Tünews International - English

06/01/2025

30/12/2024

Hold off on a trip to Syria
Many Syrian refugees would like to travel to their home country – for example to visit terminally ill relatives.

If they do not have a German passport, they jeopardize their residence permit under the current legal situation. But this is set to change. That’s why Jochen Hövekennmeier from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) advises them to “wait and think carefully about whether they are taking the risk of jeopardizing their protection title” when asked by tuenews INTERNATIONAL.

BAMF is working on a solution
Under current law, the BAMF can revoke a refugee’s residence permit if it was granted due to political persecution. However, the Asylum Act provides for exceptions due to “moral obligations”, says Hövekenmeier.

These include “classic family matters” such as funerals or a serious illness of close relatives. The BAMF is therefore “in the process of pragmatic solutions”. The Federal Ministry of the Interior also confirmed that it is working on “an exceptional regulation for short trips home”, according to a report by “Tagesschau”. However, it remains to be seen whether a solution will be found before Christmas.

See Asylum Act § 73 (7): If the foreigner travels to the state of which they are a national or, if they are stateless, to the state in which they had their habitual residence, it is presumed that the conditions for entitlement to asylum, the granting of international protection or the determination of a ban on deportation in accordance with § 60 (5) or (7) of the Residence Act no longer apply. The presumption according to sentence 1 does not apply if the journey morally imperative.

and ARD Mediathek | no solution for protection status
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City of Damascus in Syria. Photo: tuenews INTERNATIONAL / Nour Mahfouz.

21/12/2024

SWR at tuenews INTERNATIONAL
SWR aktuell Baden-Württemberg reported on tuenews INTERNATIONAL in its broadcast on December 18, 2024.

Reporter Mia Zundel accompanied our colleague Oula Mahfous on her way to the editorial meeting.

During the meeting, she recorded how we collected questions and information needs that many people of Syrian origin are now asking themselves:

Why should you think carefully about returning, not just emotionally but also rationally?

What help is available? Why should Syrian nationals without a German passport refrain from traveling to Syria?

SWR | SWR News
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SWR visits tuenews. Photo: tuenews INTERNATIONAL / Brigitte Gisel.

19/12/2024

The tuenews team
tuenews INTERNATIONAL is supported by three groups of people:
Around 20 former refugees work as authors. They identify relevant topics, help with research and writing articles, and translate.

Five journalists coach the authors and do a lot of basic daily journalistic work.

They are volunteer trainers at tünews INTERNATIONAL gUG (haftungsbeschränkt).

The district of Tübingen provides staff who manage tuenews INTERNATIONAL, organize and carry out production and financial administration.

The publisher of tuenews INTERNATIONAL and tuenews MAGAZINE is the managing director of tünews INTERNATIONAL gUG (haftungsbeschränkt), Wolfgang Sannwald.

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At the tünews workshop in Heilbronn. Photo: tuenews INTERNATIONAL / Sameer Ibrahim.

18/12/2024

www.tuenews.de now new
tuenews INTERNATIONAL will look different from December 18: In future, everyone will be able to choose their language and then conveniently surf through all the news in their language.

Anyone who wants to can also change the language version at any time. It will also be easier to find several articles – including older ones – on the same topic. In future, we will combine several articles on topics such as “Syria after Assad”.

Another new feature is that the tuenews INTERNATIONAL website will primarily offer news in a concise news format. Longer articles that serve integration in the broadest sense can be found on the tuenews MAGAZINE website under the categories tuenews CULTURES, tuenews EVERYDAY and tuenews REMEMBERING.

We want to keep these results of often extensive research, which usually remain relevant in the long term, accessible. That is why we also summarize them in digital magazines.
With the new structure, which the IT service provider Samuel Aubert is implementing for us, we are laying the foundations for our own tuenews app, which will be published in 2025 – to mark the tenth anniversary of tuenews INTERNATIONAL.

The state of Baden-Württemberg is supporting improved access to tuenews information with funds from its “Integration vor Ort – Stärkung kommunaler Strukturen” program. tuenews INTERNATIONAL continues to be made possible by the district of Tübingen.

