Being Black in Germany - let's keep it real
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- čas přidán 12. 06. 2024
- Beloveds, welcome back.
You asked, I answered.
Videos worth a look for a more holistic understanding of the topic: www.dw.com/en/afrocensus-resu...
www.dw.com/en/whats-life-real...
• German reunification -...
• Racism in Germany | DW...
thanks for all of your engagement and support.
Let's connect offline: dambisaintlungu@gmail.com
#southafricanyoutuber #germany #traveleurope #blackineurope
Ntinga's "peach people" reference made me chuckle. Thanks for having such open conversations with her and sharing her perspective as well.
She noticed almost immediately after we had landed that there were many 'peach' people in Germany 😭
Insightful content. I recently relocated with my family to Germany and I must say it’s challenging to navigate this environment if you are coming in on a leadership role. Basically it’s difficult to lead effectively without knowing the language.
Thanks so much for watching! Although integration is complex its an even harder process without having access to the cultural nuances that are often understood through the language. It helps a great deal!
Surprise, surprise.
But isn't the accessible issue is part of traveling in general?
I as a tall German person I have trouble buying cloths in countries with a shorter population (outside of tourism in day to day live)
Personally if I see someone trying; like getting professional training, working or learning (the language) to me that means the person has understood and aprecheates the values of our society rather than just using it to the persons benefit without giving back.
As a German I very much think everyone has to contribute thier part so we are able to navigate though personal and national crisis with each others support (social benefits or health care for example). Unfortunately there are people abusing this system and I think this is why espially as a foreign (assumed to not share our ethics) you have to show you are making an effort (but don't think that Germans who don't contibute aren't juged either). Once you do that people have increased respect and people usually don't care where you are from (maybe out of curiosity).
Thanks for watching and taking the time to contribute. I just gave my very biased experience here which is definitely not representative of everyone’s experience. Hope this helps
I am an old white German and I noticed that my first impression of a person is always being influenced by the first few seconds I see them. It is also influenced by what is my "normal" at that time. In my twenties a female conductor was worth mentioning, ten years later the female conductor with green hair, then the bearded Turkish conductor. These days a black orAsian looking conductor would be considerd worth mentioning.
At this time I automatically associate the person with all the experiences I have concerning the attribute I mentioned.
The more I interact with the person my picture about her/him will change.
In Germany we have lots of asylum seekers, foreign students and immigrants of various qualifications. The latter ones are usually sought after handymen or owner of shops and for most purposes considered as normal taxes paying people with typical middle class attributes. Nothing bad to say about. Foreign students are mostly invisible to the public eye as well. Asylum seekers on the other hand are accepted because we feel we ought to let them enter the country but they are also considered a burden because of their needs and several parties try to exploit that feeling. So the public opinion associates (as a first impression) PoC with all the negative things they associate asylum seekers with.
But that is first impression only and usually does not last once interaction starts (which requjres to be able to communicate)
🙏 Thank you for your honest insights. There are things I‘ve never thought about and it makes me a little bit ashamed for my impercipience for these problems that you mention in this video. I now see more clearly that there are tough situations here in Germany which only can experienced as a PoC.
Thank you so much for always watching and sharing your honest feedback. This wasnt an easy topic to unpack because of how layered it is
loved nanas input 😂
Agreed actually, I initially never noticed how going to germany as an exchange student who spoke german fluently, allowed me to experience culture shock much differently to my south african counter parts who didn't speak the language at all. We were both black and in germany, but we were undoubtedly experiencing it very differently, and had quite nuanced experiences based on that in challenges of navigating daily life.
Language is a game changer!
Language really is extremely important because it gives you access to the culture of the country you are living in. Recently I met a woman who told me of immigrants working in Germany that knew no or hardly any German. They were working for employers in Germany that were also from their home country. But those without German knowledge were deprived of many of the rights and privileges their colleagues with knowledge of German and German rules had.
Your video goes mute and screen gets black between this timeframe 8:19 - 8:29. Is this on purpose?
Thanks for watching - thanks for the heads up, however, the sound works throughout on my end. Did you try refresh?
@@mamakaboynogirlI experienced the same thing. The video went off for some seconds
Hi Dambisa thanks for your video
I’ll be moving to Germany in December. What should I bring? I heard hair products, makeup and lotion lol Is there anything else a girl needs to bring to help in the transition?
Hi Nomsa. I’m moving there in Jan as well for work. Trying really heard to learn the language to help with my transition. Camping here to hear the feedback ☺️
There are lots of African shops in Germany.
@@christofabt8958 hi. Thanks for responding yes I've seen some around but as you know Africa is huge and we don't share many things culturally like the food. I've seen many West and North African shops which I don't relate to coming from South Africa. That makes things a bit hard
Hello, the video is a bit old but unfortunately I only saw it now.
