat warning and forecast maximum temperatures of around 39 degrees Celsius for Monday in parts of Beijing and nearby areas and in the Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia regions to the west.

Temperatures are expected to rise even further in some parts on Tuesday with highs of 40 degrees Celsius.

China is being hit by two weather extremes, with heavy rain and flooding in parts of the south and a heat wave and potential drought in the north

Image: Andy Wong/AP Photo/picture alliance

Low rainfall in northern China has prompted concern over the impact it is having on agricultural production.

China's vice premier, Liu Guozhong, called for drought prevention measures on Saturday during an inspection tour of Hebei province, which borders Beijing.

Liu said that water resources should be allocated in a scientific manner and the conservation of water for farming should be strengthened, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

China has experienced extreme weather events over recent years which experts say are linked to rising global temperatures caused in large part by carbon emissions.

Climate change is also believed to be behind recent deadly heatwaves in India and South-East Asia.

DW

kb/ab (dpa, Reuters)

German education chief sacked over Gaza protest response

The top civil servant in Germany's education ministry has been fired after floating a possible funding cut for academics who spoke in favor of pro-Palestinian students.

Pro-Palestinian activists had been protesting across the city for several weeks when police moved in

 Axel Schmidt/Getty Images

A top education ministry official has been fired after over a botched response to a dispute about academic freedom and the right to protest.

Sabine Döring was found to have explored a scheme to sanction, with financial cuts, university lecturers who spoke against the removal of a pro-Palestinian protest camp at a Berlin university.

What we know so far

German Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger sent a request to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to dismiss Döring, it was revealed on Sunday evening.

The request followed a report by German broadcaster ARD reporting emails that showed a legal review had been requested inside the ministry into whether the academics' funding could be cut.

The review was initiated by Döring, who is responsible for universities. Döring is the second-highest-ranking official in the ministry and, unlike Stark-Watzinger, is not an elected figure.

"I have arranged for the facts of the case to be investigated thoroughly and transparently," said Stark-Watzinger. She confirmed that "an examination of potential consequences according to funding law was indeed requested from the relevant departments."

Döring admitted that she "had apparently expressed herself in a misleading manner when commissioning the legal review," Stark-Watzinger said.

"Nonetheless, the impression was created that the Education Ministry was considering examining the consequences under funding law on the basis of an open letter covered by freedom of expression," the minister added.

Why were the academics targeted?

Some 150 pro-Palestinian activist students, protesting Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip, occupied a courtyard at Berlin's Free University in early May. The university quickly called in the police, who cleared the area.

In response, some 100 academics from universities in Berlin wrote an open letter affirming the students' right to protest.

"Regardless of whether we agree with the specific demands of the protest camp, we stand with our students and defend their right to peaceful protest," they wrote.

Police said 79 people were temporarily detained following the protest in May, with 80 criminal investigations and 79 misdemeanor proceedings initiated.

In their statement, the lecturers urged "university management to refrain from police operations against their own students as well as from further criminal prosecution."

At the time, Stark-Watzinger criticized the academics' letter for not mentioning the October 7 attacks by Palestinian extremist group Hamas and other militants in southern Israel. She repeated that criticism on Sunday. Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and others.

DW

rc/ab (dpa, AFP)

Search for dozens feared missing after deadly migrant shipwrecks off Italy


By AFP

June 17, 2024


More than 3,150 migrants died or disappeared in the Mediterranean last year - Copyright GUARDIA COSTIERA/AFP Handout

Gael BRANCHEREAU, Ella IDE

The Italian coastguard searched off southern Italy Monday for survivors or the bodies of dozens of migrants feared missing, after two shipwrecks left 11 people dead.

With up to 60 migrants potentially lost at sea, the coastguard said it has been looking for “possible missing persons” since late Sunday, “following the shipwreck of a sailing boat with migrants on board, presumably departing from Turkey”.

Rescue efforts began after “a ‘mayday’ from a French pleasure boat” some 120 nautical miles off the Italian coast, it said.

The French vessel alerted authorities to “the presence of the half-sunken boat”, before taking 12 surviving migrants on board.

They were then transferred to an Italian coastguard boat, which took them to the town of Roccella Ionica in southern Italy.

One of the surviving 12 died after disembarking, the coastguard said.

