Sommersemester 2005 - Andere Deutsche - Migration und hybride Identitäten
Europa-Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt/Oder
Dozentin: Dr. Urmila Goel, viadrina@urmila.de
Mehr Informationen auf www.urmila.de/viadrina

Die Studierenden des Seminars Andere Deutsche - Migration und hybride Identitäten beobachten seminarbegleitend "Andere Deutsche" an virtuellen oder physikalischen Orten. Auf dieser Website werden ihre unredigierten Feldwochenberichte online gestellt. Es sind erste Versuche der Feldbeobachtungen und haben nicht den Anspruch fehlerfrei zu sein. Bei Fragen und Kommentaren wenden Sie sich bitte an die Seminarleiterin Dr. Urmila Goel.

Feldbeobachtungen von Myra Mae Cabantac

Initiative Schwarzer Deutscher

12.07.05:

In ISDonline, there is an announcement posted in the home page that the report on the sensational “African Village” is already available for downloading for free from the Max Planck Institute of Social Anthropology website. The note on hackers as I noticed has already been in ISD homepage in the last 4 weeks. Other than this, there is nothing new in ISDonline.

In Afrolink.de, the first post I came to read was quite in connection with the movie “Alles Wird Gut”. This post is with a title, “What should I do?” The poster claims that she is bisexual and she have no idea what to do. She was willing to “come out” if her friend will but the friend does not want to. She is then contemplating on whether to continue hiding it or to finally come out. The main reason of her and her friend’s fear of “coming out” is because of fear that her parents and her friends may not be able to accept it. It however did not explicitly imply if she was a black or not. Other new posts were on the “Bundestreffen” of ISD taking place in August, a reminder on forthcoming Hiphop Open which will be in Stuttgart and an article on the History of R&B.

The new poll in Afrolink.de is: “I get curious questions about my origin a.) almost daily b.) more or less every week c.) one to two times in a month d.) once in few months e.) very seldom almost never. Out of 75 votes the once in few months got the highest with 39. A reaction to this poll says that maybe it depends on where a person lives because where she lives she is asked indeed very often.

04.07.05:

There is no new articles and news in ISDOnline homepage this week. I however tried to read and observe a thread which is entitled “Wer ist schwarz, wer ist weiss?” This has been posted by a member who is quite active in ISDOnline forum postings. A similar title has already been posted by the same person before, which I believe I already mentioned in one of my reports. The older post was dated 05 December 2005. This person has already introduced this idea from the very start of his activity in the ISDOnline forum. This dates back to 10 November 2004 where he made an introduction of himself. In his introduction he said that he was a “white” German but is together (in a relationship) with girl from Cameroon. He then asked if he was allowed to interact in ISDonline forum. At the end of his post he then asked the question “When and how can one be considered a black? Or a White?” This post however did not get any replies or any acknowledgement.  

This person’s next post was entitled, “What is black, was ist schwarz – o que o negro?” which I mentioned was similar to his most recent one. In this post his main point was about the ISD members, including those parents with a mix-nationality marriage/partnership, agreed that their children should not be called or characterized as brown, “mischling” (hybrid) or any other but only as “schwarz” (black). He then mentioned that what about those Africans who have lighter colors which can be mistaken as someone having a European part in them. Why can’t they be called brown, mestiza or something else? He then added what are the bases for one to be called black? Generally what is black and what is white. He also asked for the reason for this “one-drop rule.” This post was a terribly long one and it did not get any reaction or replies either. On 22nd December and later on 24th January he again posted a reminder on reactions about his long post.

 Two weeks ago, he once again posted a reminder on this question and finally got some replies.  These replies however depicted that the question was only to be answered by him alone and how he defines himself and the others. He then threw another question about a particular ISD meeting or activity where a “White” is not wished or invited and who belongs to this category of those who are “not allowed” to join the said activity. What I find interesting in this post development is the “reluctance” of the ISDonline participants to give an insight on this poster’s queries. The question I asked myself is “is this because the person posting was a white? Or is it because they are tired of getting questions from the so called “whites”? Or is it because they do not want to implicitly express the contour of their definition of black and white which might be seen as an act of categorization and to some extent discrimination?”  

