Collateral Damage: Foreigner Casualties of Germany’s Refugee Policy

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Many people have reasons for and against Merkel’s refugee policy, but I have no dispute with the very real need and relevancy of true refugee acceptance policies. War within several places, such as Afghanistan and Syria, have been fomented by a number of western countries for decades. They have covertly and overtly, aided and abetted, happily supplied arms and advisory personnel before installing local figureheads for a variety of reasons for their own benefit. Yet now many of the same ones, both citizens and politicians, are on the concern spectrum from sympathetic to outrage at the overwhelming influx people streaming into Europe or who need help in resettlement because of those ongoing events.

Germany is at the heart of the current situation literally and figuratively, after Merkel threw open Germany’s “doors” without forethought to having adequate systems in place to deal with results. It’s pointless trying guess why it was done without considering that, as a mostly inland country with only a northern coast, refugees would have to cross through others to the reach Germany, the perceived pinnacle of hope, leaving a swath of inadvertent disturbance in their wake. EU neighbors arguably but seriously and deservedly so have become exasperated with that reality, as Germany has latterly hurried to create contingency plans against the majority economic immigrants taking advantage of their offer.

Solutions?

In the scramble, and what is felt the need to cover any Ausländers coming to or in Germany (perhaps) lawmakers and policy pushers have now enacted new strictures or modified ones in place. I say, perhaps, because I don’t have access to copies of the change in guidelines, but many ex-pats are feeling the direct effects as interpreted by the Ausländerbehörde. The immigration office has always generated “horror” stories, with hundreds even thousands of forum threads and discussions of the frustrations caused and dehumanizing treatment by their unsmiling workers whose primary job is to say “No”. If you don’t believe that and/or object to that label, you don’t know German bureaucracy, where technically “Nein” is first reply on most any topic. Continue reading “Collateral Damage: Foreigner Casualties of Germany’s Refugee Policy”

#NativeAmerican Stories Vs. Exploitation: “Don’t Let the Sun Step Over You”

Re-reading “Don’t Let the Sun Step Over You“, the collected stories by Eva Tulene Watt assisted by Keith Basso made me write my mother and say, “Tell me a story”…and she did. She did, and it was good! If you’ve read the work, you’ll know why I add emphasis just so in the previous sentence. […]

Film Review: “Autism in Love” (2015)

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“Autism in Love follows the story of four adults with autism spectrum disorders as they search for and manage romantic relationships.”

Director: Matt Fuller

Writer: Ira Heilveil (concept by)

 

Originally shown on PBS, this low-key yet heart-touching, even heartbreaking documentary included expressions my son has made, especially those of the young man Lenny. Most people know the word autism or have heard the term Asperger’s Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Some have, at least, a vague definition of what that means, but usually a stereotypical view of how people with autism or Asperger’s spectrum disorders act, how they look, speak, learn and live. This has also been evident in film, such as in “Rain Man”, which stereotype is pervasive. Those with the diagnosis, of course, share some similarities, some baseline behaviors, but individuals can greatly vary as the word spectrum suggests. Not all act like “Rain Man”, and some of the most hurtful words you can say or they can hear is, “You don’t look like–“, “You don’t act like–” as if that is some kind of compliment or something they should be proud of because you said it.

In any case, what the majority of people don’t have is personal interaction or knowledge of these ones, their homes or even more so, how home life, growing up, teaching them, every day interactions go. My son was “normal”, meaning higher spectrum, but a head injury at eleven years old, a result of being bashed in the head with a locker by a bully, resulting in a hole in his skull. It changed his behavior and personality in definite ways. There was cognitive issues, loss of memory but also, and in some ways more devastating, the terrible blow to his self-confidence, self-esteem, trust of people, especially other young people, and of any school setting as staff had repeatedly dismissed or ignored his and our requests for help with and protection from harassment.

Young adults are often very cognizant of being “different”, real or perceived. They want to be “normal”, just as the subjects of the film repeatedly expressed, but as autists or Aspies, being treated like they’re dumb, weird, unworthy, or strange is too often what is normal. Because of some of the inabilities they have such as with self-expression or self-defense, they can come to live in fear of not just others, but also of life never changing: of always feeling/being useless, a perpetual flawed child, of being “stupid” or incapable. Continue reading “Film Review: “Autism in Love” (2015)”

Karl May Museum Reneges on Agreement to Return #NativeAmerican Scalps

Update 2017: The Karl May continue refusing return of all of the remains. They only agreed to return ONE human remains to a tribe. The others they consider themselves caretakers of, and refuse to respect multiple requests to return our relatives for respectful burial. Two years ago I was interviewed by Deutsche Welle TV on […]

Help Fund a Good Cause: “Fly Little Sisters to Graduation” (created Feb.2)

Please consider helping fund a campaign by Noel Altaha, a 27 White Moutain Apache student at . Serving at the single parent of her young sisters since the age of 19, she is to be a first generation graduate from Columbia University in New York, and would love to have them see her make this […]