https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Ryyan Alshebl fled war-torn Syria in 2015, arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos after a harrowing four-hour journey on a rubber boat. https://www.thelocal.de/20230531/the-syrian-refugee-who-became-mayor-of-a-german-village Wed, 31 May 2023 16:09:12 +0200 the-syrian-refugee-who-became-mayor-of-a-german-village Five years after Chancellor Angela Merkel controversially opened Germany's doors to hundreds of thousands of migrants, studies show the newcomers have integrated relatively well, but room for progress remains. https://www.thelocal.de/20200831/five-years-on-refugees-integrating-rather-well-in-germany Mon, 31 Aug 2020 11:18:34 +0200 five-years-on-refugees-integrating-rather-well-in-germany The Turkish government is negotiating with Germany in a bid to establish three schools in the Bundesrepublik, German media has reported. Locations are earmarked for Berlin, Cologne and Frankfurt. https://www.thelocal.de/20200110/turkey-in-talks-to-set-up-schools-in-germany Fri, 10 Jan 2020 11:26:00 +0100 turkey-in-talks-to-set-up-schools-in-germany Artist and activist Ai Weiwei sparked a debate when he said he plans to leave Germany because he believes it is an intolerant society. Here's what you had to say. https://www.thelocal.de/20190812/ive-never-been-able-to-shake-off-the-feeling-of-being-a-foreigner-how-tolerant-is-germany Mon, 12 Aug 2019 17:43:01 +0200 ive-never-been-able-to-shake-off-the-feeling-of-being-a-foreigner-how-tolerant-is-germany Ai Weiwei, the Chinese activist and artist, has lived in self-imposed exile in Berlin since 2015. But he plans to leave Germany because he believes it is too intolerant. https://www.thelocal.de/20190809/germany-is-not-an-open-society-chinese-born-artist-ai-weiwei-on-leaving-berlin Fri, 09 Aug 2019 17:43:12 +0200 germany-is-not-an-open-society-chinese-born-artist-ai-weiwei-on-leaving-berlin A nationwide debate was triggered after a conservative politician suggested children who don’t speak German well enough shouldn’t be allowed to start school. Here’s what you had to say. https://www.thelocal.de/20190807/segregation-achieves-nothing-should-children-without-fluent-german-be-held-back-from-starting-school Wed, 07 Aug 2019 12:16:22 +0200 segregation-achieves-nothing-should-children-without-fluent-german-be-held-back-from-starting-school According to experts, the integration of refugees into the workforce in Germany is progressing quickly. https://www.thelocal.de/20190806/refugees-are-integrating-faster-than-expected-into-germanys-labour-market Tue, 06 Aug 2019 18:49:29 +0200 refugees-are-integrating-faster-than-expected-into-germanys-labour-market A high profile politician with Angela Merkel’s CDU party says children with insufficient German language skills should be held back from starting school. https://www.thelocal.de/20190806/children-who-dont-speak-german-shouldnt-be-allowed-to-start-school Tue, 06 Aug 2019 11:44:13 +0200 children-who-dont-speak-german-shouldnt-be-allowed-to-start-school Worker-starved Germany plans to ease immigration rules to attract foreign jobseekers and replenish its fast ageing workforce, despite mounting public resistance against new arrivals. https://www.thelocal.de/20181219/germanys-plans-to-relax-rules-to-attract-foreign-workers-to-be-put-to Wed, 19 Dec 2018 09:32:47 +0100 germanys-plans-to-relax-rules-to-attract-foreign-workers-to-be-put-to Many among the more than one million people who arrived in Germany as migrants or refugees since 2015 are integrating speedily through work, the head of a key business group said Friday. https://www.thelocal.de/20181214/germany-integrating-migrants-quickly-business-chief Fri, 14 Dec 2018 12:34:33 +0100 germany-integrating-migrants-quickly-business-chief After volunteering in the Greek island of Lesbos at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, Anita Lekic was inspired to spend time in this southwest German city, which is playing a huge role in providing asylum for refugees, to see how it is dealing with the influx of people. Here’s what she found. https://www.thelocal.de/20181113/how-the-southwest-german Tue, 13 Nov 2018 13:11:05 +0100 how-the-southwest-german Despite recent negative news, the majority people in Germany continue to view the coexistence of native-born Germans and immigrants as positive, according to a study released on Monday. https://www.thelocal.de/20180917/integration-still-perceived-positivity-in-germany-study Mon, 17 Sep 2018 18:38:13 +0200 integration-still-perceived-positivity-in-germany-study German Football Association (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel has once again rejected accusations of racism, but has also admitted that he and his colleagues made mistakes in their handling of the ongoing debate over midfielder Mesut Özil. https://www.thelocal.de/20180726/dfb-president-grindel-admits-to-mistakes-in-zil-affair Thu, 26 Jul 2018 13:42:53 +0200 dfb-president-grindel-admits-to-mistakes-in-zil-affair Compared to the west of the country, fewer and more highly educated non-Germans live in eastern Germany, an intergovernmental economic organization has found. https://www.thelocal.de/20180507/fewer-and-higher-educated-foreigners-in-eastern-germany Mon, 07 May 2018 14:36:11 +0200 fewer-and-higher-educated-foreigners-in-eastern-germany Andreas Geisel, Berlin’s interior minister, said on Wednesday that hatred towards Germans was on the rise in the capital, but cautioned that it was still far from the norm. https://www.thelocal.de/20180307/hatred-against-germans-is-increasing-in-berlin-says-citys-interior-minister Wed, 07 Mar 2018 12:59:42 +0100 hatred-against-germans-is-increasing-in-berlin-says-citys-interior-minister Working at a German school is not just about reading and writing, maths and singing songs, says newly minted Syrian assistant teacher Hend al-Khabbaz. https://www.thelocal.de/20180211/syrian-refugee-teacher-starts-job-at-german-school Sun, 11 Feb 2018 09:41:12 +0100 syrian-refugee-teacher-starts-job-at-german-school On February 1st, the city council in Freiberg, Saxony, plans to vote on whether or not to ban refugees from moving to the town for the next two years. The city says it can't fulfil it's educational duties to any more children. https://www.thelocal.de/20180126/successful-integration-german-town-to-vote-on-ban-of-refugee-immigration Fri, 26 Jan 2018 17:52:09 +0100 successful-integration-german-town-to-vote-on-ban-of-refugee-immigration More than half of Germans are worried about how the country will cope with immigration. But integrating foreigners has become less of a concern since last year, an annual study shows. https://www.thelocal.de/20170825/germans-biggest-concern-still-immigration-but-poverty-is-catching-up Fri, 25 Aug 2017 18:51:57 +0200 germans-biggest-concern-still-immigration-but-poverty-is-catching-up Muslims who have already lived in Germany for a while are better integrated than Muslims in other European countries, according to a study released by the Bertelsmann Foundation on Thursday. But the study revealed some weaknesses in integration, too. https://www.thelocal.de/20170824/integration-of-muslims-better-in-germany-than-in-rest-of-europe Thu, 24 Aug 2017 18:46:44 +0200 integration-of-muslims-better-in-germany-than-in-rest-of-europe Reports of sexual assaults and attacks on police during a small town festival have again sparked debate in Germany about integration, while also leading police to correct what they say are "misinterpretations" of what happened. https://www.thelocal.de/20170720/police-correct-misconceptions-about-small-town-riot-as-politicians-debate-immigration Thu, 20 Jul 2017 15:38:31 +0200 police-correct-misconceptions-about-small-town-riot-as-politicians-debate-immigration