In Afrolink.de, I concentrated on a post which is entitled “Rassismus als Selbstschutz” This was an invitation to a so called “action day against racism” – “Nie wieder Sonntag” which is taking place on 17th July 2005. This is in line with a “Hausverbot” of black young people in Szenecafé-An einem Sonntag im August in Berlin.  This entry prohibition for black young people was said to be inline with the drug pushing activities which are taking place in this café. According to the discussion, the released memo which was posted in the café is found to be racist. The action against racism will then take place in front of the above mentioned café from 10 to 22 hours.

27.06.05:

This week there has not been a new post of relevance in ISDonline.de. There were no changes or new things reported in the home page either except for upcoming events. The newest posted event is the opening of an exhibition of “African Children’s Toys” at the Museum der Weltkulturen in Frankfurt am Main on 28 June 2005, which however will last until 13th November 2005. The second event is on 04 July which is on Education and Human Rights in West Africa presented together with the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and will be held in Berlin. This is an information dialogue with guest representatives coming from Burkina Faso.

In Afrolink.de, there has also been a series of posted upcoming events. The first event is the Africa Festival in Osnabrück from the 3 to the 9 of July 2005. The second event is a day seminar on the African and European Relationships and will take place in Europäischen Akademie Berlin on 02 July 2005.  There has also been an invitation posted on an ISD NRW e. V. party on the 2 July 2005 in Cologne. This invitation however depicts that it is open to everyone (regardless if you are not a black). This is a grill party, which later will also have a disco with black music.

I have reported last week about a thread about someone who was bidding farewell to the community as he wanted to delete his account and leave the Afrolink community. As I was going through the thread once again reading the new posts, I realized I overlooked a very important part of it. In addition to the reason I already wrote last week on why he wanted to leave, the poster also added that the themes and topics in Afrolink repeats quite often and this he said do not bring someone forward. Looking back to some extent the posts, they are somehow related to certain topics presented in different ways and experiences. For example the theme on racism which again and again is encountered however is in different manifestations and forms. To take a post as an example a racist manifestation which was posted this week is about someone saying, “Just make sure that everything which is black and has short hair will not take my bags away”.

With the sensational happening on the Michael Jackson’s case, the posters also now begin to present famous trial cases which have something to do with blacks such as the case of OJ Simpson. Today was also a post reminding the trial case on the murder of three people including a black in Mississippi. This case has been put into film in the “Mississippi Burning”.

20.06.05:

 This week there was nothing new in ISDOnline Forums. Few days ago, the webmaster once again posted the notice about the hackers attacking ISDOnline. Today however it is removed. There were also no new news articles which are normally posted in the home page. Under the “activities” however, a new event has been posted which is the Black Africa United Party which is on 2nd July 2005 in Hamburg. This event is a concert by a certain Awilo Longomba. Indeed there was not much to write about in ISDonline this week.

 There has been a new post in Afrolink.de Forum which I have been observing for a few days now. This is entitled. “Goodbye” which is about someone who is saying his farewells to the community as he was leaving the community for good and would also like his profile to be deleted. The reason he gave was that now he wanted to concentrate developing his consciousness on his native human side.  According to him, this is because after all this time in Afrolink.de, after all what he has read, he finally has found the real him. The reactions to this post were quite contradicting. There were those who said they are happy for him and wish him luck and success but there are also others who said that if he now found answers to his doubts why did he need to leave instead of uniting and working together with the other blacks.

 In the same way the Forum thread about Michael Jackson’s acquittal was a mix of ideas although only one of the posts depicted that the acquittal didn’t make him/her happy. Most of the posters reflected their happiness that Michael Jackson has been released. Most of them believe that he did not do the things he was accused of, while the others say that they do not judge him but justice should prevail. One of the posts also reflected that: whether he was or he was not guilty, the issue was all about being white and black. A funny cynical quote from Jay Leno was also then posted when he said, “if he were black would he have won the case?”

