“Alert! #LouiseMichel assisted another 130 people – among them many women & children – and nobody is helping! We are reaching a State of Emergency. We need immediate assistance, @guardiacostiera & @Armed_Forces_MT. We are safeguarding 219 people with a crew of 10. Act #EU, now!” the vessel’s Twitter page said on late Friday.
“Louise Michel” is also said to have a dead person and several injured people on board.
“There is already one dead person on the boat. The others have fuel burns, they have been at sea for days and now they are being left alone in an #EU (!) Search and Rescue Zone. Don’t let it become a body count. Do your job. Rescue them,” the ship said.
The vessel has already asked the authorities of Malta and Italy for assistance but has not received it yet.
Europe has been experiencing a migration crisis since 2015 due to the influx of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing crises in their home countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The migrants are trying to reach EU states using various routes, primarily via Italy, Greece, Turkey and the Balkans. Many of them die in shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea.
(RNS) — Accepting the Republican nomination for a second term, President Donald Trump framed his remarks with what he called “the great American story.”
Trump delivered the speech Thursday (Aug. 27) before a crowd of about 1,500 people seated outside the White House, with few wearing masks amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, as masks were only “suggested” for attendees.
“Gathered here at our beautiful and majestic White House — known all over the world as the ‘People’s House’ — we cannot help but marvel at the miracle that is our great American story,” Trump said after accepting his party’s nomination.
That story includes figures like explorers Lewis and Clark and former President Abraham Lincoln, he said.
It also, in Trump’s telling, is a story rich in religious faith.
“What united generations past was an unshakable confidence in America’s destiny, and an unbreakable faith in the American people,” he said. “They knew that our country is blessed by God and has a special purpose in this world.”
Here’s how the president wove faith throughout that story on the last night of the Republican National Convention.
During his speech, Trump claimed Democrats see America as “a wicked nation that must be punished for its sins.”
He later added, “Our opponents believe that America is a depraved nation. We want our sons and daughters to know the truth: America is the greatest and most exceptional nation in the history of the world!”
The line is in keeping with Trump’s longstanding political refrain: that the United States was once “great,” that his administration made it “great again” and that re-electing him would keep the country “great.”
However, some may have considered it an unusual line to come from a Presbyterian, a branch of Christianity that Trump often claims as his own.
Presbyterians are rooted in the teachings of John Calvin, a 16th-century theologian who emerged as a leading voice in Europe during the Protestant Reformation. One of Calvin’s core teachings is that while humanity retains a concept of right and wrong, it remains “totally depraved” — and sinful — as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s “original sin” in the Garden of Eden.
In fact, this belief puts the “T” in TULIP — an acronym many Presbyterians and other Reformed Christians use to remember the five points of Calvinism: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, Preservation of the Saints.
Battle for the soul of America
“In this country, we don’t look to career politicians for salvation. In America, we don’t turn to government to restore our souls. We put our faith in almighty God,” Trump said.
He added that his Democratic rival Joe Biden is “not the savior of America’s soul” but the “destroyer of America’s jobs, and if given the chance, he will be the destroyer of American greatness.”
The lines were a direct rebuke of Biden’s campaign slogan — “a battle for the soul of America” — as well as a twist on a line that Trump has used for years during rallies and when speaking to religious audiences: “In America we don’t worship government, we worship God.”
The remarks were well received by some of the evangelical leaders in the audience at the White House.
“It felt like a revival service on the south lawn of the White House” when Trump uttered those words, tweeted Tony Suarez, chief operating officer of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
In a separate correspondence with Religion News Service, Suarez said he heard several “amens” in the audience during Trump’s address, which stretched for more than an hour.
President Donald Trump speaks from the South Lawn of the White House on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
‘Sanctuary cities,’ and a ‘jihadist’ ban
In attacking his opponent, Trump said Biden “supports deadly sanctuary cities that protect criminal aliens. He promised to end national security travel bans from jihadist nations, and he pledged to increase refugee admissions by 700 percent.”
Although rarely acknowledged by critics, the concept of “sanctuary cities” emerged out of a 1980s religious phenomenon known as the Sanctuary Movement, which encouraged religious communities to house migrants fleeing violence in Central America in their sanctuaries in direct defiance of federal law.
The movement reemerged in a new form — aptly called the “New Sanctuary Movement” — under the Obama administration. It exploded in popularity during the onset of the Trump administration, with houses of worship taking in undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation and essentially daring immigration officials to raid their churches (officials do not do so as a matter of internal policy).