You know, I am a native, white German and I have had very similar experiences to you. You may not believe this because it's not the color of your skin. I'm in a wheelchair because of an illness and I've had to learn that people perceive me completely differently since then. I too have been subjected to rudeness and have often wondered whether the same would have happened to me if I could still walk. The only thing that helps is not to put up with such treatment and to confront people about it directly. I've had this happen to me in hospitals at the hands of nurses, so I don't think it really or fundamentally has anything to do with skin color. But whatever, you can't put up with such disrespectful behavior. Best regards.
Thank you so much for watching and I completely agree that discrimination is not limited to race at all. I am so sorry that you have experienced this.
Please tell more about the benefits of giving birth in Germany. I want my wife to come there when she's due
ill touch on this soon no problem
thanks for watching
Where did you live in Baden-Württemberg? I am from Heilbronn and there and in Stuttgart there is a higher percentage of foreigners than in Berlin. I could show you more than one Afro shop full of cosmetic products in Stuttgart. I know the Cameroonian community in Stuttgart quite well. They are far less integrated and speak German worse than the handful of Africans here in the village.
Funny you mention Stuttgart because Stuttgart is my favourite German city and to most people's surprise its where I have always felt really accepted too.
@@mamakaboynogirl That's nice to hear. You know where Swabians are not accepted? Nowhere else, and I have been to some places, was I treated more arrogantly than in our capital. They notice my accent and treat me like an uneducated village boy.
I mean Berlin
@@christofabt8958 Oh wow really?
It disappoints me that there are Germans who will treat people badly when those people don't speak German. We should not be treating people that way. Whether they are short-term visitors, longterm visitors, plan to stay or have always lived here: They deserve to be treated politely.
Edit: Awww, your kid sounds really cute and smart!
I definitely wouldn’t reduce it to that but I do think speaking the language makes it easier to navigate some discomforts that one may experience as person of colour.. but it’s definitely can’t be reduced to that as there are people who have grown up here and may still struggle with structural racism despite knowing the language. I just gave my very biased experience here which is definitely not representative of everyone’s experience. Hope this helps 🙏🏾
Living in a country without trying to learn it's language is simply disrespectful. I am more than willing to use other languages with people that are here for a few weeks only. But after that? Imagine your kids bringing friends from Kindergarten and you can not communicate with them without your children translating. Isn't that embarrassing?
@@wora1111 People leave and relocate for all kinds of reasons. I think it is unfair to assume not everyone tries to learn a new language, better yet let us not assume why some may struggle to learn.
@@mamakaboynogirl You misunderstood me. I do not expect anybody to speak the language of the country you are in. But I expect you to try to learn it. The same is true for me. I am currently visiting Italy for the first time and let me tell you, learning a new language while turning 70 is not easy. Since this is just a short vacation I probably will only be able to read simple texts when leaving again.
Thanks for the video, usually searched for a video on biracial people in Europe, but there are hardly any, so i found yours as a replacement XD
I'm afro-german in both the sense that I see myself as German and that I'm mixed (dad is Cameroonian).
I used to grow up in the Cameroon grassland community in Berlin but many unpleasant things happened, so we exited when my father flew back to Cameroon, sick of his life here.
Since then, I hardly interacted with my paternal family or anyone from any black community really.
But my mother also didn't want us to grow up as "Berliners" since the dialect and mannerisms are seen as low-class.
Basically my culture from since I was 10 years old were cartoons and it's German ub culture, whatever German CZcams had in 2016 and little tidbits of eastern German and/or Grasslands culture.
I'd love to visit Cameroon one time, esp since my father's buried there, but currently it's a bit dangerous for me to travel to Bamenda due to the Anglophone Crisis still ongoing, with Seperatists, warlords and all. Maybe when I reconsile with my paternal family we can go together.
But that's just one experience, I'm sure that there will be so many more different ones.
Also calling white people peach people is extremely cute to hear from your son, I hope you and your son are doing well here!
*daughter, sorry ^^'
Thank you for your vulnerability and openness to share this and for watching. Navigating the world as people of colour is extremely layered but it is heart warming to know that with dialogue and conversations like these we are making strides.
We are well and back in South Africa.
P.S. there is a son now in the picture :)
The stalker is here❤😊
Notification bell 😂
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Why rid you m9ve there?
again I am trying to do my bit and remind the bloggers that we are in the European Union German speaking white peoples are not all native Germans please a lot of Eastern Europeans look German and another thing girl you look and sound intelligent so stop the German bashing who has a problem with stuff you can always leave and go back home I am Africa and I love Germany
Thanks for fixing your comment as it was extremely negative and unfair initially. Thanks for watching
I consider Dambise to be just a "normal" German and as such critiquing Germany is a "must". There always is room for improvement.