Around 50 migrants were missing following the shipwreck, according to ANSA news agency, while Radio Radicale put the number at 64, adding that those lost at sea were from Afghanistan and Iran.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it was providing “psychological assistance to all survivors”.

The team had “supported first aid activities for 12 people, including a woman who died shortly fter disembarkation due to her severe medical condition”, it said.


– Flooded lower deck –


Further south, rescuers coming to the aid of migrants on a wooden boat off the Italian island of Lampedusa found 10 bodies below deck, the German aid group ResQship posted on X Monday.

The crew of ResQship’s vessel, the Nadir, managed to pull 51 people to safety.

“The rescue came too late for 10 people,” the German charity said.

“A total of 61 people were on the wooden boat, which was full of water. Our crew was able to evacuate 51 people, two of whom were unconscious — they had to be cut free with an axe,” it said.

“The 10 dead are in the flooded lower deck of the boat,” it added.

The survivors hailed from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt and Syria, according to ANSA, which said they had paid around $3,500 to travel in the eight-metre (26-foot) long boat.

More than 3,150 migrants died or disappeared in the Mediterranean last year, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

The Central Mediterranean is the deadliest known migration route in the world, representing 80 percent of the deaths and disappearances in the Mediterranean sea.

It is widely used by migrants fleeing conflict or poverty, who set off from Tunisia or Libya by boat in bids to enter the European Union via Italy.

– Tough choice –

The EU recently adopted a vast reform toughening immigration control at its borders.

And since coming to power in 2022, far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has vowed to dramatically slash the number of people crossing by boat from the coast of North Africa.

Rome has brought in a slew of rules to curb the activities of charity ships accused of being a pull factor for migrants — from limiting the number of rescues to assigning them distant ports.

Under a law adopted at the start of 2023, charity ships are obliged to travel “without delay” to port as soon as their first rescue is complete — even if they become aware of other migrants in difficulty.

In recent months, the Italian coastguard has assigned increasingly distant ports to ships, sometimes in difficult weather conditions, to the detriment of vulnerable migrants’ physical and mental health.

Charity crews face a tough choice: comply with the Italian authorities by leaving migrant boats adrift despite the risk that people could die, or disobey and face having their ships impounded.

Arrivals by sea to Italy have dropped considerably since the start of the year, with some 23,725 people landing so far, compared to 53,902 in the same period in 2023, according to the interior ministry.

German rescue group: 10 migrants found dead in Mediterranean

Rescuers from a German rescue group said 10 bodies were found on a wooden boat in the Mediterranean during a rescue operation.

German rescue charity ResQship said that it had managed to rescue 51 people from a flooded but the bodies of 10 people were found below deck

Leon Salner/RESQSHIP e.V./dpa/picture alliance

The bodies of 10 migrants have been discovered on a wooden boat by rescuers from German migrant rescue charity, ResQship.

The group said on Monday that rescuers had come to assist a wooden vessel in distress in the Mediterranean.

Bodies discovered in flooded lower deck

Rescuers managed to save 51 people, however, the bodies of 10 people were found below the flooded deck of the vessel.

The charity did not provide details about where or when this specific rescue operation took place, but according to the marinetraffic.com tracking service, it was in the western Mediterranean, between the Tunisian port of Sfax and Italy's island of Lampedusa.

"A total of 61 people were on the wooden boat, which was full of water. Our crew was able to evacuate 51 people, two of whom were unconscious — they had to be cut free with an axe," it said.

"The 10 dead are in the flooded lower deck of the boat," the rescue charity added.

Dozens of people reported missing off Calabria

In a separate incident, Italy's coastguard said that searches were being conducted for people who had gone overboard off Calabria, with local reports citing survivors that upwards of 60 people were missing.

Reuters news agency quoted the coastguard as saying that search operations began on Sunday night for "possible missing persons, following the shipwreck of a sailing boat with migrants on board, presumably departing from Turkey."

Rescue efforts began after "a 'mayday' from a French pleasure boat sailing off the Italian coast," the coastguard was reported as having said.

It went on to say that one of the surviving 12 died after disembarking.

Libya and Tunisia are among the become major departure points for migrants attempting to get to Europe.

Migrants and asylum seekers attempt perilous journeys by sea in often rickety boats through the Mediterranean in the hopes of a better life.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the central Mediterranean has become the world's deadliest migratory route, claiming more than 20,000 lives since 2014.