Last year, the Trump administration began issuing massive fines on immigrants taking sanctuary in houses of worship, presumably as a deterrent against the practice.
Meanwhile, religious groups have increased their efforts: Last year, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America even declared itself a “sanctuary church body.”
As for Trump’s reference to travel bans barring entry to people “from jihadist nations,” there are questions about what he is referring to — and his language.
His administration has long claimed the travel ban that Trump initiated within a week of assuming office was not a “Muslim ban,” despite the countries on the ban list being primarily majority Muslim. Trump himself called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States during his campaign. Jihad, however, is a term used within Islam that is often interpreted to mean “to strive” or “struggle.” While it has been used to denote a call for war or violent action, as Trump implied, it can also be used to describe striving to make the world a better place in other ways.
Trump’s ban was widely opposed by religious groups. Lutherans again were among a number of faith-based agencies who sued the Trump administration over the president’s executive orders banning travel from several Muslim-majority countries, calling it, in effect, a Muslim ban.
One nation under God
“During the Democrat Convention, the words ‘under God’ were removed from the pledge of allegiance — not once, but twice,” Trump said.
Trump and other Republicans have repeated this claim multiple times since last week’s Democratic National Convention.
The accusation is partly true: two different caucuses that met outside of mainstage events — a Muslim delegates meeting and the LGBTQ caucus — did, in fact, omit “under God” while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance during their meetings. But “under God” was said repeatedly by speakers during the pledge and in every instance of the pledge’s recitation during the convention’s mainstage events, including by Biden himself during his closing address.
The omission of God also did not necessarily appear to represent a hostility to faith in general: the Muslim delegates meeting was filled with prayer, and an LGBTQ caucus meeting featured an appearance by former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, an openly gay Episcopalian who often references his faith.
Moreover, this week’s Republican convention also played fast and loose with the pledge at times. During his address, North Carolina congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn omitted “indivisible” while quoting the pledge in the closing line of his speech, declaring in his prepared remarks and onstage: “One nation. Under God. With liberty and justice for all.”
Arriving with Bibles
Nearing the end of his speech, Trump returned to the theme of the “great American story.”
That story began with “our American ancestors” sailing across the ocean to “build a new life on a new continent,” the president said.
“They loved their families, they loved their country, and they loved their God,” he said. When opportunity beckoned, they picked up their Bibles, packed up their belongings, climbed into their covered wagons, and set out West for the next adventure.”
What Trump’s version leaves out is the Native American ancestors already living on the continent when European explorers and settlers arrived. It was the Doctrine of Discovery, a series of papal edicts, that gave Christian explorers the right to claim lands they “discovered.”
It also leaves out slavery, pointed out John Fea, a professor of American history at evangelical Messiah College.
The story of American progress is more complicated than Trump made it out to be, Fea told RNS.
“Manifest Destiny was deeply informed by the long-standing evangelical idea that white Protestant ‘civilization’ must advance Westward. God gave the continent to Christians and it was their ‘destiny’ to conquer and tame it,” he said.
“This entire project was drenched in the unholy mix of evangelical Protestantism and white supremacy.”
But the emphasis on the role of Christian faith specifically in America’s founding was well-received by some Christians.
“I believe for those Americans who want a country that’s founded on faith and freedom and on law and order, they were excited by what they heard the president say tonight,” Pastor Robert Jeffress, one of Trump’s most vocal evangelical supporters, told Fox News afterward.
Corruption bedeviling South Africa recently has entered the fight against the novel-coronavirus, and church leaders are furious about it.
(Photo: Albin Hillert / WCC)Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has been outspoken from the pulpit. Makgoba, the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, preaches during a July 19 interfaith prayer service, held at the Roman Catholic Emmanuel Cathedral in Durban, South Africa, during the 2016 International AIDS Conference.
The Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba called on his President Cyril Ramaphosa to ensure that “hypocrites” and “thieves” in the ruling African National Congress return what they have stolen from the public and be sent to jail.
“In the Book of Kings, in the Old Testament, God tells Elijah to leave the cave to which he has retreated, and to engage with the world,” said Makgoba on Aug. 26.
“Similarly, today, God compels us as the Church to come out of our sanctuaries and to speak out about the conditions that afflict our people. If we don’t, then as Jesus says in Luke’s Gospel, the very stones will cry out.
