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A Student Research and Crossing Borders Collab We are all aware of the increasing impact climate change is having on our lives, from the direct effects of natural disasters and increasing temperatures to the other sometimes more long-lasting effects on health and well-being – but it’s time to recognise that these impacts are felt differently amongst different social groups! Women are at higher risk of suffering from the negative effects of climate change and are therefore more vulnerable to climate change. Knowing how they are vulnerable and what we can do to address it are some important questions that we hope to answer with the help of Crossing Borders in our research project. Our research group is made up of three students from Roskilde University studying International Studies. Jessica has roots in Liberia and Denmark while Ringisai and Raramai have lived experiences in Indonesia, Australia and southern Africa, our combined experiences mean we’ve seen how climate change can affect women differently globally. So, this topic is both important and personal to us as a group. Our research aims to understand ideas of resilience, risk and vulnerability in the context of climate change and gender. We are very excited to collaborate with Crossing Borders as a partner for our research project, not only because they have insights into how organisations respond to gendered climate vulnerability, but also because like us they believe in empowering youth to be the change they want to see in the world. This topic is increasingly relevant as international climate change initiatives become more critical of their actions and have started to look at the additional vulnerabilities that women face to climate change. Organisations such as Crossing Boarders are great case studies because of their emphasis on youth, inclusion and diversity. For more information on the impact of climate change, and what forms of gendered climate action that exist Click here Feel free to contact us if you’d like more information on our project! Ringisai Susara Campbell Jessica Petersen Raramai Campbell

  Conflicts are part of our life, and we need to learn how to deal with them. This course’s clear message is that one does not have to avoid conflicts to have meaningful and deep relationships. Do conflicts have benefits for our life? This course argues that they have, and the argument is taken even further by highlighting how disputes have the ability for personal growth and development. According to Margaret Heffernan, by stepping into the conflict, we allow ourselves to analyse our beliefs and perspectives by reflecting on opposing beliefs and views. In this way, personal knowledge is broadened with the very unique sense of someone else’s experience. This process allows creating a shared experience which could be beneficial for all parties involved. According to Heffernan, it is essential to build the ability to detach self and one’s own perception, thus creating the initial willingness to understand the opinions of others. We can call it open-mindedness or the ability to understand what might initially seem unfamiliar, or even strange. Heffernan invites us to be accepting of such strangeness and even consider it valuable, as something that can enrich our thoughts. To see conflicts from another angle, Unit 3 of this Conflict and Communication course sees Crossing Borders’ chair Vibeke Quaade offer her perception of a particular form of communication that can prove problematic. Vibeke describes the tendency of humanitarian organisations to present Africa as a place in need through distressing imagery, feeding into Western media and encouraging support to what is made to seem a simply needy continent. While drawing interesting connections of this modern-day problem to its colonial roots, Vibeke encourages humanitarian communications workers to fight against this tendency and not be overly simplistic and damaging in their work. This course then offers and describes the practice of Nonviolent Communication, which is presented as a working tool to effectively manage conflict situations. Nonviolent communication is an analytical tool in the form of reflection on possible emotional manifestation and in this sense, emotional and rational attributes are balanced and cooperative. Therefore, by doing this course, we are encouraged to be fully present when engaged in a conflict. The course nicely incorporates the need for personal openness to facing conflicts, while on the other hand it encourages students to listen and learn from disagreements. Students are invited to step out of their comfort zone to see and understand different perspectives, and above all, to grow.   Take the course now! Click here By Lucia Trubenova Crossing Borders Intern

This interactive, online course is divided into three sections, with each segment bringing a unique perception of The Nordic Welfare Model. The first unit introduces the welfare model and reflects on current affairs, while the second part offers a critical analysis of the model from the perception of environmental issues. The third discusses social protection as a crucial element of the Nordic Welfare Model, relating to the example of Finland. Reflecting on current geopolitical affairs, the global pandemic and climate change crises, one naturally thinks about the long-term sustainability of the Nordic Welfare Model. This kind of sustainability is placed in the context of international development, social structures and environmental issues. This course reflects on each Nordic country individually, and by such an analysis, students have the opportunity to understand the model as such, as well as its various aspects and how each country was able to reflect on the crisis. This section allows students to see damages done by the crisis situation but also possible solutions. The second part of the lecture analyses the model from an environmental perspective, drawing from the knowledge of experts like Dr Jason Hickle, who offers a critical analysis of Scandinavian politics in terms of environmental practices. The reader is allowed to broaden their perception of attitudes to sustainability in the Nordics and take a more critical approach, asking, how can they and thus other countries do better? The third section focused on social protection with a specific example from Finland. By understanding and analysing social politics, one can appreciate the Finnish historical narrative of social politics and its impact on Finland’s development. This case study serves as a functional model and a possible solution for various countries concepts. The lecture offers a comprehensive analysis from different pespectives and a fantastic opportunity for students to critically reflect on the Nordic Welfare Model.