EU accused of funding abuse of migrants in Africa  02:38

kb/lo (Reuters, AFP)

'Democracy didn't fall from the sky,' says Baerbock in Bonn

Henry-Laur Allik

DW

Talking to journalists, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock highlighted the need to protect democracy at DW's Global Media Forum in Bonn on Monday.

Annalena Baerbock (left), Maria Ressa (center) and Scovia Culton Nakamya (right) spoke at the Global Media Forum in Bonn on Monday.

Image: Ayse Tasci/DW

A panel formed by the German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, the Filipino-US Nobel-Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa and Ugandan journalist and media entrepreneur Scovia Culton Nakamy at DW's annual Global Media Forum in the western German city of Bonn, focused on the power of democracy. The participants discussed what political and social processes were needed to make societies and democracies more resilient and how diverse voices could become more visible across the media landscape.

"Democracy didn't fall from the sky," Baerbock told the audience. "We have to protect it."

Baerbock at Global Media Forum: Journalism is under pressure 02:41

She spoke about how some of the aspects of open societies that people previously took for granted — such as equal rights for all genders or abortion rights — were now being disputed by certain political actors.

She also talked of the dangers for journalists around the world. "Where press freedom is under pressure, freedom itself is in danger for all citizens," she said.

"This is a crucial year for democracy," agreed Ressa, describing 2024 as a potential "tipping point" for the rules-based international order. "71% of the world is now under authoritarian rule. [Democracy] is slipping, our window to act is closing, but it is still there."

DW's Global Media Forum 2024 kicked off on Monday with talks about democracy and journalism

Image: Philipp Böll/DW

Baerbock, Ressa and Nakamya, the founder of Her Story Uganda, also spoke about online harassment directed specifically at women.

Baerbock recounted how she had had to deal with sexualized harassment online, which included faked pictures, before becoming foreign minister. She said that she had ignored it thinking this was the only course of action, but when she met other high-profile women who had been targeted similarly, she understood how insidious this kind of harassment was.

"The yardstick of women's rights is a crucial one," Baerbock explained, adding that if women were in danger, it was a bad omen for the whole society.

Media industry under pressure

This year's annual Global Media Forum which brings together more than 1,500 political and media leaders, journalists, academics and other participants from across the globe, kicked off on Monday at the World Conference Center in Bonn.

2024's theme, "Sharing solutions," centers around topics such as the impact of artificial intelligence on journalism and democracy, how to report on conflicts, how to ensure the safety of journalists, misinformation and how to combat it, as well as internet censorship, which aims to suppress quality journalism.

"Even in dark times, optimism is the better way of handling it, because pessimists normally do not contribute to solutions. Let's share solutions and ideas and enjoy the company of great people at the GMF," said DW Director General Peter Limbourg as he opened the DW Global Media Forum's 17th edition.

In an opening video message, the leader of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, stressed the critical role of promoting media literacy in the digital age.

"Digitalization, with its rapidly growing and fast-evolving information capabilities, is both an opportunity and a challenge," Wüst said. "Many people find it difficult to distinguish between true and false information, highlighting the need for media literacy."

DW Director General Peter Limbourg opened the Global Media Forum 2024 and spoke about journalists' responsibility to use AI responsably

Image: Philipp Böll/DW

Limbourg further emphasized the dual-edged impact of AI on the media and the importance of human agency: "Not only is the digital world changing journalism, but artificial intelligence is poised to shake it up even more. This presents a significant opportunity for our industry if we leverage technology ethically, using it as a supportive tool rather than a replacement."

He continued that true progress is not achieved when machines alone produce content or set the news agenda.

"AI can assist, but crucial decisions in journalism must always be made by humans," Limbourg said. "Human oversight is key to mitigating AI-related misinformation. As journalists, we must embrace AI responsibly to maintain public trust, ensure accuracy in reporting and support democracy."

Additional reporting by Cathrin Schaer.

Fake news offers unexpected opportunities for trusted media

Cathrin Schaer

DW

Media users are more aware of the dangers of disinformation. They know about generative AI and they're searching for trusted sources, journalists at DW's Global Media Forum in Bonn said. But is it enough?