“Today, Mr. President, our hearts, our souls, our bodies and our minds are consumed with the national crisis that faces South Africa,” said makgoa.
” The public’s money, life-saving money that is meant to provide oxygen to the breathless poor in the midst of a pandemic, has been misappropriated, stolen in brazen defiance of the commandment in the Book of Exodus which enjoins each of us: Thou shalt not steal.”
Last week World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said that corupt practices around medical safety gear for Covid19 health workers is tantamount to “murder”.
“Any type of corruption is unacceptable,” Tedros said at global webinar by the WHO.
“However, corruption related to PPE (personal protective equipment)… for me it’s actually murder. Because if health workers work without PPE, we’re risking their lives. And that also risks the lives of the people they serve.
‘MURDER AND IT MUST STOP’
“So it’s criminal and it’s murder and it has to stop.”
Brazil has also reported PPE corruption.
In South Africa reports that local government officials were hoarding and selling food donations meant for families without income during lockdown stimulated national debate.
Meanwhile in Geneva, Tedros said that corruption which deprives health workers of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) threatened not only their lives but also the lives of their patients suffering from the novel coronavirus.
In South Africa, 115 COVID-19 new deaths on Aug. 28 brought the country’s death toll to 13,743, with 620 132 confirmed cases and 533,935 recoveries, News 24 reported.
Makgoba said, “Corrupt big-wigs who have joined your party, not to serve the common good but to enrich themselves, act with impunity – their attitudes are debilitating, life-drenching.
“At this time in the history of our country, we must draw a line in the sand. Thus, says the Lord, on whom our hope is founded, the hypocrites and the thieves must return the stolen treasures of the poor, and they must be dispatched to jail, where they must wear orange jumpsuits.”
The day before Makgoba’s statement a delegation led by the South African Council of Churches met with officials from the African National Congress to call for societal action against COVID-19 corruption, the World Council of Churches reported.
CORRUPTION AND UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR
The delegation urged all who live in South Africa to reject corruption and unethical behavior.
As well as the South African Council of Churches, the delegation included the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, Nelson Mandela Foundation, Foundation for Human Rights and Council for the Advancement of South African Constitution.
“There comes a time when the moral depravity of some in positions of authority, and in the private sector, undermine the very notion of nationhood and the underlying value of public service,” said the statement.
“We are compelled to assert: This is not how we shall be known as a nation.”
The group called for transparency, accountability and ethical governance.
“The governing party leadership appears compromised within itself,” the church leaders said.
Such a breakdown at this level of “prepares the ground for the moral decay of the rest of society, resulting in the rule of law being undermined.”
They called on the ANC, which has ruled since 1994, and all political parties in South Africa to enter into a covenant based on a public commitment to accountability, responsiveness and openness.
Many church leaders had supported the ANC when it led the struggle against apartheid, but now they said, “the fight against corruption while elevating a leader who is facing corruption charges to a provincial legislature.”
In a Joint Statement by the European Union Delegation and the Heads of Mission of France, Germany, Ireland and Sweden in Monrovia, is expressing concerns about the rising number of rape cases in the country, drawing importance to combatting sexual and gender-based violence
Monrovia – The European Union Delegation and the Embassies of its Member States resident in Liberia – Germany, France, Ireland and Sweden – issue the following statement:
The EU shares the deep concern expressed by the Government and people of Liberia regarding the alarming rates of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the country.
The EU takes note of the recent, deep public engagement on this important issue, including demonstrations on the streets of Monrovia. Likewise, the EU recognises the initiative taken by H.E. President George Weah and his Government to find ways to address this profound problem.
SGBV is perpetrated against women, men and children, often against the most vulnerable in society and it must be stopped. Freedom from violence is a fundamental human right, which must be realised and protected in every society.
SGBV is perpetrated against women, men and children, often against the most vulnerable in society and it must be stopped. Freedom from violence is a fundamental human right, which must be realised and protected in every society.
The EU therefore remains committed to supporting Liberia in eradicating all forms of SGBV and strongly welcomes the increased commitment shown by the Government in this area, a commitment made evident by the recently appointed Presidential Committee on SGBV. The EU also commends the people of Liberia for their recent expressions of solidarity with the survivors and victims of this violence. Freedom of expression is a cardinal component of a democratic society and is enshrined in the Liberian constitution.
We urge all parties to respect this freedom as the country continues to have this important national conversation.