13.06.05:

I reported last week the development of a thread on the use of the word “N” (Neger) in schools where this word was used by their teachers and reacting by telling these teachers that the use of this word “insult” them and other blacks. In this thread it is depicted that not all “black children” have the same experiences on this matter. Other posters wrote that their sons and daughters have not been in this kind of situation although this has been one of the biggest fears of the parents. What was written on the teacher’s reaction (saying “why- it is not a cuss word”) has articulated that the argument could be that this word had a certain “experience” which developed historically. Like the use of the word “Kanake” (which, according to what the poster wrote is use to label the dark-skinned Polynesian population and meant “People”), the “N-word” had also an exact meaning (which, according to the poster is a derogative word which has been translated through the slave-trade and colonialism). With the development of the situation, the concerned (a sister of the student) eventually (as posted) went to the teacher personally to make her point known. According to her, the teacher snatched her out of words before she could even speak her mind out and said that “it wasn’t needed to send the parents immediately” and that “the word belongs to his/her ground or basic vocabulary and does not find anything racist about it”. While others have very strong minds about the “negative” implications of the word, others simply say, that “they could understand that the word is really annoying and hurtful, but then it is really so that some people do not mix anything negative with  it…”,  excusing them that they have no idea of the past- the history of this word.

In Afrolink.de, the discussion about the “African Village” in Ausburg Zoo continues. The latest post on the quotation which says:  "Eine "Folkloreveranstaltung" in einem Zoo ist Geschmacksfrage, aber keine Diskriminierung" (Bayerischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof in München, Beschluss vom 08.06.2005)

Last week, it was stated in the seminar that we should include anything about the forum rules and regulations if any.  I couldn’t find any Netiquette or Forum rules in ISDonline. I however sent one of the mods a PM and asked if they are actually present in the website. I also remember that registering in ISDonline, I did not need to check anything that says, I accept the rules and regulations. It is also explicitly stated that registration is free and “unbinding” (kostenlos und unverbindlich). 

In Afrolink.de however, one needs o accept the “Netiquette” before one could register. This Netiquette is made up of 4 main points which are as follows:

- Advertisements/promotions of any type
- obscene, crude, insulting and threatening contents
- radical utterances
- false reports

Again I am getting unusual messages when I sign in ISDOnline. This time I am the message is “hacked By SySTEM WoLF…In ihren System haben sie eine Sicherheitslücke bitte versuchen Sie diese Sicherheitslücke zu schließen“. I asked one of the mods the last time I saw this kind message and I came to know that this mod also experienced the same.  I do not know what to make out of it - I however am just writing this happening in my report for future reference.

06.06.05:

There has been an article in ISDOnline Homepage since the last week of May entitled “Afrikaner im Zoo”. This article is a about a protest on an exhibition of an “African Village” in Ausburg Zoo (Ausburger Tierpark) from the 9th to the 12th June.  As quoted from what the organizer wrote, it is “exactly… the right place…and also the atmosphere to convey exoticness...”  The ground reason for the protest is that the planned exhibition - the exhibition of people in a zoo is not just. The protest further requests the organizers should choose a different location for the exhibition. With this a new poll has been posted with the question, “What do you think of the African Village in a German Zoo?”  The choices are as follows: a.) it arises from the colonial tradition, b.) it serves the international understanding, c.) it offers information and enlightenment, d.) it offers working possibilities for Africans, e.) it triggers curiosity for travel, f.) it offers fun and play for the whole family and g.) it enriches the German zoo culture.

This protest has also been posted on the Forum of Afrolink.de. Those who replied to the post had the same thoughts that they are against it. Some also claimed that they have already written letters of protests and sent to the concerned.

One more observation I made was the message I was getting when I sign in ISDOnline which says “uyai, Willkommen bei Hacked by Feri Ats /// turkish Multi virüs ownz your system!” instead  of getting the normal “uyai, Willkommen bei ISDOnline”.