Disinformation is acknowledged as one of journalism's, if not the democratic world's, biggest problems. Fake news and misleading visuals have deepened social division and interfered with elections, as well as having other destructive aspects. And generative artificial intelligence, or AI, where, for example, advanced computing allows users to make a minutes-long video from one photograph of a politician, is only about to make things worse.

However at DW's annual Global Media Forum (GMF) in Bonn there was some unexpectedly positive news regarding the increase and spread of disinformation.

People are much more conscious of it, Renate Nikolay, deputy director-general for communications networks, content and technology at the European Commission, told delegates at the international conference on Monday.

"If you look at where we were five years ago, people are so much more aware these days," Nikolay said, citing the various awareness and information campaigns that European Union counties have undertaken. "Just informing people that, watch out, there might be disinformation, has had a really important effect," she argued.

Renate Nikolay (left), deputy director-general for communications networks at the European Commission spoke on a panel with DW director Peter Limbourg (far right)

Image: Philipp Böll/DW

More knowledge of 'fake news'

Nikolay was not the only expert to have noticed this. Representatives from a diverse set of media outlets attending the GMF also remarked on growing awareness of disinformation.

That is supported by research in the Reuters Institute's 2024 Digital News Report, released this week. Around 59% of people are worried about what's real and what's fake, the report said. People are also increasingly worried about the use of AI to create "fake news" related to politics or conflicts and are particularly concerned about how to recognize untrustworthy content on platforms such as TikTok and X (formerly Twitter).

For some of the GMF delegates, this has actually translated to an opportunity. "I think people [now] have to differentiate between propaganda and factual, professional news," Tom Rhodes, a veteran journalist and editor based in East Africa, who manages Sudan's Ayin Media. As a result of that search for trusted sources, Rhodes said their audience reach had been "skyrocketing."

Tom Rhodes of Sudanese outlet, Ayin Media

Image: Ayse Tasci/DW

"Our audience see us as something they can trust," he explained.
Impact on elections

"Kenyans learned a lot during the last elections," added Emmanuel Chenze, chief operating officer of the pan-African investigative journalism outlet, Africa Uncensored, based in Nairobi, Kenya.

For example, during the 2017 elections Kenya was infamously used as a test case for how social media could influence politics by the now defunct and disgraced British consultancy, Cambridge Analytica. "They [media users] didn't know what it was then but they do now," Chenze pointed out.

Similar things happened in Taiwan, said Bay Fang, chief executive officer of the Washington-based outlet, Radio Free Asia. Chinese misinformation around the Taiwan elections didn't work as well recently because Taiwanese voters had already seen a lot of it during the last election. "And they had learned from that," she noted.

"[In India] audiences are beginning to look far more carefully for trusted sources in a very crowded media environment," added Anant Goenka, executive director of the Indian Express Group.

Goenka's media group publishes several different newspapers online and in print in various local languages

Image: Ayse Tasci/DW

"The top 10 or 20 newspapers in India have really benefitted from that because people are very aware of where they consume their news now, which wasn't the case three or four years ago. Credibility is our main asset," he stated.

That's also impacted how his journalists deal with AI-related issues. "When it comes to AI, we decided to compromise on the speed in order to get it right," he said. This was so as not to let technology damage their reputation for trustworthy reporting.
Is a smarter audience enough?

Potentially renewed enthusiasm for trusted sources and professional journalism may be an unexpected byproduct of troubling misinformation. But there's still plenty of work to do, argued another of the speakers at the Global Media Forum, freelance technology consultant Madhav Chinnappa.

"Tech is a tool," the former director of news ecosystem development at Google told the audience. "It's not good. It's not bad. It's how you use it. That is just the way it's going to be and we need to acknowledge that."

When it comes to audiences becoming savvier and more skeptical about misinformation and unreal AI-generated content, it's also important to acknowledge there is no single audience, Chinnappa told DW on the sidelines of the GMF. "Any one individual could be well versed on this, or distinctly not [well versed]," he explained. "For me the foundational element is more media literacy for everybody."

Madhav Chinnappa, who has worked for Google and the BBC, spoke at DW's Global Media Forum in BonnImage: Björn Kietzmann/DW

Chinnappa recounted how he too had recently been taken in by an AI-generated video clip recently and that the most worrying thing is what he calls the "good enough" content — that is, fake AI-generated content that still has the signs of a fake (if you look more closely) but that manages to fool most people. This leads to a slow erosion of trust.