Migration and Refugee Aspects of Life is one of many courses offered by Crossing Borders International College in collaboration with the social learning platform CanopyLAB. Through the collaboration Crossing Borders aims to in provide accessible education to all those with an interest in empowering themselves with the knowledge needed to build a peaceful and sustainable world. The courses Crossing Borders International College offers are comprehensive, utilizing the real-life experience of experts in the subject-areas to empower learners in their own individual journeys. The courses offered touch on topics such as the UN’s Sustainability Goals, Inequality, Conflict and Peacemaking, and Climate Activism, amongst many others. In this article the contents and learning experience within the “Migration and Refugee Aspects of Life” will be discussed from my own perspective, as someone who was recently fortunate enough to take part in the course. Over the past few years the global refugee situation has gained increasing attention in a world that has globalized rapidly. Information on the refugee situation comes from many different sources, the media, world governments, UN organizations and, of course, word of mouth. Due to the many different voices speaking about refugees and migrants, there has also been an increased level of debate around the topic and a variety of questions have been raised, such as “what is a refugee?”, “who should be responsible for solving the refugee situation?” and “how can we help the refugee situation?”. With these questions and many others in mind, Crossing Borders developed this course “Migration and Refugee Aspects of Life” with the intention of increasing education on refugee issues through focusing on three main topics: what it means to be a refugee, the current refugee situation and how Covid-19 has impacted it, and what it means to be a young refugee. These topics make up the three units for the course, with learners progressing through units each designed with different focus points that, when combined, provide a comprehensive understanding of the global refugee situation. The course begins with unit one “What does it mean to be a refugee?”, where learners are provided with video lectures and learning materials that provide a solid background on what a refugee is, how the refugee situation has gotten to where it is today historically, what protections refugees are rightfully entitled to and what the life of a refugee is like. Once the learner has passed through the learning materials provided they are able to take a quiz, where they are encouraged to reflect on a series of questions involving the historical background of refugee protection, and the rights that refugees have globally. Unit two begins with a lecture provided by Garba Diallo, the Crossing Borders Founding Director, which is truly a highlight of the course. Garba discusses the current refugee situation with a far-reaching insight and provides brilliant perspectives on the impact that Covid-19 has had on the refugee crisis and the underlying political systems, foreign influences and world order that has caused the current issues within the refugee situation. Garba ends his lecture by encouraging learners to engage their creativity to brainstorm possible solutions for how the world can share the burden of hosting refugees, how countries should integrate refugees, and how we can deal with the deeper traumas that many refugees have to struggle with. The topics Garba raises are followed up with extremely relevant learning materials, and a series of exercises designed to facilitate analysis, debate and investigation from the learner. Unit three is designed to provide insight into the topic of Youth Refugees, and the unique set of issues that a child must deal with while navigating their journey as a refugee. Through a series of videos and follow up materials, the nuances of the life of a young refugee are discussed, enabling the learner to reflect on the different contexts and circumstances that the struggles of a refugee can come in.  This unit takes an important look at the productive ways in which the life of a child refugee can be improved in our own countries, through projects and initiatives that aim to support their journeys. Overall the Migration and Refugees Aspects of Life course offered by Crossing Borders provides a detailed and clear understanding of migrants and refugees in today’s world, through identifying three main topics and providing video materials, lectures, articles and reports that support the learning experience throughout the process. This course is designed for someone who wishes to empower themselves with a more nuanced and well-rounded understanding of the refugee in a modern context, or who maybe wishes to gain new perspectives in their knowledge of the refugee situation. The units are designed to empower learners with historical and statistical data while also encouraging each learner to reflect on the life of a refugee through their individual perspectives, and starts the learner on their own journey of brainstorming and problem solving. Once completing the course, the learner should be left with a strong base understanding of the current refugee situation, as well as a respect for the many different contexts and perspectives that are involved.