The discussions in Afrolink.de continue to evolve around the topic of racism. Today there was a new post that is connected to the ones I reported about last week. However this post was asking if whether others think that she is racist towards white. She further on explains the reasons for her behavior and claims that to her own view she is rather “careful” when it comes to white people rather than a “racist”. This she said has all has got to do with the past.  According to her, when she thinks of her childhood she associates immediately with hard words such as “Affenbaby” or “Neger” and other hard words that she receives from some “whites”.  Another thread was about the use of the word “N” (Neger) in schools. The posters wrote about their experiences where their teachers used this word whereby they have reacted that this word “insults” them and other blacks. However the teachers only replied “why, it is not a cuss word”.

30.05.05:

This week there has been a report by the webmaster over a hacker attack in ISDOnline.de. This according to the report has caused a short-term damage to the website. However it was also announced that the website should be functioning normally as it should be.

The latest post in the Forum Common Topics is a question about “who is black and who is white”. This was posted on the 28th May but has not gotten reply as of the moment. The poster jokingly wrote in the ending sentence that the question posted is kind of irritating but added that that is indeed why ISD is there. Under the Forum Contacts, there was also a new post on 28 May and is about the Afro-Gays. This was an announcement of a new website for black gays which is www.afrogay.com. I also noticed a post from earlier this year under this forum which is however the announcement of the website www.afro.boygang.de . What I found interesting was the introduction sentence that says “…are you black and a gay? Then you belong to several minorities”.  And further on it says, “But you shouldn’t be double punished…” The use of the terms black, gay, minority and punishment appeared to me as a kind of a paradox expression although ironic seem to acknowledge the situation of the black gays. I also noticed that under this forum, the categories of sought black groups are either by interests, location, and country of origin connections. (I.e. black-bikers, Swiss-blacks, Caribbean-blacks, blacks in Hamburg).

Looking at Afrolink.de the newest addition of the site is a Poll. The latest Poll which started today 30th May is a question on what role does the skin colour play in choosing a partner. The choices for this question are enormous, important, fair, secondary and inexistent. There have been only 5 votes so far. This Poll is also related to a recent discussed forum topic which was on “How does it look like with love and partnership- on black or white love.” A note was also added that the question also covers “…the mixed ones”. Seeing the development of the topic discussion it is evident that choices on partners vary among the discussion participants. A post says that the poster has not met an attractive black woman/girl so far and this has articulated the answer that this of course depends on the person’s image of the Ideal. As written that if his image of an ideal woman is that of the “white models” which is seen as “perfect” in the German society, then it is obvious that black women has got very little similarity with this “models”. This also further triggered the question on what is and makes white women are more attractive than the black ones. Some said that it is pity that people thing Black men or women are not attractive when the black are indeed beautiful. Others also said that they can not understand why other “blacks” cannot be attracted to black men/women when they themselves are actually black. An interesting reaction was about feeling uncomfortable with white men for the reason that she feels like she is an “exotic adventure” for them. This crisis arises because of what she sees and reads on German magazines about “sex-vacations” in Africa. The question if the “preference or the basing of partner-seeking from the skin colour” (preferably black) is not a manifestation of racism against white people - also arose.

23.05.05:

There have been new posted series of events for the Month of June in ISDOnline. The Rhythm Taxi — Afro Beat Sensation Berlin will take place on the 2 June 2005 and it is a Ballroom-Party, (Das Erbe Fela Kutis: Ein Mix aus Funk Drums, Jazz Harmonien, Nkrumah- und Yoruba-Traditionen). On the 7 June is the ZENZENA (Die Zelle), LE TELEGRAM, KHALLINI AICH (Lass mich leben) which is more of a dance choreography. On the 11 June is the LE FESTIVAL DES MENSONGES (Das Festival der Lügen) which is again choreography and dance which depicts the traumatic history of Congo. On the same day is the Tim Winsé and the Wassamana  a concert of six musicians fusing African and Western elements of musical beat. On 12 June is a theme, “EINE NEUE GENERATION DES AFRIKANISCHEN TANZES” which covers the changes and development in African dances and question of how these rapid changes are expressed in identity-concepts. The events posted for the 15, 16 and 18 June are all has got to do with dances, choreography and music.