In that sense, media literacy is fundamental, Chinnappa concluded. "I live in London and there all the kids are taught how to be safe online. I think they should also be being taught how to be smart online, how to think critically about the information they're getting."

Cathrin Schaer Author for the Middle East desk.

DW's Global Media Forum 2024: Media industry under pressure

Christoph Hasselbach

June 16, 2024

At DW's upcoming Global Media Forum, participants from around the world will discuss threats to journalists, disinformation, and how artificial intelligence is changing things.

Germany's foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, gave the keynote address at the Global Media Forum 2024.

Image: Björn Kietzmann/DW


"Sharing Solutions" is the motto of DW's 2024 edition of the Global Media Forum. Around 1,500 media professionals from over 100 countries — including many in the global south — will gather together from June 17–18th in Bonn. The goal will be to identify solutions to the pressing questions facing journalism and media today, around the world.

DW Events Manager Benjamin Pargan outlines the forum's main points, which include: the safety of media professionals — physical, psychological, legal or economic; election reporting — because elections in India, the EU and the US, for example, are turning 2024 into a global "super election" year; how to deal with disinformation campaigns; and how the rapid development of artificial intelligence is affecting journalists' daily work.
Media facing pressure from many sides

Pargan says that free, balanced reporting is now experiencing multifaceted pressures: "There are state actors who want to damage trust in the media and journalists. Populist and extremist political parties also view high quality media as enemies — and they are deliberately trying to destroy trust in them." In addition, he says, topics such as technological developments, economic pressures and the constant danger that journalists face in war zones, will all be part of the forum discussions.

Maria Ressa: AI, deep fakes 'threaten democracy'  06:51

In a pre-recorded greeting, Premier Hendrik Wüst — the head of government for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the forum's host state — admitted that Germany, itself, is not immune to some of these problems: "Here, too, radical forces are fighting the freedom and independence of press and broadcasters. Those who oppose our democracy deny the facts. They rely on fake news and lies, on stirring up emotions, on hatred and incitement. We must counter that with the power of argument, with the courage to argue, and with passion for freedom and democracy." The GMF offers a perfect platform for exchange, says Wüst.

Many positive examples

Journalists also say that some users are feeling overwhelmed by information — especially negative news — due to the flood of media offerings, a topic that will also be addressed at the GMF. The deluge of problems might make media representatives feel overwhelmed. But there will also be many examples of positive action presented by global professionals at GMF.

For example, Maria Ressa, who is a journalist from the Philippines. She fights disinformation via Rappler, her online news organization. Ressa received the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for her "efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace." Another example is Moky Makura, a Nigerian journalist and publicist: through her organization, Africa No Filter, she questions harmful and clichéd narratives about Africa, while highlighting the continent's achievements and opportunities. And yet another example is Nada Bashir, a CNN reporter: she has made a name for herself through her reports on the wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine.

The GMF will include a great variety of lectures and discussions. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is due to deliver a keynote speech, which will be followed by a debate on "The Power of Democracy." Former South African Constitutional Court judge Albie Sachs will speak on the issue of: "From Controversy to Compromise — the Search for Common Ground in Polarized Times." The sensitive topic of how journalists can appropriately report on the Middle East conflict will also be addressed.

AI is changing many things — for better and worse

Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important subject, especially in the media sector. It opens up vast new possibilities for media — for instance, the ability to research. But it also opens up tremendous risks for expoitation.

"This development is irreversible," says Benjamin Pargan. "Media entities should be helping to shape things, rather than opposing them. But at the same time, they should be correctly assessing and classifying the opportunities and risks. We want our discussions with colleagues from around the world to highlight examples of best practice, and to have frank exchanges, so that we will be able to define both the opportunities, and the risks."

Introducing the DW Global Media Forum  00:44

But the implementation of AI is also dividing the world. AI can potentially "turn our media system upside down. It can destroy business models, promote disinformation, and undermine trust in society," according to the GMF program. But AI can also be used to increase access to information and digital participation." The GMF would also like to spotlight how people in the global south can profit from the benefits of artificial intelligence.

The Global Media Forum presents a vision of the future in a video, that says: "Imagine a world of freedom of speech and press, and free access to information for all." Then, people are encouraged to: "Stop dreaming! Let's act! At the DW Global Media Forum in Bonn. Participants from all around the world want to share their solutions with us, and shape the journalism of tomorrow! Get involved!"