Related Posts
Ending SGBV requires a spectrum of interventions from prevention, to care, to response and to justice. It requires the support and contribution of all citizens and partners, and political will at all levels.
Through the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative and several bilateral programmes, the EU and its Member States have partnered with the Government and people of Liberia in many of these intervention areas, including: preventing SGBV at community levels; supporting access to justice for survivors and victims; and, strengthening the response capacity of relevant institutions – including One Stop Centers and Criminal Court E. The EU will remain committed to these key sectors.
However, the EU strongly opposes the death penalty, at all times and in all circumstances. It is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, which is incompatible with the inalienable right to life. It is irreversible and ineffective as a deterrent to criminal behaviour.
Liberia has signed the Optional Protocol on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and, in keeping with its provisions, has instituted a moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty. Likewise, chemical castration violates international rules on torture and it is cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as defined in the ICCPR.
The EU welcomes Liberia’s full accession to this Covenant and its optional protocols, and calls on Liberia to honour its international human rights commitments and to continue the great strides it has made in maintaining peace and strengthening democracy.
The EU stands firmly by the survivors and victims of SGBV, their families and communities, and we will continue to work with the Government and people of Liberia to end SGBV in all its forms.
Europe tightened restrictions on Friday as it battled a surge in coronavirus cases, with masks becoming obligatory all over Paris and Hungary shutting its borders once again.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the crisis will be “more difficult” in the autumn and winter.
President Donald Trump took a characteristically more optimistic view, despite the death toll in the United States topping 180,000, as he vowed to “crush” the virus with a vaccine by the end of the year.
The total number of declared cases has now topped 24.5 million globally since the virus first emerged in China almost nine months ago, with more than 832,000 deaths.
The economic toll has been catastrophic, with Canada the latest to announce a record collapse: a 38.7 percent drop in GDP in the last quarter on an annualised basis.
Canada also extended the closure of its border to non-essential travel by a month until the end of September. The border has been closed to all non-essential travellers since mid-March.
Governments hope tighter mask rules will offset the need for a return to economically-devastating lockdowns, though the French government said it could not rule out new stay-at-home orders.
Masks were already obligatory in Paris on public transport and in congested areas, but will now be needed throughout the city.
“The epidemic is gaining ground, and now is the time to intervene,” said Prime Minister Jean Castex.
Late Friday, health authorities said almost 7,400 new infections were registered in mainland France in 24 hours, calling growth in new cases “exponential”.
Disinfections outside the Kutvolgyi hospital in Budapest
ATTILA KISBENEDEK, AFP
Hungary said foreigners would be barred from entry from September 1, while returning citizens would need two negative tests to avoid a 14-day quarantine.
Greece said it was extending a lockdown on migrant camps to at least September 15, amid ongoing concerns over the spread of the virus in hugely overcrowded camps on five Aegean islands.
Sceptics –
Many governments must also confront a backlash.
Spanish police arrested a man who believes the pandemic is a hoax, and used social media to incite violence against politicians, including Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
A Berlin court on Friday allowed a demo of coronavirus sceptics to go ahead this weekend, with police vowing a show of force to ensure safety regulations are met. A similar protest is planned in Zurich.
Merkel warned the battle against the virus is “likely to be more difficult over the next few months” as people start spending more time indoors.
She and state leaders agreed Thursday to toughen face mask rules and ban large events until the end of the year to combat rising case numbers blamed mainly on summer travel and private parties.
Women from the GMR Varalakshmi Foundation stitch Personal Protective Equipment for frontline coronavirus workers in Hyderabad
NOAH SEELAM, AFP
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz also warned of “challenging” months ahead but predicted a return to “normal” next year.
The Spanish government said this week children as young as six will be required to cover their nose and mouth at school, while Britain reversed earlier guidance that pupils aged 11-18 did not need to wear masks.
South Korea also decided Friday to tighten measures, including shutting indoor sports venues, in the greater Seoul area, home to half the country’s 52 million people after a spate of new clusters, many linked to church gatherings.
The US is by far the hardest-hit country in the world in terms of both number of cases and deaths.
“We are marshalling America’s scientific genius to produce a vaccine in record time,” Trump said as he accepted the Republican nomination for a second term.
“We will have a safe and effective vaccine this year and together we will crush the virus.”
But vast economic damage has already been done. On Friday, hotel and casino giant MGM Resorts announced 18,000 lay-offs.