Ten Years Later Dubbed Bread, Social Justice, and Freedom: the Arab Spring was a culmination of long-standing anger against bad governance across the region. The spark that ignited the keg happened on December 17, 2010, just one month after the self-immolation of Khalid Said in Egypt who was under the custody of the police. The uprising exploded in different parts of the region and turned into relatively peaceful protests that chased out 30-42 long-time rulers from Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen. Some rulers were luckier and managed to escape soon enough to keep their lives, while others like Ghaddafi in Libya got lynched by protesters. The revolution was relatively successful in Tunisia, while in Egypt and Bahrain the uprising relapsed back to square one, in Yemen and Syria, it tragically degenerated into protracted bloody civil wars raging even to this day, causing the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. Now, ten years after these events, we find ourselves wandering: is there a reason to celebrate? Some people say yes, because they believe that the citizens of their own countries are no longer afraid to speak out about civic, social, and sexual freedoms. Other people disagree, arguing that the hopes of the Arab Spring have been dashed. Below are some of the reflections from the region. Abdullah Alsmaeel from Syria, Suaad Alsalahi from Yemen, Rasha Abdel Wahab from Egypt and Khalid Albaih from Sudan share their thoughts about the meaning of the Arab revolutions and the future prospective for their home countries. Photo by Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Ima 1 Our crime is believing in freedom  By Abdullah Alsmaeel Ten years ago, we participated to the peaceful civilian demonstrations that took place at the beginning of the Syrian revolution, inspired by the Arabic Spring. Our aim in Syria was to restore dignity and freedom for the people of the region. We did it, knowing well that we were putting our lives at risk. Our dream of obtaining freedom and defeating dictatorship gave us enough courage to stand in the face of one of the bloodiest and most oppressive regimes of modern times. As a result, we were forced out of the country. Our sole crime was our passion for freedom, democracy, and social justice. Today, the civil activists who have fled, find themselves surrounded by huge challenges. We are learning to be equipped with skills which enable us to communicate with the international community regarding issues of forced migration, opposition to dictatorships, support to causes of equality, social justice, and democracy in our home countries. All that, with the aim to create pressure and provide a voice to our people to finally see our dream come true. We believe that change will take time and that our movement is a work in progress. As the Syrian playwright, Saadallah Wannous said: “We are condemned to hope”. Arab Autumn in Yemen By Suaad Alsalahi We pinned great hopes on the Arab Spring revolutions. In Yemen we carried ambitions and intentions to change the regime that had ruled for 33 years, along with its errors, corruption, and grievances. What we longed for was finally achieved in 2011 with the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, through a political settlement initiative sponsored by the Arab Gulf states. After that, all our hopes and aspirations were nothing but dispersed. We witnessed only devastation, destruction and corruption that inevitably led to a relentless war, which has been striking us since 2015. The Yemeni Spring has become a nightmare haunting us, with the state institutions collapsing, trapped in chaos, sectarianism, wars, terrorism, poverty and with the population turning into hungry, homeless, and displaced refugees. Hatred and revenge have accumulated so much ever since, that we are now besieged within our own borders. I ask myself if we will celebrate the anniversary of the Arab Spring since in Yemen it has turned into a cold autumn. There is much to celebrate on the 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring By Rasha Abdel Wahab Looking back at the past 10 years, I reckon that for the Egyptians it has been a bumpy ride. First, Mubarak got thrown off the power but then the Muslim Brotherhood took over. At that point, we all wondered whether Egypt would have become a new Algeria, stroke by civil wars, or a closed country, much like Iran. I honestly believe that many people, including myself, insisted on getting rid of the Muslim Brotherhood for the country’s own sake, despite the world might criticize us as undemocratic. As I live most of the time here in Egypt, I can see how the country is building impressive infrastructures, improving healthcare, promoting start-ups and export and developing the education system. Although we have not seen the fruits of these initiatives yet, we can feel the development of the process.  I believe that the country is going in the right direction, although we all need to focus to create a stronger Egypt, with a stable economy, reasonable education system and good healthcare. Nevertheless, there is still a lot to be done and I can’t say to be totally satisfied about Egypt right now. Without any doubt, the Arab revolution was an important step for us, but we still have a long way to make the dreams we shared in 2011 finally come true. We demonstrated for freedom, equality, and a decent livelihood ten years ago, and we still have not achieved it. Now we have something more important – that is stability, developing countryside, safety at night. Egypt will have to undertake a long journey in order to become a democracy in all and for all, and for this we will need more educated people that are able to understand the guidelines of a democracy and the difference between chaos and freedom.  The Arab Spring wind of change is still blowing By @Khalidalbaih