This article was originally written in German.

Argentines pawn family jewels to make ends meet

Buenos Aires (AFP) – In Argentina's strangled economy, one sector is thriving: the pawn shops buying up gold and other family treasures that many are forced to sell to pay their bills.

'AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS; THE SURGERY WAS A SUCCESS BUT THE PATIENT DIED'   

KARL POLYANI, THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION


Issued on: 17/06/2024

An appraiser examines a gold ring at a jewelry exchange in Buenos Aires

 © JUAN MABROMATA / AFP

"When you are drowning in debt, sentimentality falls to the side," said Mariana, 63, who went to a hub of gold dealerships in Buenos Aires to sell a watch her grandfather gave her father as a graduation present.

Inflation of around 270 percent year-on-year has gnawed away at her pension as a court employee, and she will use the cash for housing expenses and overdue health insurance payments.

With an austerity-hit economy in recession, as President Javier Milei carries out his vow to slash decades of government overspending, Mariana -- who asked not to give her last name -- is far from alone.

While a neighboring shoe store hasn't had a single customer in hours, hundreds line up daily at El Tasador, one of the main cash-for-jewelry stores in the heart of Buenos Aires, where "We buy gold" signs abound.

"There have been a lot of people lately, I think because of what is happening in the country," said Natalia, one of the four appraisers at the store, who did not give her surname for what she called security reasons.

She said the surge in clients came from "people who perhaps had pieces that they did not plan to sell and decided to do so because they cannot make ends meet."

Natalia said the business had been swamped with over 300 daily transactions -- triple the amount seen a year ago.

Pedestrians walk past gold dealerships in Buenos Aires

 © JUAN MABROMATA / AFP

"We have increased staffing and working hours because we cannot cope."
Victorian jewels and cufflinks

Daniel, a 56-year-old unemployed accountant, enters several stores to have a silver keychain appraised but leaves dejected. He was barely offered the price of a subway ticket.

"The situation is difficult. Life in Argentina is very expensive," he told AFP.

Carlos, who manages a small jewelry store, said he has a constant flow of customers but no one is there to buy.

"They bring in anything to be appraised, especially at the end of the month, when the bills arrive."

The gemologist Natalia said her store was frequented by all social classes.

An appraiser weighs gold jewelry in Buenos Aires 

© JUAN MABROMATA / AFP

While half of Argentina's population now lives in poverty, it was once one of the world's richest countries between the 19th and early 20th centuries, and many people have something valuable to pawn.

"The classic thing is the wedding ring, but they also bring Victorian jewels, from the 'belle époque' that come from grandparents and great-grandparents, unique pieces," said Natalia.

Even a few decades ago it was common for men to have gold cufflinks, or for women to be gifted a gold watch when they turned 15, she added.

"Gold has always been sold. What has changed is why it is sold," said Natalia.

"Before it was to remodel a house, buy a car, throw a party. Today it is because, 'I can't make ends meet', 'my utilities have increased' or 'I'm out of work.'"

© 2024 AFP

False Commodities: Karl Polanyi in the 21st Century

Written by Claire Arp

“Nineteenth century civilization has collapsed,” So goes the opening words to The Great Transformation, Karl Polanyi’s magnum opus that laid the foundations for the modern fields of economic sociology and anthropology (Polanyi, 1944). From the context of his life, it’s not hard to see where this perspective stems from; born to a Jewish family in the late 1800s Austro-Hungarian Empire, Polanyi witnessed World War I firsthand on the Russian front and saw the Great Depression hit Vienna. He was then forced out of his job as senior editor of the Austrian Economist magazine and had to flee to England when the rise of the Nazi party made it too dangerous to be a prominent socialist Jew in Austria. The opening of the book is certainly dramatic, but it was a pretty reasonable observation for the time. Polanyi came of age as an economist just as the golden age of Classical economic theory began to collapse, taking the world with it. But his observations still resonate in the crises of today.

Our modern economy was built using the bones of the old world as scaffolding, and as such many of the problems we face today are similar to the ones of Polanyi’s time. While it may be a worrying omen of what lies in our future, this also means that we have the opportunity to turn to figures like Polanyi for some guidance on how to avert the next end of the world. However, saving the world from economic collapse is slightly outside the scope of this article. Let’s narrow our focus to one of Polanyi’s most important and relevant theories to the problems of our day and age: the concept of false commodities.