Spread of the coronavirus
Simon MALFATTO, AFP
Japan said it will lift a re-entry ban on foreigners from next month amid efforts to rebuild the virus-hit economy but would maintain rules to keep the disease at bay.
It has been hit less hard than most advanced economies by the coronavirus, with just over 65,000 cases, and around 1,200 deaths.
The British government urged people to return to work amid concern about the impact of the lockdown on the economy and struggling high street businesses.
An industrial body forecast this week that the UK economy will lose about £22 billion ($29 billion, 24 billion euros) this year.
Bolivia said it will ease virus curbs from next week while maintaining border closures.
People and vehicles will be allowed to circulate for longer periods, between 5:00 am and 8:00 pm — an extension of two hours from current rules — and a weekend prohibition on movement will be lifted on Saturdays.
Two Chinese-owned manufacturers have decided to invest in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ) despite Covid-19.
PPSEZ is a 357ha industrial park in Kambol district’s Kantaok commune on the western outskirts of the capital and is operated by the Cambodian-listed Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone Plc (PPSP).
In the years before and after we launched our manufacturing here in Cambodia, Phnom Penh SEZ has always been supportive of our operations through their “One Stop” services. When you start a business in Cambodia, you need to understand many regulations and procedures which are related to your particular business – in addintion finding suitable land with a developed infrastructure. Phnom Penh SEz in a great partner to solve all your needs for manufacturing in Cambodia.
Rohto-Mentholatum (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. Mr. KONDO Takayuki Factory Manager
PPSP on August 14 said businesses in PPSEZ continue to make headway and investors are keeping pace and even expanding in the face of sweeping Covid-19-related concerns.
It said the two companies were drawn into PPSEZ by its potential and the perks the Kingdom provides investors.
Incorporated on May 15, Seikawa (Cambodia) Technology Co Ltd is the local arm of Zhuhai, Guangdong-based manufacturer of plastic parts for electrical and electronic devices Zhuhai Seikawa Plastic Products Co Ltd and will supply a well-known Japanese high-tech company in the Kingdom.
PPSP quoted the company as saying that the benefits of cut logistics costs and delivery time were key reasons for the decision.
Incorporated on May 5, WCFO (Cambodia) Co Ltd is the local arm of Hong Kong-based WCFO Communication Co Ltd, which produces fibre-optic devices and exports them to Japan and the US.
PPSP said WCFO “is looking at Cambodia as a new production base due to the fact that the labour is young, trainable and affordable, and the preferential treatment to Cambodia from developed countries, especially [given] the situation of [the] on-going US-China trade issue.
“During this hard time, we need to keep trying and [have] hope for [a] better [tomorrow]. Meanwhile, looking for or creating new opportunities is very important,” it quoted WCFO as saying.
Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice-president Lim Heng on Sunday said the investment is a perk from the Chinese government’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative project.
He said the Kingdom is also reaping the benefits of the Sino-US trade war, especially evident in the soon-to-be-signed Cambodia-China bilateral free-trade agreement.
“The two companies have seized the opportunity to invest in our country to produce and export to China, the US, as well as Europe and ASEAN countries as well. We are pleased to have this many investors come and invest in Cambodia,” Heng said.
PPSP customer service manager Hak Serey told The Post in May that there are 108 companies operating in PPSEZ. “Currently, the project is full and we are planning to expand into another area.”
PPSEZ saw $1.139 billion in trade volume last year, up 14 per cent from 2018, reported PPSP.
Ministry of Economy and Finance data show that Cambodia exported $2.688 billion worth of goods through special economic zones (SEZs) last year, up 27 per cent over 2018.
There were 465 companies operating in the Kingdom’s 54 SEZs employing more than 100,000 workers.
Côte d’Ivoire – A flight from the European Union (EU) humanitarian air bridge will land in Abidjan today, carrying medical equipment and PPE for Ivorian health personnel.
The shipment includes medical outfits, masks and refrigerators, to protect the people of Côte d’Ivoire and ensure their access to healthcare, as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Janez Lenarčič, European Commissioner for Crisis Management, said:« As part of its global response, the European Union is bringing medical assistance to the regions and communities most vulnerable to the coronavirus. We will ultimately defeat the coronavirus thanks to mutual assistance, in particular with the African countries which are our main partners. In Côte d’Ivoire, the assistance we are providing will make it possible to meet crucial needs in terms of the availability of serological tests and the management of medical waste, but it will also strengthen the protection of responders, such as firefighters and medical personnel. »
The EU-chartered flight took off from Lyon, France, carrying 7.5 tonnes of essential equipment. The main beneficiaries will be the Pasteur Institute, the National Office for Civil Protection and health facilities receiving patients.