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The tuenews INTERNATIONAL homepage in a new format. Photo: tuenews INTERNATIONAL / Brigitte Gisel.
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17/12/2024

From independence to liberation: the Syrian flags
By Oula Mahfouz

On Sunday, December 8, 2024, Syrian people around the world celebrated the fall of the Assad regime. They raised a flag with the three colors green, white and black – with three red stars in the middle. But what is the story behind this flag?

The independence flag: the beginning and its meaning
This flag, known as the flag of the Syrian revolution, has deep roots in the country’s history. It was first introduced by local authorities under the French Mandate administration on January 1, 1932.

This flag became known as the “Independence Flag” and became the official flag on April 17, 1946, the day Syria gained independence from the French Mandate.

The flag symbolizes different eras of Islamic and Arab history:
Green: symbolizes the Caliphate of the Rightly Guided, the first four caliphs. White: Represents the Umayyad Caliphate. Black: Represents the Abbasid Caliphate. These colors were taken from the flag of the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in 1920.

The three red stars originally stood for the three large regions of Syria: Aleppo, Damascus and Deir ez-Zor. After the incorporation of Latakia and Jabal al-Druze in 1936, the meaning changed: the first star: Aleppo, Damascus and Deir ez-Zor. The second star: Jabal al-Druze. The third star: Latakia.

The flag of unity with Egypt
When Syria and Egypt founded the United Arab Republic in 1958, the independence flag was replaced by a new flag Red: symbolizes the blood of the martyrs.

White: stands for peace, black: represents times of oppression and colonial rule, with two green stars in the middle originally stood for unity between Syria and Egypt. This flag symbolized Arab unity under President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

After the separation from Egypt in 1961, the independence flag returned for a short time. However, when the Baath Party came to power on March 8, 1963, several changes were made until the flag of the United Arab Republic was finally reintroduced.

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04/12/2024

Deutschlandfunk visits tuenews
By Bernhard Kirschner

‘It’s great what you’re doing here.’ Katharina Thoms, a reporter for Deutschlandfunk, was impressed by the work of tuenews INTERNATIONAL. She had visited the editorial team at the Tübingen District Office to do a radio report for the regional report of Deutschlandfunk Kultur. For this, authors, coaches and management had come together for an editorial meeting in person. Usually, this takes place online once a week.

Part-time training and violence against women
This time, too, many topics were discussed and assigned as assignments for articles or reports. One author, a refugee from Syria, will research and write about part-time training. She has small children and would like to become a saleswoman.

The fact that violence against women has increased should also be addressed in a report. Racism and increasing discrimination were discussed in detail, which worries refugees a lot.

But cultural topics – such as the German saying ‘knock on wood’ or Semitic peoples – were also discussed in the tuenews editorial meeting. It was decided that the federal election should be taken up in several articles.

The reference to tuenews came from Amal
Katharina Thoms followed the discussions with great interest and conducted extensive interviews with authors and experienced coaches who provide her with journalistic support. A Deutschlandfunk editor in Berlin had commissioned the reporter. He had come across tuenews via an article from the refugee online platform Amal.

Editors from Amal had recently visited Tübingen and written a report about it (https://amalberlin.de/de/2024/10/23/es-begann-mit-einer-wandzeitung/).
After an hour and a half, Ms Thoms, who has been dealing with the topic of migration for over ten years, had gathered enough material for her radio report.

This will probably be broadcast on Tuesday, 26 November at 1:05 p.m. in the Deutschlandfunk Kultur country report (https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/).
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04/12/2024

Asylum seekers will receive less money in 2025

As of January 1, 2025, benefits for asylum seekers in Germany will be reduced and they will receive less money for their living expenses. Nothing will change for recipients of citizen’s benefit and social assistance. The Federal Ministry of Social Affairs has published the new rates under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act in the Official Gazette.

Single people who do not live in shared accommodation will receive 441 euros per month in future – previously the rate was 460 euros.

For couples living in a shared apartment or asylum seekers in collective accommodation, the monthly amount will fall from 413 to 397 euros. Lower rates apply to children and young people as well as unmarried adults under the age of 25 who live with their parents.