Commodity is a very common word in economics, but its meaning often becomes unclear. The technical definition of a commodity specifies that they are objects made for sale on a market that are treated as interchangeable with one another. These are usually resources: oil, apples, gold, lumber, the list goes on. Polanyi uses a more general definition, that commodities are simply anything produced to be sold on a market. They are the subjects acted upon by the forces of supply and demand, and thus make up the core of a market economy (Polanyi, 1944). 

A false commodity, then, is created when something that was not created for the purpose of sale on a market is treated as such. False commodities are usually important aspects of economic life that have historically been governed by the laws and norms of society, and have then been extracted from their cultural context and had a price tag slapped on them. Polanyi identifies three key examples: land, labor, and money (though we are mostly interested in the first two of these). Land is, obviously, not something that is produced at all. Money is just a signifier of value. And labor is quite literally human lives. All of these things bear little to no resemblance to the goods you might find at the grocery store or in shipping containers, but in order for a true free market system, every piece of the economy must be subject to the laws of supply and demand. As Polanyi puts it, “A market economy can exist only in a market society.” (Polanyi, 1944)

Before the self-regulating market, most economic activity was inseparably linked to social activity, a phenomenon Polanyi calls embeddedness (Polanyi, 1944). Goods were not necessarily produced for sale on a market, but instead to fulfill some need or socio-cultural obligation. Things like land and labor were protected by laws and ethics. In order to make the transition to an economy governed not by law or custom but by supply and demand, society itself had to completely reorganize around it. 

This becomes especially problematic in the case of labor. A purely rational market-based system has no sense of empathy or ethics, and having the rules and expectations for how, when, and why people should work be set by such a system is incredibly dangerous. When something like labor is disembedded from the social and cultural rules protecting it and turned into a commodity to sell on a market, we are essentially putting a monetary value on life itself. In the most insightful and grim quote from the book, Polanyi says the following: “But labor and land are no other than the human beings themselves of which every society consists and the natural surroundings in which it exists. To include them in the market mechanism means to subordinate the substance of society itself to the laws of the market.” (Polanyi, 1944)

The people of the 18th and 19th centuries who saw the transition into capitalism noticed this, however. They noticed when land that was once held in common for the use of all was enclosed by fences and divided up into plots, and they noticed when they were forced to begin making their livings by selling their labor at an hourly rate. This social reaction to the creation of the false commodities is called the double movement, and in it lies the root of the modern concepts of welfare and market regulation, especially labor laws.

This double movement is something we still see today. Economic forces push on our society to deregulate, to give up more to the market, to abandon the defenses we’ve put up like social security and a minimum wage. Social forces then push back against the commodification of human lives. Franklin Roosevelt, inspired by Keynes, created the New Deal in response to the unrestrained capitalism of the 1920s and the resulting Great Depression, then thirty years later Ronald Reagan, inspired by Friedman, pushed to dismantle it. This constant game of tug-of-war slowly rips society apart as our sense of ethics and morality clash with the requirements of a free market system.

And so we are faced with a harsh reality: the economic system on which we have relied and built our world upon for the last three centuries requires us to surrender our lives, our labor, and the land we live on to the market. Our cultural and ethical beliefs and our economic system are inherently opposed to one another. One of them will have to give eventually, otherwise we will continue the vicious cycle of regulation and deregulation, boom and bust, in perpetuity.

Today’s students of economics (including, hopefully, myself) will be the economists of tomorrow, and we will have to contend with the dire moral question of whether the runaway economic growth and obscene amounts of wealth our economic system has created is worth it. Capitalism has built the modern world. We have technological wonders and globe-spanning supply chains that can bring any good in the world we desire right to our doorstep. But that very same system demands that we turn over the hours of our lives, the ground under our feet, even money itself to the uncaring maelstrom of the self-regulating market, and it very well might end up being the thing that tears civilization apart. It almost happened once already, not much more than a hundred years ago. Will we heed Polanyi’s warning? That’s for each of us to decide.

References

Polanyi, K. (2014). The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our time. Beacon Press. First Published 1944.

PublishedJanuary 17, 2024
By MJE