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Articles by Benno Muchler
Flüchtlinge: Nur Bayern stellt auf Sachleistungen um
143 Euro bekommen Flüchtlinge laut Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz zur Deckung des täglichen Bedarfs im Monat. Es ist als Taschengeld gedacht für die Bedürfnisse neben Wohnung und Verpflegung: also alles wie Schokoriegel, Zeitungen, Bustickets und Telefonkarten.
Mehr Syrer könnten mit Flugzeug hergebracht werden
Insgesamt hat Deutschland seit 2013 drei Bundes- und 15 Länderprogramme für syrische Flüchtlinge durchgeführt. Das erste Bundesprogramm, auf dem die anderen aufbauten, hatte ein Kontingent für 5000 syrische Flüchtlinge. Aufgenommen wurde, wer mindestens eines von drei Kriterien erfüllte: besonderer Schutzbedarf; Bezüge zu Deutschland; die Fähigkeit, nach Ende des Konflikts in besonderem Maße zum Wiederaufbau Syriens beitragen zu können.
Der lange Kampf für Menschenrechte in Äthiopien
Ameha Mekonnen ist nicht glücklich. "Um ehrlich zu sein, hält sich meine Freude in Grenzen", sagt Mekonnen, ein Menschenrechtsanwalt aus Äthiopien. Am Freitag vor einer Woche sprach ein Gericht in der Hauptstadt Addis Abeba seine Mandanten frei. Blogger und Journalisten, die die Regierung kritisiert hatten und dafür als Terroristen eingesperrt wurden. "Nein, glücklich bin ich wirklich nicht", sagt Mekonnen.
Asylkrise: Werner Patzelt über Pegida und Flüchtlinge
Werner Patzelt: Das war einer der absoluten Tiefpunkte bei Pegida. Das war Volksaufhetzung, in jeder Hinsicht die unterste Kiste. Der einzige Trost war, dass offenbar etliche Demonstranten gegen Ende der Rede riefen, "Keine Hetze!" und "Aufhören!". Am Ende wurde dieser Kerl von Organisator Lutz Bachmann nachgerade vom Rednerpult verscheucht – und das war gut so. Diese Polarisierung zwischen Freund und Feind, zwischen Gut und Böse, ist absolut fatal.
Flüchtlingsheime: Auch Langeweile führt zur Gewalt
Wiederholt ist es in den vergangenen Wochen zu Massenschlägereien in Flüchtlingsheimen gekommen: In Hamburg gingen rund 30 Albaner und Afghanen mit Eisenstangen aufeinander los. In Braunschweig gab es eine Schlägerei zwischen Syrern und Algeriern. In Kassel-Calden schlugen sich Albaner und Pakistaner. Rund 370 Menschen waren beteiligt; drei Polizisten wurden verletzt.
CDU-Zukunftskongress in Sachsen: Auch die Basis geht Merkel an den Kragen
Und auch, als sie sagt, dass die Lebensbedingungen der Flüchtlinge in der Nähe von Syrien verbessert werden müssen, "damit sich nicht mehr so viele auf die Flucht machen". Keinen Applaus gibt es, als sie ihren Kurs in der Flüchtlingspolitik verteidigt: "Ich habe gesagt 'Ja, wir schaffen das'. Ich habe aber nicht gesagt, wir schaffen das ganz alleine." Stille im Publikum.
Asylkrise: 42.000 Flüchtlinge wohnen trotz Kälte in Zelten
Seit 37 Tagen wohnt Khan schon hier, in einem weißen Zelt für zehn Personen. Und mit ihm rund 700 andere Flüchtlinge. Doch langsam wird es Winter. An diesem Donnerstagabend beträgt die Außentemperatur gerade einmal acht Grad, Tendenz fallend in den folgenden Tagen. Und mit dem Regen kriecht die Kälte in die Knochen. Khan hat die Schultern hochgezogen, um am liebsten seine Ohren darin zu vergraben. Die Zehen in den Turnschuhen werden steif, so klamm ist es. "Es ist furchtbar", sagt Khan.
Arabisch-Übersetzer berichten von Fragen der Flüchtlinge
Sozialbetreuer Ibrahim Hijazi weiß, was die Flüchtlinge wollen: "Wissen, wie lange sie hier bleiben. Ob ihre Kinder zur Schule gehen müssen. Ob man arbeiten darf oder nicht." Der gebürtige Libanese ist im Flüchtlingsheim der Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) im Berliner Bezirk Wedding angestellt und hilft dort auch als Arabisch-Übersetzer. Ganz besonderes Interesse hätten die Flüchtlinge an der Familienzusammenführung, sagt Hijazi. "Ohne Familie fehlt ihnen hier etwas.
25 years after reunification, is Germany ready to be a world leader?