These benefits cover basic needs such as food, clothing and health services. The costs of accommodation, heating and electricity are not included in the amounts.
The standard requirements for social benefits are adjusted annually in line with the development of prices and net wages. In the previous year, the rates were increased significantly.

According to the calculation method used for this, a lower value would actually have resulted for social assistance and the citizen’s allowance at the turn of the year – but they are protected, which is why the amounts remain the same. However, this regulation does not apply to the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act, which is why reductions are possible here.

In a statement, PRO ASYL doubts that the new different rates for asylum seekers and recipients of citizens’ benefits are constitutional: This is because the Federal Constitutional Court had already established in principle in 2012 that social benefits for refugees should not be set at a flat rate lower than regular social benefits.
To the publication in the law gazette: Federal Law | Federal Law Gazette

To the PRO ASYL statement: PRO ASYL | Statement on discrimination
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21/04/2024

What to do in accidents involving wild animals?

https://tunewsinternational.com/2024/04/19/what-to-do-in-accidents-involving-wild-animals/

21/04/2024

Payment card: data is only estimated

It already exists in the Ortenau district in Baden. It is also due to be introduced in the Zollernalb district at the beginning of April: the payment card. Depending on the specific version, asylum seekers and tolerated persons will no longer receive cash from the authorities. However, this does not apply to refugees from Ukraine, as they receive citizen’s benefits. With the new regulation, the federal and state governments want to make it no longer possible to transfer money to the home countries and possibly use it to pay smugglers. Those who fall under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act will then only be able to make cashless payments; cash withdrawals will only be possible to a very limited extent. In the Zollernalb district, for example, they will be limited to 150 euros per person per month. Politicians from the CDU/CSU and FDP in particular want to reduce incentives to come to Germany in the first place.
But do asylum seekers really send a lot of money back to their home country? According to an analysis by “Mediendienst Integration”, there are at least strong doubts about this. “Remittances are not recorded or measured—they are only estimated,” according to a collection of facts from the information service. “The Bundesbank emphasizes: Based on these figures, no statement can be made as to whether refugees transfer parts of their social benefits abroad,” it says on the homepage of Mediendienst Integration.

17/04/2024

https://tunewsinternational.com/2024/04/16/for-peaceful-coexistence/

17/04/2024

Time travel through the oldest music: from the world’s first instruments in southern Germany to the oldest song in Syria

10/03/2024

Nouruz is twice in Ramadan

Nouruz marks the start of the new year in Iran and Afghanistan. It is always a big celebration. But this year and in 2025, things are different. The reason: New Year’s Day on March 20 falls during the fasting month of Ramadan, which this year lasts from the evening of March 10 to the evening of April 9. Ramadan shifts by ten to 12 days every year according to the Islamic lunar calendar with only 354 days from the perspective of the solar calendar. Muslims are not allowed to eat or drink anything between sunrise and sunset during Ramadan. All restaurants are closed.
Nouruz has been a happy and social festival since pre-Islamic times. After all, the victory of light over darkness has been celebrated on the day of the equinox for more than 2500 years—with special meals and visits to relatives and friends. The festivities surrounding the New Year and the beginning of spring last up to 13 days.
UNESCO recognized the festival as an “intangible world cultural heritage” in 2010. Nouruz was banned in Syria and Turkey for many years. Kurds around the world have also given Newroz a political meaning since the 20th century—as a symbol of the resistance against oppression handed down in Iranian mythology. Around 300 million people worldwide celebrate Nouruz with different regional traditions—for example, in addition to Afghanistan and Iran, in parts of Russia (from Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan), Albania, Kosovo, Iraq (Kurdistan), Turkey, India and Pakistan.
See tun22031701 and https://www.brauchwiki.de/das-iranische-fruehlings-und-neujahrsfest-nouruz/

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10/03/2024

Women’s Day on March 8 against inequality

International Women’s Day on March 8 is a day of action that draws attention to women’s rights and gender equality worldwide. On the one hand, the day celebrates the achievements of the women’s rights movement and, on the other, draws attention to continuing discrimination and inequalities.
On Friday, March 8, 2024, there will be an event at Tübingen Town Hall from 7 pm to 10 pm. Its motto: “Mind the Gap—Closing the Gaps in Gender Equality”. Admission is free. Slam poet Marina Sigl will be performing. There will also be short speeches from two representatives of the Integration Council as well as initiatives, associations, the city and the Verdi trade union. Afterwards, there will be the opportunity to dance and buy food and drinks.
At 3.30 pm, the Tübingen Women’s Network invites you to a spectacle with speeches, cultural contributions and dancing on the Holzmarkt.
General information on Women’s Day is available at:
https://uni-tuebingen.de/einrichtungen/gleichstellung/beauftragte-fuer-chancengleichheit/gleichstellung-von-frauen-und-maennern/internationaler-frauentag/

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10/03/2024

Women’s action day at the employment agency

Information on ways into training and work specifically for women will be available on Monday, March 11 at the joint Women’s Action Day of the Reutlingen Employment Agency and the Jobcenter in the district of Reutlingen. Presentations will be offered, but individual consultations are also possible. Participation is free of charge and possible without registration. The event will take place in rooms 3.25 and 3.40 at the Employment Agency and Jobcenter at Albstraße 83 in Reutlingen.
The event starts at 10 a.m. with the topic “Part-time training for mothers and German learners”, followed by the topic “Am I good enough? Recognizing strengths and using them strategically” (11 a.m.) and “What can be asked in a job interview?” (12 noon). The event will conclude with a short presentation on the topic of “Using a mini-job to get started” at 1 pm. In addition, the two equal opportunities officers from the Jobcenter Undine Zimmer and Birgit Eyb from the Reutlingen district and employment agency will answer questions about the job market. They also offer individual consultations.

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05/03/2024

How Hijab and Niqab affect the absorption of vitamin D

By Oula Mahfouz and Arne Schick1
Vitamin D is a crucial nutrient for the formation and maintenance of healthy bones as it regulates the absorption of calcium, the main component of bones. It also influences numerous functions in the body’s cells that, for example, inhibit inflammation, protect against cell damage or support the immune system, muscle function and brain cell activity. Natural sources of vitamin D are limited, but we can absorb it from fatty fish or through the conversion of chemical substances in the skin under direct sunlight. The amount of vitamin D produced depends on several factors, including time of day, season, geographic location, skin color and lifestyle.
People with a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency can only absorb limited amounts, have difficulty absorbing it or have little exposure to sunlight. This is also the case for Muslim women who wear religious head coverings such as the hijab and niqab. Women who wear the hijab, a headscarf, cover their head, neck and shoulders. The niqab also covers the face. According to statistics, around one billion people worldwide suffer from vitamin D deficiency. A deficiency can lead to bone problems and increase the risk of fractures. In addition, deficiency is associated with various health problems such as pregnancy complications, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and certain types of cancer. Vitamin D also affects skin and hair health. Studies show that vitamin D supplements can reduce symptoms of depression, as vitamin D plays an important neurological role.
Studies from Iraq and Jordan clearly show that wearing a hijab or niqab, which covers the head and face, can impair the supply of vitamin D, as this clothing restricts the absorption of sunlight. In sunny regions, women with hijab or niqab have higher deficiency rates than men. Women in sunless and colder regions such as Germany who wear hijab may suffer more from vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency in mothers can have a negative impact on children’s health, especially during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Women with hijab must therefore take steps to ensure.....

05/03/2024

Train drivers and Verdi strikes again!!!

Rail passengers must be prepared for new strikes. They are to begin at 2 a.m. on Thursday, March 7 and last for 35 hours. This was announced by Claus Weselsky, head of the train drivers’ union GDL. There could be further unannounced strikes after that. Deutsche Bahn and the union have been arguing for months about a new collective agreement. A key issue is the GDL’s demand to reduce the working week for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours without reducing pay.
The trade union Verdi has also called for warning strikes at airports on Thursday and Friday. Lufthansa ground staff are to take part in the strike. The strike will affect Lufthansa passengers. It is scheduled to last until 7.10 a.m. on Saturday.

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