Last week (on Wednesday) I finally have written to the Mod of “Youngsters forum” and after five minutes I already got a reply. The Mod also asked me the same question I was asking myself, “if an access to this forum is actually helpful since there is really nothing much going on” in this Forum. The next question was, if am an “African” – and as honest as possible I of course disclosed where I come from. The Mod wrote at the end that “the Black Youngsters Forum and ‘The Page’ are for blacks only” and suggested that I should take a look at www.afrolink.de. However the access refusal was very apologetically made. In addition, the comment made when I asked about the “meetings” was that I could sit as it was written “u could sat im da boss of them” and when I later on jokingly inquired about it, the answer was that the “meetings” are also “only for blacks”. The question as I asked myself was, if I didn’t disclose my nationality, given that I do not belong to the required age-bracket – would I have been given consideration for access?

Taking a look at www.afrolink.de which is actually one of the links posted in ISDOnline homepage, I found a couple of “aliases” which were familiar in ISDonline.  The Forum of Afrolink seem to be more interactive as in ISDOnline as it has new postings almost everyday. There are quite some topics of interest. Since Afrolink.de is a given link in ISDOnline homepage and since I recognized some “user-nicknames” in ISDOnline being present in Afrolink.de, I have decided to also include the development of its forum in my observation.

One post that really caught my eyes in Afrolink.de was the post about “Country of Origin” (Herkunfsland). This thread accumulated four pages so far since the date it was posted (6April 2005) which was quite obvious that it has gained some attention. The post is about a question about “why so many in the site considers Germany as their Country of Origin when the poster thought that they all have two nationalities or one but not German.” There were some gathered contrasting thoughts on this issue. The first thought was that “maybe that some defines their country of birth as their country of origin and the country of origin of their parents as their descent.” This has created a bit of a “heat” or “flaming” in the beginning as one has posted in reaction to the initial question:  “you shouldn’t judge others according to your own standard”. The poster who asked the initial question further explains that she already have had heard of “those blacks who feels like Germans because they were born in Germany and also already belong and that she does not judge them. She is only asking why some of them in the site just leave their “other half” under the table to emphasize that they feel like they are Germans and that she finds this a little saddening.”

 In another post, the writer says that “He was born and raised up in Germany and for this reason he feels German. When asked where he comes from he always answers from North-Germany and this he does not find controversial and does not find anything sad about it. Even if his ‘certificate of good conduct’ says he has two nationalities and that his father is from Africa, he cannot find any other land in where he can really connect.”

16.05.05:

The access to the “Black Youngsters” forum as  I already mentioned is granted to those who are from 14-19 years old. Last week I also sent the moderator of this forum an IM (instant messenger) in ISDOnline asking information about access. I got a reply from the moderator telling me that he could actually turn the access on for me. This mod however asked me if I belong to the age category of 14-21 years old. Not being in this age bracket, I however am not yet decided on whether to disclose that my interest in the access lies with the fact that  that I am doing an observation in the site. Because of this I haven’t written any reply yet.  This forum however is not very interactive so far. The last post was still last 12th April.

I am focusing my attention for the moment in the “Common Topics” forum as this is somehow the most interactive forum in the website with the latest post on 15 May 2003. Last week I noticed the post about the game “Who is scared of the Black man” and  also noted that the poster wrote at the beginning of the post “for a change, now something positive”. I also have decided to endeavor to check  the older posts in this category so as to see why this sentence was written. I also noticed that  since 16 May 2003, there are about  67 topics and 256 posts. I however checked the topics from 2 November 2003 up to the latest.  The posts in this forum are of different topics . However I also noticed the frequency of topics about the discrimination in Germany and the recognition of differences (such as in skin color). The topics as I observed are as the following: a.) Moving cars to Africa (its costs and methods) b.) Blood donations c.) Why is there so little going on in ISDOnline? d.) Can white people also join the ISD? e.) Discrimination in base of “out of ordinary” color / Discrimination in school / Animosity tirades  f.) Living a life with two cultures g.) Music and Mp3 tips h.) Is Berlin safe for people with black colors? h.) How to join and How much is the cost to join ISD? i.) How do one get along with racist words? / Disrespectful, intolerable and ignorant words j.) What bothers you in Germany? and k.) Germany as the worst “Black-haters”

The interaction in ISDOnline indeed is not very much and is depicted in the post “Why is there so little going on in here?”  I could relate this post to another one which was however still way back 16 January 2004. It says that after living 23 years in Frankfurt, he didn’t know that there exist a “club”  for them, not until he saw a reference to ISD in a book he was reading. (“Daheim Unterwegs” - Ika Huegel) 

09.05.05:

The activity in ISDOnline this week has not changed that much. The forums still seemed idle. The “Youngsters Forum” which I am interested in did not have a new post at all. I also didn’t receive any reply from my inquiry regarding the access to this forum. I however notice a note in the heading of the “Youngsters forum” that one has to contact the moderator, introduce one’s self and will have to do a little “Bewerbung” of ones’ self. He will then be the one to list the user’s name and grant access to this forum. This process I did comply today.

The “Common Topics” is the most interactive forum in this website.  However since last week, only one topic has been added so far. This was posted on the 1st May. The opening remark caught my attention as it says “For a change, now something positive”. This remark made me decide to diligently go over the old posts in this coming week so as to see why this remark has been made. This post is however about some students who fostered a “sport hour” for children. It is about a “catching game” that the author of the post remembers way back from his youth. In this game as he remembers, a team shouts the phrase; “Wer hat Angst vorm schwarzen Mann?” – [Who is scared of the black man?], then the team had to catch the other children. The author also said that the two students fostering the game might have sensed the “problematic nature” of the game and therefore changed into the phrase “Who is scared of the Brummbär?” He ended his posts with writing, “Please, it also works this way”.

I also busied myself reading another post, which was written way back in 28th January. I think that what she wrote about is worth noting down, so I will concentrate on this post in this report. In this post, the writer claims that whatever other says, she sees herself daily confronted with possible forms of racism, intolerance and disrespect in Germany and by all means have to fight to live in peace in their country. She also said that they are able to fight when they come together like what is happening to ISD organization and unfortunately when dealing with others for enlightenment. She adds that she used the word “unfortunately” because after 20 years of distress she finally lost her faith in a free-racism Germany and she is of the opinion that a hundred years will not be enough to take this “arrogant way” out of people’s heads.

She also claims that as “Half-German” she has a heavier feeling in comparison to her friends because when her friends are discriminated, insulted, and attacked they could recollect it to their ancestry – that they are not “Germans” and wouldn’t also like to be one. Most of these friends actually experience coming home in a sort of “African community”- their tradition, the mentality of their friends and relatives, the food, music and the language which reminds them of who they are. In contrast, the writer claims that she comes home to a “white mother” and “white relatives” and that she has “learned” that she is as much as “German” like all other Germans. And she also said that, surely she is indeed confused.

02.05.05:

The website IsdOnline.com has not been as interactive as it seemed to me in the first week. I was hoping that people will be posting more but the latest posts have been on the 23rd and 27th April 2005. Both these posts were about a “happening”, where one is about a Cameroonian party in Göttingen which is from the 25th to the 30th April. The other is about a reading and a forum/discussion on the 12th May at the Info-Café-International -University Mensa of Köln. It is about the living situations of black people in Germany called the “TheBlackBook – Deutschlands Häutungen”. This is an initiative of the ADB (AntiDiskriminierungsBüro) in Cologne. Lacking the expected interactivity, I however  will continue to observe ISDOnline and its features including the posted links.

In last week’s session, we were asked to ground our reasons in choosing our fields for the project which is in relation with the topic “Andere Deutsche”. ISD declares itself to represent “the interest of black people in Germany”. The initiative - as claimed by ISD, is not only about proving African ancestry but about people being individually, socially and structurally discriminated because of their outward appearances. This underlying ground reason makes it true that this initiative covers black people around Germany which possibly includes those blacks who fit into Mecheril’s definition of Andere Deutsche. Reading the text, I understand that his definition of “The Other Germans” is; “…these are people who have their center of living in Germany . Basically they partly grew up in Germany and do not possess a ‘standard German’ appearance”. But what is exactly meant by  standard German appearance? In my own understanding it all has got to do with the color- therefore the Caucasian appearance. ISDOnline on the one hand may also involve Blacks who may not fit into Mecheril’s category in the sense that they might not have been partly raised or grown up in Germany but on the other hand may also involve those black people who were already born in Germany and those who partly grew up in the country. The “Black Youngsters Forum” is an obvious feature of the site which may involve Andere Deutsche. As an example, I will take one of the posts where a girl is introducing herself to the group. According to her, she lives on the northern part of Germany and that her father is Kenyan. She lived in Kenya for five years and moved back to Germany as soon as she ended elementary school. She also added that her father, her brothers and she herself are the only dark-skinned people in the town where she lives now.

This forum (Black Youngsters) however is not accessible for participation to everyone. As I tried to post something, the browser brought me to a note that says “Sorry but only users granted special access can reply to posts in this forum”. As this is one good and beneficial feature for my project in my opinion– I find it very disappointing that I am not able to participate. I however sent an email to the ISD contact asking information as to how I may get the access grant.

This week I took time to go over some of the forum posts. One that caught my interest is posted in the end of March. The person posting said that - over and over again she have to explain why the use of the word “N…( which is an abbreviation for neger) is an appalling and belittling word for the black people. She also questioned “why is this not respected and accepted?” She excuses the older generation using the word because according to her they do not know any better, but she also added that there are those belonging to the younger generation who refuses to accept the explanation. On the 2nd week of April is a post which I find can be connected to this one which is on “How long will the ‘identification’ of people with dark skin as ‘blacks’ be accepted and correct?”  In this post she quoted a book entitled “The Blank Slate” by Steven Pinker. One of the points she underlined is that one finds new words for emotional positions which eventually is colored by euphemism through associations. This then forms the new word taking its new connotation. It also says that concepts and not words are primary to mankind. Therefore, words- for example those describing minorities - will continually evolve and change as long as mankind has negative attitude towards each other. Only when the “word” (the label) can not be changed or do not change anymore can we be certain that mankind has finally achieved a reciprocal respect towards each other.

25.04.05:

The home page of ISDonline as mentioned on my first report has varied features. The most prominent and eye catching feature is the introduction to the goals and reasons of ISD existence. This includes a short note of welcome and a short information on what ISD is all about. This is located at the top most and the center of the page. Below this feature is the ISD news ticker, which continuously shows announcements on some ISD events. Today, the news ticker announces the “Sankofa Feriendorf 2005” which is taking place on the 13 to the 16 May 2005 and the ISD “Bundestreffen 05”  which is taking place in Munich on the 11 to 14 of August 2005.  Both of these announcements are also posted enclosed on a small box on the upper right corner of the page. In addition to this event announcements is the “Termin Kalendar” which summarizes the different events and where members are also able to submit list of these events but however has to be checked and approve by the administrators. This events are categorized and are given corresponding colors. These categories are “Veranstaltungen”  (green), concerts (red), fairs (blue), themes (white) and “other” (yellow) categories. There are four events which are listed so far. These are all listed under the green category. The first one is the “El Loko Performance” which is taking place on the 29 April 05. This performance is entitled “Requiem für einen Hasen”. The second is the already mentioned “Sankofa Feriendorf”   which is will take place in Hessen and is a yearly parents and kids events. At the same time, a “Black Youngstars” meeting for the young people will also take place. The third event is taking place on the 2 June 05 is called the “In Transit 05”. This event is described in a festival of discovery and shows an actual worldwide development of the contemporary dance, theater and music. The focus is on Japanese choreography and African political dances. The last event was the already mentioned “Bundestreffen 05”. Below the “Termin Kalendar” is a note on donations for ISD. One is able to go to the donation form by clicking the ISD logo. Below this is where the login -  where it is also noted that registration is free of charge. Below the login is a “question poll” and the posted question is “…if the planned law on discrimination makes sense”. The answer choices are; a.) Yes-definitely, b.) no-there are already enough existing laws, c.) it doesn’t matter- it doesn’t change anything anyway and d.) I have no idea about that. To this date, there are 26 votes where 21 voted a, and 2 votes for b, c and d. Below the poll is a link to the photo gallery and below this is a list of old articles and news which extends back to July 2004.

