Paper short abstract:

As young Africans who fled the war in Ukraine, we are now threatened with deportation in Germany. We are experiencing what borders in their various manifestations mean. From the unequal treatment at the physical borders to what we encounter from the authorities and society facing racism.

Paper long abstract:

As young Africans who fled the war in Ukraine, we are now threatened with deportation in Germany. We are experiencing what borders in their various manifestations mean physical and psychological. From the unequal treatment at the physical borders between the European countries to what we encounter now from the authorities in Germany and society in general by facing racism.

We are a group of medical students, doctors and dentists, engineers, project managers, business economists who until recently lived, studied or worked in Ukraine. Now we have sought refuge in Germany from the murderous war. We bring with us a wealth of resources and skills that could be a blessing for Germany.

During the war, our lives were threatened. We had to flee, many of us had to leave almost everything we owned behind. We had terrible experiences during our flight. We experienced racism and discrimination. Some of us were imprisoned because of lost documents, others were raped, still others were almost kidnapped. On the trains we fled on, people were segregated by skin colour, some were asked to vacate their seats or leave the train. At the border, we were separated by skin colour and had to wait for hours - unlike the white people in the other queue. In Germany, the racist discrimination has not stopped.

We demand from the Federal Government, especially from Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser, a right of residence as Ukrainian nationals automatically receive. We demand nothing other than equal rights. We have all fled from war. According to Article 3 of the German Basic Law, no one may be discriminated against because of their descent, homeland or origin.

We also demand uncomplicated transitional arrangements for students so that they can continue their studies in Germany, if necessary, in order to have a perspective again.

We want to finally come to peace and return to a dignified life. We want the fear to stop and get out of the terrible uncertainty. We want to give something back to our families in Africa and contribute to the well-being of German society.

We demand that all people in our situation get equal rights and this chance. It is a question of human rights.

We too have fled from the hail of bombs from Ukraine - but as Africans we do not have the same rights in Germany as refugees with Ukrainian passports. During our flight we experienced violence and racism - now we are threatened with deportation.

Our residence permits expire and it is unclear how our lives can continue. We literally do not know today how our lives can continue. We demand equal rights and the opportunity to gain a foothold in Germany. Because we have no other chance.

But we cannot simply return to our countries. Our families and communities have in some cases given up their livelihoods to give us and them a better future. They have sold land and placed all their bets on us. Some of our papers are lying unreachable in Ukraine. If we cannot stay in Germany, not only our dreams of a better future would be shattered. We would have to disappoint our families and go back to existential hardship.