Why did you decide to join the Steering Committee of ALF? Firstly, the invitation to become part of the Committee came from good friends and people that I respect in the field of international development, but also I consider myself personally invested in the cause of ALF since I have lived and worked in the Middle East. The murder of the Swedish Minister Anna Lindh came as a shock and a kind of wake-up call for me. I think that a network such as ALF is needed now that the world, more than ever, is increasingly polarized and radicalized. One of the negative trends of this pandemic is that everything is easily turning either black or white and the extremes are becoming more and more polarized as we witnessed during the last year in the US and other countries. Although I advocate for the perks of digital platforms in times of social distancing, I am not naive about it and I am aware that the continuous use of social media has created frustration and hostility amongst those people that feel isolated and lonely and thus feel the right to ventilate all their dark thoughts on strangers on-line. In this regard, social media are definitively not supporting a peaceful and beneficial dialogue: generally, people tend to be quite aggressive on social platforms and they lose the nuances that are an essential feature of the face to face encounters. We are experiencing challenging times, but therefore it is even more important to have an organization building network in order to reach out to people before they become too radicalized and before they start cornering themselves in crystallized opinions and stereotypes about their “enemy”. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in Denmark too and we certainly need to continue to build and re-establish the ALF Danish network. I hope that we will invite and engage many more members, especially those that are not traditionally part of this type of sector. I am thinking beyond NGOs because if you really want to achieve change in society, you need to reach out to those actors who are more critical and hesitant because they might not see the point in participating in the conversation right away.  It is much easier to agree with those who have the same idea as yourself. Nevertheless, the real work starts when we approach those who do not agree or have different opinions because the differences allow us to expand beyond the comfort zone of organizations that already share the same ideas and goals. We need to open the dialogue at many levels, and we will take a small step towards this goal; we owe it to the rest of the network and to our neighbors in Sweden. In your opinion, what are the major strengths and flaws of ALF? I firmly believe in the importance of networks.  I am also part of other networks such as the Nordic Women Mediators Network. I think that creating networks and relationships, formally and informally, is the only way we, as humans, can evolve and manage the challenges that we face politically, socially, and military. ALF and its network have had a good start particularly in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region. I do not think that there are any flaws in creating networks, on the contrary, it is essential to have people meeting, discussing, building alliances in order to push agendas, raise awareness and help change things. Have you had the chance to work in the Mediterranean area? My experience in the Middle East started as a child living in Cyprus, where my father worked as a UN peacekeeper during the conflict between the Greek and the Turkish Cypriots. I grew up looking at the border, watching people fleeing from their homes and losing their families as I witnessed all the suffering that that caused. Amongst them, there were also refugees from Lebanon fleeing from the civil war, so I was exposed to the consequences of bad leadership in the Middle East at an early age. Then, years later I returned to work in the Middle East. I negotiated agreements with authorities, undertook assessments during conflicts, and opened offices in Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. I have a great affection for the region and its people, in fact, I have maintained contact with the region as I am the chair of the Executive Committee of the European Endowment for Democracy which provides grants to organizations and individuals promoting democracy in the European Southern neighboring countries. The concept