Every year around this time, German television and newspapers are full of pictures of events taken a quarter of a century ago: fireworks around the Brandenburg Gate, people sitting on the Berlin Wall, East German Trabis honking and driving west. The Day of German Unity, or “Tag der Deutschen Einheit,” is less exciting than New Year’s or Christmas. The public holiday is more a time to reflect. Politicians give speeches. Families gather around the television. Schools are closed. However, this Oct.
Asylkrise: Mehr Unis akzeptieren Flüchtlinge als Gasthörer
Fida Ahmadi ist aus Afghanistan geflohen. Der 22-Jährige ist seit drei Monaten in Deutschland und hofft in seiner neuen Heimat in Bremen auf einen Master-Studienplatz. In seiner alten Heimat hatte er einen Bachelor in Biotechnologie gemacht, bereits zwei Jahre in einem Labor zum Schutz von Pflanzen geforscht – und nebenbei Deutschkurse besucht. Doch hier ein Studium beginnen kann nur, wer Asyl bekommen hat. Und das dauert. Ahmadi wird bald als Gasthörer an der Uni Bremen Kurse belegen.
Liberia Ponders Site for National Ebola Monument
With Liberia being Ebola-free since the beginning of May, the government is discussing plans for erecting a national monument to remember the horrific time during which more than 4,000 Liberians died. One possible site is a cemetery outside Monrovia. It was built to get the crisis under control and symbolically stands for the magnitude of the human tragedy of the epidemic. The cemetery at Disco Hill is an hour's drive from Monrovia.
Liberia Ponders Site for a National Ebola Monument
Published May 21, 2015 With Liberia being Ebola-free since the beginning of May, the government is discussing plans for erecting a national monument to remember the horrific time during which more than 4,000 Liberians died. One possible site is a cemetery outside Monrovia. It was built to get the crisis under control and symbolically stands for the magnitude of the human tragedy of the epidemic. Benno Muchler reports from Liberia.
Some Ebola Victims Concerned They'll Never Get International Aid
Liberia’s reputation for graft has international donors and many Liberians concerned that aid money pouring in to help the country recover from Ebola may disappear into the maw of corruption. The international community has pledged nearly $5 billion to help West Africa fight and recover from the Ebola outbreak. But systemic fraud and mismanagement in Liberia has donors concerned the people who need the money most won’t see it.
Liberia's Early Ebola Response in Ganta Shows Resilience
For a long time during the Ebola outbreak, Liberians were on their own. Reconstructing events from July when the Ebola outbreak started in the city and how people managed to cope with the deadly and widely misunderstood disease are incisive and encouraging. “I remember on one occasion a lady sat in a chair and died and spent like four days there. One Saturday we picked 14 bodies from within this town,” said Tarlee M. Vah, who vividly remembered last summer.
At a Porous Border, Vigilant People Prevent Spread of Ebola
When Liberia reopened its borders earlier this year after the Ebola outbreak came under control, many people thought it was premature, with the virus still rife in Sierra Leone and Guinea. The border is porous and hard to control under the best of times. Until last year, the long stretches of open border were not an issue. People here have family on both sides of the border and often crisscrossed it.
Liberia Ebola Survivors Complain About Lack of Support
For Liberian survivors of Ebola, the struggle is not over. Many have lost property and family members, and often face tremendous stigma after being released from the hospital. Unresolved medical issues are another problem. Despite their suffering, they are still waiting for support a year into the Ebola crisis. Finda Fallah’s life turned upside down over the course of one week. She lost seven family members. She herself got infected.
Liberia's Almost Last Ebola Patient Grateful but Still Grieving
Published March 26, 2015 Beatrice Yardolo was to make history as Liberia’s last Ebola patient. Liberians recently started counting down 42 days, the period that has to go by without a single new infection until the World Health Organization can declare a country Ebola-free. That countdown stopped on March 20 when there was another new case of Ebola, making Yardolo’s story a reminder that Ebola is far from over. Benno Muchler reports from Monrovia.
Liberia's Almost Last Ebola Patient Grateful but Still Grieving
March 5 was a big day in Beatrice Yardolo’s life - she was discharged from a Chinese Ebola treatment center in Monrovia. Government officials, diplomats, the media -- everybody wanted to see the woman who was then declared and widely celebrated as Liberia’s last Ebola patient. As it turns out, that was premature. Liberians started counting down 42 days, the period that has to go by without a single new infection until the World Health Organization can declare a country Ebola-free.
Struck by Ebola, A Village Six Months Later
Benno Muchler revisits Margibi County - returning to a village that was terribly affected during the height of the Ebola outbreak. He first went in September with a local burial team. Since then, more than a dozen villagers died. Survivors are devastated and complain about a lack of government help.
Liberians Worry Ebola Could Return From Guinea, Sierra Leone
When the rate of Ebola infections in Liberia reached zero, the government decided to reopen its borders to its West African neighbors still fighting the disease. Liberia has managed to get its outbreak under control. But many residents, especially those in northern Lofa County, which was devastated by Ebola, are concerned the deadly virus might make a comeback through visitors from neighboring Sierra Leone and Guinea, which are not yet Ebola free.