The coronavirus pandemic has created enormous logistical challenges for delivering life-saving assistance, be it humanitarian aid or medical equipment.
Since the start of May, 66 EU humanitarian air bridge flights have transported more than 1 200 tonnes of cargo to areas with health needs.
EU humanitarian air bridge flights are fully funded by the EU. They are managed in coordination with Member States and humanitarian organisations that send material and in cooperation with the host country.
EU aid to Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire and the EU are linked by a close, intense and multifaceted partnership supported by significant development cooperation. Over the period 2014-2020, EUR 308 million in EU support has been allocated for measures in the fields of governance and peace, agriculture and energy under the European Development Fund alone, supplemented by other financial instruments. To support the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and its impact, EUR 57 million in EU aid has been mobilised: EUR 5 million for the health response in the form of projects and EUR 52 million for the socio-economic response in the form of budget support, including help for the most vulnerable.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated that all European Union countries have an obligation to support Greece in its row with Turkey over Cyprus’ offshore energy resources. The chancellor added that she had already discussed the dispute between Athens and Ankara “intensely” with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Tensions between Greece and Turkey escalated again early in August after Ankara announced the renewal of its efforts to find gas and oil in offshore areas of Cyprus, which Turkey considers part of the Republic of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone, to which it has been given access.
Turkey sent a seismic research vessel to the eastern Mediterranean, escorted by a warship, for that purpose. These efforts have long been opposed by the Greek government, which doesn’t recognise Ankara’s claims to Cyprus’ offshore resources, prompting the country to mobilise military forces in response to the Turkish actions.
The latest escalation was preceded by the two countries striking separate deals with other states to draw up EEZ borders, which conflicted with each other. Athens signed such an agreement with the Egyptian government and Turkey struck one with the Government of National Accord, which controls the north-eastern part of war-torn Libya.
Refugees in Germany – When you meet Raisan Hameed now, you can hardly believe it: the quiet young man, who had his first day as a student at the University of Graphics and Book Art (HGB) in Leipzig in October 2016, stands in the lively Eisenbahnstraße in Leipzig, speaking to a small crowd about his work, which is hanging in a local art gallery.
Visitors listen with interest as the photography student presents to of his pieces in fluent German. DW visited Raisan in Leipzig four years ago. The Iraqi refugee had just been admitted to university. On that day the “Academy for Transcultural Exchange” was opened at the HGB — a special two-year preparatory program for refugee students ahead of fulltime higher education.
The course got underway with a grand opening ceremony. Representatives from politics, the media, and the entire university were present. “I was a bit nervous that day,” says Raisan in retrospect. “I’d only been in Germany for a year, could hardly speak German, and we, the newcomers, were the focus. Everyone was looking at us.”
Raisan had just been catapulted from the relatively straightforward life at a refugee home into the big world of the renowned art school. Back then he was in his mid-twenties, and, by his own admission, full of awe.
The Iraqi refugee came to Germany in the remarkable late summer of 2015. A year earlier, he and his family had been forced to leave their hometown of Mosul when the ‘Islamic State’ conquered the city. At that time, Raisan had studied photography and worked as a photojournalist and cameraman for various media.
He couldn’t complete his studies in Mosul. And staying in Iraq was impossible. The armed militias hunted down artists and journalists. “I had to get out of there,” he says. “A friend of mine was beaten, another was hanged. It was terrible for me to see my own city burn.”
Raisan left Iraq without his family. On an overcrowded boat, he made the dangerous crossing from Turkey to Greece and a few weeks later reached Germany via the so-called Balkan route. He spent his first year at a refugee home in Owschlag, northern Germany. In the beginning, he suffered a lot because he couldn’t speak German.
But in little Owschlag, he quickly made friends and met a woman who volunteered to help him settle in and learn the language. “She was like a mother to me. She, her husband, and her children gave me a warm welcome. They even furnished an extra room for me in their house and said, ‘If you don’t want to sleep in the refugee home, you are welcome to stay with us’.”
His host mother accompanied him to the offices, helped him learn German, showed him the country, and also shared his passion for photography. “She understood me as a person and my story, and accepted me as I am.”