of dialogue is at the core of ALF, how important is it for the DIPD? What are the differences between the political dialogue of DIPD and the dialogue of ALF? In Denmark, we have a history of cross-party political dialogue and negotiation enacted to achieve what we think is the best for our society and we have refined this culture for over a hundred years. This is the history and the principles that DIPD brings along when engaging internationally in partnerships with developing countries that do not share the same historical path or background of democratic culture. Through peaceful and constructive dialogue, we show that it is possible to discuss with someone with a completely different view. DIPD facilitates dialogue between or within political parties, whereas ALF enables dialogue between civilians, people, and organizations. Nonetheless, the two types of dialogue observe the same principles. This is the whole point of building societies – to listen constructively and peacefully not to fight those with different opinions. In the current times of isolation due to the pandemic, it seems difficult or even impossible to foster dialogue. Would you suggest a strategy to keep the conversation open and active across the Euro-Med region? I do not completely agree with the assumption that it is difficult to foster dialogue during these times. During the lockdown, we were able to reach out to people that otherwise would have been excluded either because they

We are meeting Mu’ayyad in the heart of Østerbro, in Copenhagen, where we are having a chat over a cup of tea and an inevitable slice of the delicious Danish carrot cake. Mu’ayyad Mehyar is the newest member of the Steering Committee of Anna Lindh Foundation – Denmark (ALF-Denmark). We want to know more about his life, his experiences but, most and foremost, we are eager to learn what Dialogue truly means for him. Mu’ayyad’s life seems to be quite exceptional: Born and grown in Jordan, he started off his career as a Mechanical Engineer but after seven years he decided to change his career path. He moved to England where he graduated from the University of Bradford in International Conflict Resolution. Mu’ayyad says that he aimed at studying International Conflict Resolution, because this have helped him to professionalise his active engagement in the Middle Eastern societies to further promote peace and understanding in a region that has lived protracted conflicts. Why Dialogue and why do you believe in the potential of Dialogue? “I wholeheartedly believe that dialogue is a fundamental tool as well as a way of communication whose aim is to have a deeper understanding of things as well as to explore and discover global perceptions and ways of thinking about global rights, standards and values. Also, dialogue can serve to finding the root causes of, for instance, a crisis, in order to avoid to simply deal with its symptoms. Dialogue it’s not just a huge part of my career, but a fundamental side of my personal life: I experienced it first when I was young and sitting with my big family in Jordan (being the youngest of eight brothers and sisters). Then, through my mum’s monthly receptions when, for over 35 years, she used to host more than 60 women of her friends, every 3rdand 4th of each month. I also learned it through my civic engagement activities during the teenage period and later at the university in Jordan, where I was studying Mechanical Engineering. Together with university peers in Jordan, I founded a debate club in 1987 to discuss issues of mutual concerns and controversy amongst the students at the university premises. During that period, I co-founded a Pan-Arab Youth Forum in 1989 and started to dialogue not only about national issues but also regional issues of common concern to Arab Youth. Needless to say, I am into intercultural marriage, which entails, as an imperative, some sort of dialogue to have deeper understanding of my partner, my Danish lady, with whom I have been married for more than 20 years.” According to you, what are the fundamental grounds for an effective Dialogue? “In a dialogue process, we should listen actively to each other, deeply enough, to be changed by what we learn from those we are dialoguing with. In a dialogue process the intention should not be to advocate for certain things but to inquire about these things. Further, it should not be about arguing with the participants, but exploring and discovering things together with them, without trying to convince them of certain thoughts and ideas. In a dialogue process we should ensure that there is a safe and open, trustful, and enabling space. Moreover, there should be some sort of commitment and absence of a desire to win the dialogue to your own direction. In addition, we should ensure inclusive, equal, respectful and transparent values. I believe that reflecting upon dialogue is fundamental, both through self and collective reflections. Moreover, we should aim at going through a collective inquiry not only to take into consideration the words spoken by the participants, but also the context that brought them to such conclusions, including their