Mistrust, racism and lack of privacy
The German authorities not only doubt that the women are telling the truth, but they also question the authenticity of the documents presented as proof from the pregnant women. They are digging into the women's past, interviewing their relatives and interrogating community members about the women's private lives, exposing them to the judgment of others.
Protest
In September 2020 a group of mothers in Bremen started to protest against the Standesamt's denial of handing out birth certificates. In February 2021, the Higher Administrative Court (Oberverwaltungsgericht) Bremen ruled that the blanket general suspicion against Ghanaian and Nigerian mothers is unlawful. So far, the protest of the women was partly successful, as some received their childrens' birth certificates and hence acquired residence statuses as well. They generated publicity for the issue, talked to politicians and journalists. We believe all Black German children have a right to their birth certificates, like every other German child.
This website is the outcome of a collaboration between four activists of Together We Are Bremen and two researchers of the University of Bayreuth.
The project was funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Grant #SCHR 981/10-2).
The website design and development was carried out by William VanderVeen with support from Unnati Shukla. Felix Schramm from ag-prop supported and advised us throughout the website development process. Our workshops took place at LidiceHaus in Bremen.
You can contact Together We Are Bremen at shut-down-gottlieb-daimler@free-migration.org or you can write a message on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
For more information about the research project, you can reach us via email at born-twice@uni-bayreuth.de.
Together We Are Bremen needs regular donations, to help them to continue self-organization and the struggles for the right to stay and against racism in Bremen.
You can donate to a private account or to the account of the association BreSoC (BremenSolidarityCenter).
You can donate to the private account in case you don't need a receipt for your taxes. For TWAB, the private account means less administrative requirements. Send an email to contact@togetherwearebremen.org or send them a message on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for the account information.
Together we are Bremen
Voices of Resistance
cooperativa-film.de
Flüchtlingsrat Bremen
Bremer JungenBüro
Women in Exile
International Women Space
Radio Show of International Women Space
Wort- und Herzschlag
Kollektiv Polylog
Pro Asyl
Bayerischer Flüchtlingsrat
Beratungs- und Betreuungszentrum für junge Geflüchtete und Migranten Berlin
Research Group Anthropology of Global Inequalities
Boas Blogs - Undoing Race and Racism
antiAtlas Journal
Media about the (fight against the) denial of Birth Certificates: here, here, and here.
All people quoted in the interviews gave their consent to be part of the project. To protect their identity, we have anonymized the quotes.
The photographs that we use on this website were either taken by ourselves or by TWAB.
All tools and services used to create this website are GDPR compliant.
This website is the outcome of a collaboration between four activists of Together We Are Bremen and two researchers of the University of Bayreuth. The project was funded by the German Research Foundation (). The website development and design was carried out by with support from . Felix Schramm from supported and advised us throughout the website development process. Our workshops took place at in Bremen.
You can contact Together We Are Bremen at or you can write a message on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. For more information about the research project, you can reach us via email at born-twice@uni-bayreuth.de.
Together We Are Bremen needs regular donations, to help them to continue self-organization and the struggles for the right to stay and against racism in Bremen. You can donate to a private account or to the account of the association BreSoC (BremenSolidarityCenter). You can donate to the private account in case you don't need a receipt for your taxes. For TWAB, the private account means less administrative requirements. Send an email to contact@togetherwearebremen.org or send them a message on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for the account information.
Together we are Bremen, Voices of Resistance, cooperativa-film.de, Flüchtlingsrat Bremen, Bremer JungenBüro, Women in Exile, International Women Space, Radio Show of International Women Space, Wort- und Herzschlag, Kollektiv Polylog, Pro Asyl, Bayerischer Flüchtlingsrat, Beratungs- und Betreuungszentrum für junge Geflüchtete und Migranten Berlin, Research Group Anthropology of Global Inequalities, Boas Blogs - Undoing Race and Racism, antiAtlas Journal, Media about the (fight against the) denial of Birth Certificates: here, here, and here.
All people quoted in the interviews gave their consent to be part of the project. To protect their identity, we have anonymized the quotes. The photographs that we use on this website were either taken by ourselves or by TWAB. All tools and services used to create this website are GDPR compliant.
