photo: GSBTB
Community integration is a goal we are all working towards in Berlin. The fact that our city is home to individuals from many different backgrounds is something we should cherish and never take for granted, especially given the current trends in politics. We have already written about the actions you can take against the xenophobic far right – be it taking part in demonstrations or supporting particular initiatives. Today, we want to look at things from a more positive angle and focus on the amazing ventures which have truly enriched the city and which were started by people who came to Berlin as refugees. One organization that provides an environment which genuinely fosters such projects is Give Something Back to Berlin – we spoke to them and created this list featuring five success stories.
Read on…
by Michalina | People, Stories
photo: Anna Agliardi.
The story begins as a typical Berlin fairytale: Three dancers from Syria, refugees, unwanted and threatened artist in their homeland, find a new destiny for themselves and their art in Berlin. With an Israeli choreographer that supports their dreams and helps them to find a new artistic way of expressing themselves putting their story on stage here in Berlin.
But the creative process behind Come as you are, the new piece from Nir de Volff, Medhat Aldaabal, Moufak Aldoabl, and Amr Karkout, is much more complex than a fairytale. In several public rehearsals, the dancers and the choreographer invited the public to be part of the creation. A creation that was full of confrontations with the current political situation but also with deeply personal stories with little heartfelt banalities and the big big questions: What is the meaning of all this suffering? What is my body made for? And will I ever be free?
No easy answers to all of that, except maybe that dance, is humanity’s most universal language and the key to understanding each other. No matter if we are German, Syrian, Jewish, Muslim, gay or straight. The dates and address and more beautiful pics by Anna Agliardi below.
Read on…
by Claudio | Theater
photo: Barbara
If modern politics were a telenovela, it would definitely have lots of avid fans, but also sworn detractors, who would wish to live just to see its cancellation. Yet, all of them would agree that the plot is not by far predictable or uneventful. Indeed, what is happening in the last few years in our privileged microcosmos called the West, is both scary and thrilling in the same way a traumatizing horror film would keep you at the edge of your seat or make you want to protect yourself behind your pop-corn. As fascism – or rather far-right conservatism to put it mildly – emerges steadily in countries that used to stand out for their respect and love towards life and its thrilling diversity, a gloomy pessimistic futures seems to lie ahead.
The most hurtful repercussions of this phenomenon seem to be three. Starting with divisiveness, we are all unconsciously grouped into squads based on our beliefs on social and political matters. We prefer standing exclusively next to the like-minded ones and right opposite the ones we disagree with. We constantly, proudly and fervently claim that there are way more differences than similarities among us. We have no love to give, only rants in support of our beloved “ideology”. This is exactly where the second consequence of the current affairs arises: powerful hatred and the urge to scream at everyone that might provoke us. To top that, fear lurks around the corner and renders us inactive and unable to cause any change that goes beyond the social media.
Read on…
by Nikos | Stories
photo: mompl / CC
Visitors to Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt had the chance to witness quite a spectacular event this past weekend. World-renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who recently set up his base in Berlin, transformed the columns of the Konzerthaus into pillars for refugee attention by covering them with thousands of orange life vests that had been stranded on the beach of the island Lesbos. The installation is part of the film gala “Cinema for Peace” that is happening today (February 15, 2016) and will be on site until the Tuesday after. It’s a rare opportunity to see a sight-specific artwork by Ai Weiwei in Berlin, so you should definitely go see it live if you can.
With the installation, the activist and artist wants to draw attention to the horrible suffering that refugees have to go through when escaping from the devastating situations in their home countries. It’s impressive and deeply moving – a bitter but necessary reminder of what is still going on every day not so far from the safety of our own homes.
Read on…
by Frank | Art
Berlin has a lot of queues. Refugees waiting in front of LaGeSo to get registered, party folks waiting in front of a nightclub hoping to be on a guest list, tech-nerds camping in front of the Apple store before the release of a new product, homeless queuing at a salvation army food dispatcher and fashionistas waiting in front of a fashion week location. They all might look quite similar from an airplane far above the city. But actually there is a big difference we should never forget. Even if there are maybe just a few kilometers between the mentioned groups waiting, there is an abyss of injustice going on. For some of us waiting in line is just an annoyance we could actually easily avoid by choosing another activity to pursue. For others standing in the cold snow and waiting is a life-necessity they have no choice to make.