underlying motivations, assumptions and beliefs. Most importantly, in a dialogue process there has to be a joint sense of ownership and enthusiasm for the dialogue process and in turn outcomes that would lead to positive change. Dialogue should lead to a set of recommendations, which afterwards form a common framework and guidelines for the standards and procedures.” During our meeting, Mu’ayyad happens to be with his dog Charlie. Since he has just moved back after staying in Jordan for three years, he did not want to leave Charlie alone. For the last three years, you have been living and working in Jordan. What, do you think, characterizes Jordanian culture? “Jordanian culture is considered to be a ‘high-contextual’ culture, which communicates indirectly rather than directly, through implicit ways. We should understand that as important as the explicit content of a message, is the context in which it occurs. Arab people in general, and Jordanians in specific, put the group before the individual, they are keen and concerned about how they will appear in the eyes of the others. It is a so-called ‘collectivist’ culture that values interpersonal relationships, whose members form stable and close relationships. Speech is therefore more about upholding and promoting social interests than transmitting information. And that is why Jordanians weigh their words carefully, for whatever they say will be scrutinised and taken to heart. Face-to-face conversations contain many emollient expressions and comprise words that have socially lubricating function of respect and courtesy, in fact Jordanians feel acutely uncomfortable about delivering a blunt ‘no’ since they want to please others and prefer inaccuracy or avoidance of painful accuracy”. Can you tell us about your recent experience in Jordan working at the UNFPA (United Nation Population Fund) for the department of “Sexual and Reproductive Rights”? “Jordan is, in its vast-majority a Muslim country. The 95% of its population are Muslims, who follow Sharia for all marriage-related issues. So, in my last job as an International Consultant to UNFPA Jordan it was challenging to work with sexual and reproductive rights, in a conservative society that taboos talking about sexuality. This could possibly be because of the deeply rooted patriarchal culture in people’s mentality as well as in some institutional laws. Yet, I do not want people in Jordan to live against

The world has been recently unsettled by the emergence of the pandemic COVID-19. People all over the globe find themselves facing many changes in their everyday life which are needed to control the spread of the virus. Amid this global health crises, it’s visible how some “humans” matter more than others so I decided to address the low position that migrants hold in the global hierarchy due to a well-constructed and regulated system aimed at the dehumanization of those subjects. In order to do so I will start with an overall characterization of Moria: the biggest European refugee camp, located on the Greek island Lesbos. Afterword I will briefly report the episode of an unwanted British cruise ship and of its passengers eventually rescued from international diplomatic intervention. The comparison between the refugee camp Moria and the British cruise ship Braemar emphasizes the durable inequality and colonial settled mindset that characterizes European thought which, by now, has been assimilated and accepted by the rest of the world. Lesbos Lesbos is one of the many Greek islands facing the Turkish coast that have been literally invaded by migrants in the last twenty years: more than 42,000 men, women and children are now estimated to be on Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Leros and Kos. Refugees are unable to leave because of a containment policy determined by the EU, and they are forced to remain on the islands as detainees until their asylum requests are processed by long and complicated burocracy. Moria, situated on Lesbos, is the biggest refugee camp in Europe with its 20,000 inhabitants living in a space initially designed to host only 3,000 people. One might ask how did the camp become so overcrowded? In two words: “Fortress Europe”. In 2015 the EU commission in Brussels decided to turn refugee camps into “hotspots”, or detention camps. Hence, their “undocumented” inhabitants of which many are unaccompanied minors, became illegal detainees. To make matters worse, the Greek government has recently decided to suspend asylum rights in order to stop the stream of immigrants from the islands to the mainland. Is no surprise that the Greek islands’ population has been growing exponentially since then. Apostolos Veizis, director of the medical operational support unit for Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) in Greece referring to the decision to suspend asylum rights, stated that: “the imposition of the restriction of movement on the people of the camps and not for anyone else on the islands is unacceptable and discriminatory (…). You are locking children, women and men into severely overcrowded camps where the sanitation and hygiene conditions are horrific” (Spinney