Hi,

my very first “real” post, exciting ahh. This topic is incredibly important to me. I was raised in an immigrant household where we almost always talked about what was happening. I saw how my mum, my best friends and other people in my community were discriminated and knew how wrong that was. As i´ve gotten older and seen more, not just what was happening in my surroundings but in the world, i have been more and more shocked. I´ve had some very difficult talks with friends and family about things i thought were common sense and just human, but they thought were “means to a better end” (if thats the right saying), so when i first planned this post i wanted it to be a warning and a reminder of what is going wrong in this world … then this week happened and i thought, maybe it could also be a reminder that there are places and people who believe in the same things i do and do see all humans as just that … human.

So this post is going to be a reminder of what i think is going wrong, but also about what i think is going right. Lets start with all the things that give me headaches. In the world but also especially here in Germany you can recognize a very concerning movement to the right, which is frightening as it is and more so with the Nazi history we have. People are blaming their problems on immigrants and people that have had to flee their homes, not realizing that without them this country would not survive. Funny enough the places where mostly “german” people live, have more of a problem than places like Berlin or Hamburg where all types of people live together. In my opinion fear is the problem, fear of the unknown and then all the propaganda doesnt really help. The rights of minorities are in serious danger, all over the western world and still we blame everyone but ourselves.

This week was the first in many months that i had some hope. The Mayor races in the US and their democratic winners and the Dutch election, where for the first time an openly gay left wing politician and his party won the general election, made me remember that there are some Gallic villages (Reading recommendation: Asterix and Obelix) left in this world.

Thats, what i think keeps me going and helps me to not stop having these difficult conversations. It helps me realize that you can make a difference, by educating yourself, by listening to others and having compassion for people whom you disagree with, because maybe that will teach them a lesson, maybe it will make them listen. So dont stop protesting, dont stop asking difficult questions. Question things that dont make sense, make the people who have the power explain themselves, cause in the end we have the power. The real power lies with the people, they just have to come together!