Especially on days like today where the temperature goes way below the sufferable I wonder how it is even possible to survive as a homeless in this city. Last year’s campaign Was heißt frieren? did an amazing job in creating a strong image of the topic of living as a homeless in Berlin. Several subway stations were renamed with Photoshop remembering real homeless people living on the streets. Since it is still a painfully up-to-date issue we post this in hopes you might support the Kältebus NPO with a donation, as they are the ones taking care of those who might freeze to death in the streets. After the jumps there is also a short guide what to do if you see a homeless person in need for help out there in the streets.
Read on…
by Claudio | Stories
photo: Andi Weiland
For me personally this year was exceptionally inspiring. Due to my new position at Blogfabrik & DailyBreadMag I had the chance to meet and work with amazing people who are doing a hell of a job in making this city a better place for everybody. Maybe it’s just a coincidence or maybe it’s my subjective filter that made me stumble upon more inspiring women than men. Since I think that the stronger sex (because women are stronger in all ways you can possibly imagine) deserves way more credit I wanted to list 10 inspiring women in Berlin for you to get to know here. These personal highlights are the fabulous women who made me laugh, cry and awe of admiration these last 12 month. Discover my selection after the jump.
Read on…
by Claudio | People
photo: Oh Sophia
It’s Christmas time, a good chance to be thoughtful, thankful and helpful. Especially with thousands of refugees arriving in Berlin this year, giving back to people in need becomes an even bigger issue and responsibility for our community. We’re living in a time were we need to reach out to each other, face our global challenges and help together. After visiting some Charity Christmas Markets and donating some money to our Blogfabrik Project #HelpDontHate, we want to look at some other alternatives to help in Berlin. So what do you think about eating and drinking for a good cause?
We found some wonderful and delicious events happening this month that we want to share with you after the jump…
Read on…
by Kate | Events, Food
Well, M.I.A. strikes again. In her newest music video ‘Borders’, from her upcoming album ‘MATAHDATAH’, the Bad Girl hits us in the face with reality. The global refugee crisis and the overall state of the world are no longer to be pushed away. This is our present and not only M.I.A. – you are in the midst of it, also here in Berlin. ‘Borders’ is a document of our time and it doesn’t insinuate. It impeaches and it has every right to do so. M.I.A’s picture language is radical and unsparing, the beats are drastic.
Read on…
by Yasmin | Music, Videos
Working together with different people coming from different places and backgrounds is a wonderful present we enjoy every day at our office. Even more amazing is the chance to work with people with a good heart capable to move the world around just with their power of will. Some of our colleagues at Blogfabrik like Jule from im gegenteil were active volunteers during the refugee crisis that started this Summer. But as the situation got worse and worse we felt that we had a chance (and duty) to do something as a community.
This is why we connected our brainpower and creativity to create an interactive donation campaign called #HelpDontHate for all our social media channels. Showing our faces and and standing strong against hate towards refugees and foreigners we want to give a clear signal. We all realized that even the smallest helping gesture already changes so much so we want to empower more people to do so.
With the campagin #HelpDontHate not only the whole team of iHeartBerlin but all the people from the Blogfabrik network are showing their support to the people leaving countries in war for a better future. Find out which organizations our donations will go to and how to be part of our campaign after the jump.
Read on…
by Claudio | People
photos: Kalle Kuikkaniemi
In our time it’s increasingly important that we all work together and no matter where you come from – humanity is of great importance! For our next edition of The Berlin Experts we interviewed the makers of a great platform that offers a variety of social projects in Berlin. Everyone can join the projects and “give something back to Berlin”. There is already a huge amount of hard-working volunteers and since 2012 the platform organizes community projects that aim to better the lives of many different groups of people in Berlin. There are language courses for foreigners who migrated here, creative evenings, workshops, food events and so much more. Since 2013 there are also many projects to help refugees and other people in need.
Read the interview after the jump and have some impressions from the work of Give Something Back to Berlin.
Read on…
by Olga | People, Stories