As Ebola Slows, Social Life in Liberia Ramps Up
Five months ago at the height of the Ebola crisis, social life in Liberia was at a standstill, as people tried to avoid touching to keep themselves from catching the deadly virus. With new Ebola cases now down to zero, Liberians have returned to popular beaches and nightclubs. People are glad social life has returned, even though the worries have not entirely faded away. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, almost too nice for work. Monrovia lay under a blue sky. The ocean roared.
Liberia Decoration Day Brings Back Dark Memories of Ebola
Published March 12, 2015 Liberians this week observed Decoration Day - when they visit cemeteries to clean dead relatives’ graves and spend time with the departed. But Ebola has changed the observance this year. Some people’s relatives have no graves - they were cremated to stem the Ebola epidemic. Benno Muchler files from Margibi County with reporting from Prince Collins.
Liberia Decoration Day Brings Back Dark Memories of Ebola
Last August, as Ebola ravaged Liberia, Joe F. Kaisuah died at age 58. Today, at a cemetery in Harbel city in Margibi County, Kaisuah’s sister kneeled in front of his gravestone and grasped it. Crying, she felt too weak to say anything, but his son, Friday Kaisuah, found a few words. “All I can say, I am happy to be able to stay, to come this morning and talk with my father’s grave. It is a happy day for me because for us we never expected him to have a grave.
W. African Nations Hit by Ebola Seek More Aid From EU
Leaders from the three West African countries hardest hit by Ebola are calling for more international aid to help them emerge from the devastating outbreak. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf called for a massive financial response to Ebola, similar to the U.S. Marshall Plan that helped rebuild European economies after World War Two, during an international conference in Brussels Tuesday.
“It’s like a prison for us.” The refugees of South Sudan refuse to be forgotten, no matter how hard the world tries
At the end of November, Akuja de Garang sat in her garden in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. She is known for producing a fashion show of local designers in the hopes of fostering unity between the countries’ warring ethnic groups. “Our differences don’t need to create conflict,“ she said.
South Sudanese Losing Hope a Year After Fighting Started
The world's youngest nation returned to war earlier this year, after only three years of independence and relative peace. And the prospects for an end to fighting are dim. Residents and analysts in Juba said they are not optimistic and see more strife as plans to build South Sudan appear to evaporate. Akuja de Garang is one of many South Sudanese who returned to make a positive contribution to the growth of the country.
Calm Amid Fear in Daily Life in S. Sudan’s Bentiu
Six months ago, Bentiu was a ghost town. The capital of northern Unity State, near South Sudan’s important oil fields, had changed hands several times in fighting between government forces and rebels. Calm returned in November and since then, residents of Bentiu have been trying to regain some sense of normalcy. Bentiu’s market has reopened there are plans to start school again. But there fear of new attacks remains.
Calm Amid Fear in Daily Life in S. Sudan’s Town of Bentiu
Published December 22, 2014 Six months ago, Bentiu was a ghost town. The capital of northern Unity State, near South Sudan’s important oil fields, had changed hands several times in fighting between government forces and rebels. Calm returned in November and since then, residents of Bentiu have been trying to regain some sense of normalcy. Bentiu’s market has reopened there are plans to start school again. But fears of new attacks hang heavy, as Benno Muchler reports from Bentiu.
South Sudan’s Bentiu Camp: Making the Youth Better Than Their Fathers
A political dispute that spiraled into ethnic conflict in a country just three years old has left hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese displaced. Youths are now going through the same things their parents and grandparents experienced in the country’s decades-long war for independence. But some of these young people are trying to set South Sudan on a better course.
People are treating Africa like a country because of Ebola
Ebola was one of the biggest news stories this year. What did we learn from it? Not much. Panic and fear replaced rational thinking. And there was another pernicious behavior we didn’t change. Ebola would have been a chance to start differentiating Africa. Yet, we’re doing quite the opposite. We continue to look at Africa as one country. We act as if the whole continent is contaminated.
This is what happens in a society where people can’t touch each other
MONROVIA, LIBERIA—It was on a Monday morning some weeks ago in Monrovia, when hundreds of young Liberians flocked to the headquarters of a small, local NGO to join in the fight against Ebola. People used the opportunity to voice their anger: for months, schools and universities had been closed and there weren’t any jobs available.
Ethiopia Tries to Capitalize on Its Running Fame
Kibur said the center targets sports tourists as well as local and international runners. In mid-December, top athletes from Djibouti, Qatar and Britain visited, as did the London Olympics champion in the 1,500 meters, Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria. “They want to know what’s the secret,” Kibur said. “I mean, we have high altitude, but so does Mexico and other countries, but they don’t succeed the same level.
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