L., 21-03-2020). Even thou Greece is part of the EU, it has been treated as part of Europe’s borderlands, as a giant prison camp where to block and detain migrants to minimize the risk of “invasion” for the core EU nations. This “Fortress” strategy has had tremendous outcomes for the people on the islands, especially for Moria where there is limited access to running water (toilets and showers regularly block due to overuse), restricted access to electricity, complete absence of a trash collecting system or health care. In addition to this, the living space for the detainees is very limited (an average of 3sqm per person) and the refugees houses consist in shacks built with recycled materials and garbage (Camilli, A., 2017). In a situation already at the limit, a new factor of fear and crises has recently entered the scenario. The first case of Covid-19 was confirmed at the beginning of March when a Greek woman from the town of Plomari was tested positive. The Greek government showed no interest in intervening to prevent the spread of the disease among the refugees and neither the EU acted in this direction. In the absence of support from the Greek authorities, an increasing sense of urgency about hygiene and health care has grown on Lesbos. Moved by their own initiative, refugees started organizing sewing homemade masks, placing antibacterial soap on olive trees and educating kids about the many precautions to adopt. Nevertheless, the situation seems hopeless and preventing a humanitarian crisis seems unlucky to happen. The pandemic resulted worldwide in the closure of borders, the discouragement of movement and a general increase of fear and xenophobia which intensified the European Fortress politics. At the beginning of March, the EU has financed Greece with €700m destined to the “upgrade of the shield”. Therefore, the so called “shield”, meaning the Greek border, has been reinforced with new infostructures and highly militarized means placed to block “undocumented” people and defend Europe from the “invasion”. I would like to emphasise that I do not want to focus on the most recent events concerning the spread of the Corona virus as such, I simply take the occasion to use this global crises to highlight the inequality of the system in which we live in, as a litmus paper that inevitably shows two different behaviours, two different ways of being “human” and two different ways of representing humanness. My aim is to bring on the table a reflection on the inequalities that are consistent part of everyone’s everyday life, but which are easily forgotten in case you stand on the “innocent”, privileged and democratic side which controls, and have controlled for centuries, among many things, knowledge creation. As Gloria Wekker states: “The claim of innocence, however, is a double-edged sword: it contains not-knowing, but also not wanting to know. Precisely because they tend not to understand the racist world in which they live, white people are able to fully benefit from its racial hierarchies, ontologies and economies” (Wekker G., 2016, pg. 17). Braemar Cruise Ship The British cruise ship Braemar with its 682 passengers and 380 crew members was supposed to spend only 14 days in the Caribbean Ocean in the beginning of March, but after the first case of COVID-19 outbroke on board, the cruise has been turned away from several ports in the Caribbean, including the Barbados and the Bahamas. The Braemar had

I attended the “Food For Thought” event organised by Crossing Borders where filmmaker Dennis Dalgaard presented his documentary called “Denmark does not exist”. The audience got to know the story of two Danish sisters whose mother is a black woman from Zambia and whose father is Danish. Even though they were born and raised in Denmark, they decided to leave Denmark and go to Zambia as they didn’t feel at home in Denmark. Their story involved different issues such as racism and belonging. My attention got especially caught by the issue of belonging. I am a white young woman from Germany and I have never experienced any kind of racism against my person or major struggle about where I belong to. I can only imagine how people with a coloured skin feel in everyday life when they are faced with different kinds of racism. I also can only imagine how it is to have one or both parents from a different country and growing up with different backgrounds and struggles in regards to where to belong. When I was thinking about belonging on my way home after the event, I realized that belonging can mean a lot, and something else to everyone. In the German language, we have the term “Heimat” which is actually a term that is difficult to define as it entails aspects that are not that clear to characterise. When translating it to other languages, I do not find a word that fully describes what I think of when I say the word “Heimat”. The dictionary offers me the terms “home” or “native” in English, “la patria” or “el país natal” in Spanish, as well as “le pays d’origine” and “la patrie” in French. But “Heimat” means something else than the country which you were born in. Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior even has “Heimat” in its name (Bundesministerium (Federal Ministry) für Inneres (Interior), Bau (Construction) and Heimat (translated as Community)). On their webpage, it says that “Heimat“ is where people feel well, accepted, secure, where they belong to and are part of a community. The main areas of the ministry involve social cohesion, volunteering, demography, spatial development, integration, religion, national minorities, and equal living conditions. The main aim of the ministry is to foster and improve the cohesion, sense of community, and identification with and in the country. “Heimat” and “belonging” can mean different things and can be applied on different levels. My main reference point will always be my little town of 10.000 inhabitants where I grew up and went to school, and where my closest family lives. My next reference point is Germany as I am a German citizen. On the one side, it is easy for me to link my sense of belonging to Germany. But on the other side, it still stays a bit difficult as I still do not know all parts of Germany. I realized that I need to know my home country a lot better to feel a stronger sense of belonging to this big country with its 83 million inhabitants. I might share this experience and thought with other people who also do not know their home countries that well. At university, we were once asked if we feel German/English/French/Spanish/Danish etc., European, or Cosmopolitan. It was a difficult question. I needed some time to find an answer. Most students (me included) felt European. Feeling European or even Cosmopolitan seems to be another layer of belonging. Also, in this case, I feel not completely convinced as I do not know very well all European countries. I actually have only been to a third of all European countries. I, for example, do not have many connections yet to the Eastern European countries. In this aspect again, for some reasons it is easy to say that I feel European, but there are also other reasons for letting me be a bit more sceptical about such a statement. Just this week we have been talking about nice places to go to in the Eastern European countries. Intercultural environments such as Crossing Borders as a work place or youth exchange programmes foster the exchange of information and the raise of awareness about other countries and cultures. We might then after a while be able to say with total pride: “Yes, I feel very European” or even “Yes, I feel like a global citizen or Cosmopolitan”. Everyone would write something else about belonging and “Heimat” as everyone has a different story and background. Some people have a strong sense of belonging to a specific part of a country, some people feel a very strong pride for their nation, some people have been growing up in different countries, some people have parents from different countries – everyone feels a different sense of belonging, to one, two or even more places. At Crossing Borders, I have already met a lot of people with different cultural backgrounds who are strongly connected to their home countries or the home countries of their parents. They work for Crossing Borders to change the circumstances for the society and find solutions to social needs. I am always very impressed when I listen to their stories, wishes, objectives, and struggles. Written by:  Simone Rom Simone is from Germany and started her internship at Crossing Borders in the beginning of August. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Intercultural Management and Communication and is currently studying the Master’s programme Social Entrepreneurship and Management at Roskilde University in Denmark.

Thank you so much for joining us in commemorating and celebrating the life and legacy of Ambassador Zindzi, who passed away in Johannesburg on Monday 13 July and was laid to rest on Friday 17 July 2020. Thank you to all who spoke so fondly of Zindzi, recited beautiful poems, touched us with your music and gave her the memorial she truly deserved. Yesterday, our speakers described Zindzi as humble yet free-spirited, as someone who encouraged all those around her to speak up and ultimately, someone who loved to love. We at Crossing Borders, are heartbroken and devastated for the unexpected and massive loss of a beloved Patron and a rich source of inspiration. She was a light that will continue to guide us to continue, accelerate and expand our efforts to create space for dialogue and mutual learning alongside collaboration for people from across the globe on equal terms.  We are heartbroken, yet we are happy that we got to know her and can rest in the knowledge that her ideas, spirit, commitment to advancing equal rights, justice and truth-telling will live on. It will continue to guide us and the world towards more equality, more respect, more generosity, and the celebration of Ubuntu unity in humanity and diversity in cultures and perspectives. She was and is the true embodiment of Ubuntu, according to which we of each other.  We are heartbroken, yet take comfort from African beliefs, which she believed in, when the deceased lives offsprings behind, s/he is not dead. