Studies Receiving BAföG as a refugee? In a meeting of our event format “tünews vor Ort” in Tübingen the topic of BAföG (federal educational support grant) was brought up. There were many questions regarding this topic in the context of refugees. At this moment, a lot of refugees have already applied for a university place. But they are not sure how to finance their education. Therefore, we met with Annette Unterseher, who works in the responsible BAföG-bureau in Reutlingen and asked our questions. What are the necessary requirements in order to receive BAFöG? Refugees wanting to apply for BAföG have… Read More
Category: News In English
Religious diversity and respect for refugees
Religious diversity and respect for refugees by Michael Seifert The head of all Catholics in the world, Pope Francis, receives thousands of pilgrims for a general audience in front of St. Peter’s in Rome every Wednesday. tünews-INTERNATIONAL-Editor Michael Seifert took part on April 3rd. Here is his report. As part of the general audience, the pope always gives a short speech, mostly about religious matters. On this Wednesday he became very political, spoke very freely and left his official manuscript again and again. On the occasion of a trip to Morocco, from which he had just returned, he talked… Read More
The way to permanent residence
Future The way to permanent residence By Mohammed Kheer Hazeem and Feras Trayfi The tünews editors Mohammed Kheer Hazeem and Feras Trayfi talked to Thomas Steimle and Thorsten Lehmann from the foreigners authority in the Tübingen district administration office about this topic: What is a settlement permit? A settlement permit is a permanent residence permit for third-country nationals. Which conditions need to be fulfilled? The requirements depend on the individual case. There is a special paragraph for refugees, namely § 26 Abs 3 Residence Act. There the requirements for refugees are listed. There are two options: you can apply for… Read More
A Syrian barber in Tübingen by Sameer Ibrahim
The two Syrians Karim and Amer have opened a barber shop in the Mühlstraße in Tübingen. Karim says: “I come from the city of Deir al-Zor, studied commerce and economics, worked for ten years in the hairdressing profession and I love my work very much. There are many work and study opportunities in Germany. I’m happy because I can do the same job I did in Syria. The people here are very nice and helped me a lot. ” His business partner Amer adds: “I was a hairdresser in Syria too and had my own business. I live in… Read More
“It is the free decision of a woman to wear or not wear a headscarf”
“It is the free decision of a woman to wear or not wear a headscarf” A working group of tüews INTERNATIONAL editorial members worked on the topic “wearing a headscarf”. Aliaa Abd Khalaf, Fatima Salehi, Halima Ibrahim and Michael Seifert were part of the group. Initially, short interviews were made among the acquaintances in order to capture different voices. Finally, the group went to junior professor Fahimah Ulfat who works in the Center for Islamic Theology at the University of Tübingen and conducted a detailed interview with her. Ms. Ulfat, you’re wearing a headscarf yourself, what experiences did you make?… Read More
Good day and iilaa alliqa by Aliaa Abd Khalaf
Handshake, kiss, bowing—those are ways how people greet each other but varies greatly from culture to culture. We would start with the politest way of greeting, “Good day”. This is the most important and polite way of greeting in German. You can use it all day long. Although, depending on the time of day, there are for example: Good morning—about 11 o’clock and good evening—about 18 o’clock. In Arabic we say “Selam Alejkum” instead of “Guten Tag”. There is also a form of greeting, “hello”.You can greet friends, acquaintances and younger people. You can also just smile at them,… Read More
Is Africa really a poor continent! by Ademola Adetunji
“Africa is not poor, but its wealth is being stolen”! Often time I come across people whom during a conversation with them end up saying “Go back to your poor country “and most times they conclude by saying “Africa is a poor continent”. Similarly, this statement has been repeated through a thousand images, newspaper stories and charity appeals each year, so it makes the story look truthful. When the westerners read such news or watch it via the television, this reaffirms assumptions and negative stories about Africa that has been heard throughout their lives. Therefore, the question is, is… Read More