It was the frequent contact with locals that made it easier for Raisan to settle in and integrate. When he moved southeast to Leipzig, he quickly made friends in his shared apartment. “It was a nice time. We did a lot together.” His roommates helped him with homework in German and with writing letters.
He was also able to learn a lot from them about German culture, but in return also told them about Iraq and its culture. He now lives alone because he needs more space and quiet for his studies, but he has a lot of friends, most of whom are German.
Still, not everyone was so welcoming, says the now 29-year-old. He also endured racist attacks — mostly on public transport — and verbal abuse like “S*** Arabs” or “S*** foreigners.”
“Once someone even said ‘You black beard!’” he recalls, smiling a little. But he doesn’t find it funny. The racist insults “made me very angry and hurt,” he says.
But the terrible experiences weren’t about to deter him from reaching his goals. He used the two years at the Academy in Leipzig to learn the German language and prepare for further photography studies at the HGB. It wasn’t easy to begin with. “I sat in photography classes with other students and had to discuss photos in German. That was difficult. But eventually, it worked out.”
In 2018, Raisan completed the preparatory courses and has since been a full-time photography student — and a successful one at that. He regularly takes part in exhibitions. His work has been shown in Leipzig, Berlin, Rotterdam, and even on the Arabian Gulf, in Muscat, Dubai, and Sharjah.
But Raisan is particularly happy about his participation in an exhibition in the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany — the Bundeskunsthalle — in Bonn. His eyes shine when he says that his work is now on display in a “really big museum.”
A central motif in his pictures is his traumatic experience of escape: “I try to process my experiences in order to get rid of them so that they no longer burden me.” He also wants to fight racism and “open people’s eyes to something they have never seen themselves.”
Five years have passed since Raisan arrived in Germany.
Has he made it?
He ponders his answer for a long time. No, as an artist he hasn’t quite made it yet, he says. He still hasn’t had his breakthrough, the big hit that attracts a lot of attention.
And on a personal level?
Five years is a long time, Raisan says. He has experienced many beautiful, but also unsightly things. “I’ve come across a difficult path, but I’ve arrived. I live in a city that has accepted me. The university gave me the opportunity to achieve my dream of continuing to study. Yes, I can say that I made it.”
But the photography student isn’t about to rest on his laurels. In a year he wants to finish his studies so he can finally get started internationally. As a photographer, he wants to be able to travel a lot. Quite often, however, he’s denied opportunities because his Iraqi citizenship and refugee status often mean he is refused a visa.
What pains him most is the long separation from his parents, who stayed in Iraq. He hasn’t seen them in half a decade. He especially misses his hometown Mosul, where as a young man he taught himself to take photos in the alleys of the old town.
But he’s optimistic, says Raisan, and is determined to be successful. Failure, it seems, is not an option for him. Many people have helped him on his path so far, he says. “Germany gave me something. I want to give something back at some point.”
Rose Achiego & Vatican News English Africa Service
Chairman of the Dialogue Reference Group, Archbishop Martin Kivuva of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa delivering a press statement at Ufungamano House, Nairobi, said that Kenyans were extremely unhappy with the corruption in the country.
“This Dialogue Reference Group is appalled at the downward spiral of descent into the madness of uncontrolled corruption being witnessed in our nation. This trend is immoral and is contrary to the teachings of God, and we fully condemn it. The information in the public arena indicates that the country has received more than 190 billion Kenya Shillings to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. However, there has been great lack of transparency and accountability in the expenditure of these funds, which has lent credence to accusations that most of the money has been misappropriated. It is inconceivable for us that a Kenyan can sit and plot how to steal money meant to save the lives of Kenyans!” said Archbishop Kivuva flanked by other religious leaders.
Parliament needs to exercise its duty of oversight
The Group reminded the country’s Executive and Parliament not to abet corruption by neglecting their duty of oversight and vigilance over public funds.
“The reports of corruption touching on the Covid-19 funds are a condemnation on the Executive and Parliament, who have the sworn duty to protect the lives and resources of Kenyans. We remind you that every time you abet corruption by failing to exercise your oversight mandate, you are breaking your oath of office,” the Church leaders said.
Public expenditure, procedures and documentation must be transparent
Archbishop Kivuva said that the Dialogue Reference Group had noted that corruption in Kenya is perpetuated by bureaucratically instigated opacity in public finance manifested by the lack of details, clarity and information on matters such as expenditure, procurement and disbursements among others.
The Group has made an urgent appealed to the Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, to act swiftly and save the situation.