On the upper left hand side of the page is a category “About Us” where there are links to the stories and history of ISD including the different ISD local groups around Germany. Below this is a category “Community” where functions used by members or the community are listed and linked such as the forum, the further recommendation of the site, feedback and contact. Below this category is the “Info’s –Research” category where there are links to literature lists, films, Country databanks which provides information about African countries, an online archive, recipe list, and important links. Below this however are logos of websites based in Germany which functions as links to the website. This includes the Cyber Nomads, Fast Africa, African Courier, Afro Berlin TV, The Black Business Club Germany, Afro Link and the Afro Net. Below this is the category “All Africa News”  which is a list of current news from all over Africa. Below this category is a summary of the news and links to the “Liberation.fr”- a news portal in French and afterwards is to the “Die Tageszeitung”  and lastly a summary of news and a links to “Addistribune.com”

Below the Introduction about ISD are the articles submitted by contributors and members. These are arranged according to date. The latest article is about the “The Blacks in the National Socialism”. This article tackles that the History of the “Schwarze-Deutsche” may be portrayed as a History in which social isolation, sterilization and possible physical destructions may occur as consequences, but if so, this does not really presents the historical facts. It is argues that the History of the “Schwarze-Deutsche”  like any other History, possesses its own chronology.

Another article which caught my eyes is the on the “anti-discrimination law” which was posted on December 20th. Here, one is also able to download the actual outline of this law by the “Bundesregierung”. In connection to this is also an article on views and opinions on the new “Immigration-Law”. I will however write more about these opinions on the next paper.

18.04.05:

Website: ISD ONLINE (www.isdonline.de)

Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland

 I have chosen the website isdonline.de, where ISD stands for Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland, as it covers black people in Germany. I am however not very sure if this will be my final field of observation but I would like to firstly see if it is a suitable website to observe.

ISDOonline describes itself as a coalition of black people which goals are a.) to represent the interests of black people in Germany, b.) to promote “black awareness” c.) to counter “racism” d.) and the networking of black people, coordinating their organizations and projects. ISDonline then promotes knowledge on Black History and fosters recognition of all contributions on Art, Culture, Sciences and Medicine. It also is a communication tool for Black people as well as Black and anti-Racism groups around Germany and world-wide.

The website is composed of different communication tools. It posts announcements on different activities and gatherings of the ISD organization and other “black” activities such as parties, concerts, festivals, camping and holidays. It has a “Termin Kalendar” which summarizes the upcoming activities.  It also contains news articles from different newspapers which concern the black population in Germany and news articles from around the African Continent. It also additionally features world news. The website also solicits articles from the members and features the contributed articles on the site. It provides links to different black websites in Germany such as FastAfrica.de, Afrolink.de and Black-business-club.de as well as a link to the local ISD groups within Germany. It also has an online shop which is associated with amzon.com. In this online shop, books, music, dvds, videos and magazines are offered.

 The Forum is the most interactive part of the website.  It has two main categories, the “Community” and “Marktplatz”. Under the “Community” are sub-categories including; Afronet, Common Topics, Black Youngsters, Events and “Mitfahrgelegenheiten”. Under “Markplatz” are the sub-categories Contacts, Searchers and Offers, Jobs, Travel, Shops, Services, Real Estates, Literature and Art, and Food and Household.  It also provides a Literature (including books, films, articles and audio) on African Black in Germany and General Black African Culture and History as well as Children’s Books with African touch. The main language of the website is in German.

 I have chosen this website because I have always been interested about Africa and the black people. I am then also interested on the issues on “black movement” and black discrimination in Germany. In connection with this, I believe it would be very interesting to explore the cases of “Schwarze Deutsche” or “Afro-Deutsche”. This is also at the same time seem very fitting with the course subject “Andere Deutsche.”

 

 
 
© Urmila Goel, www.urmila.de 2005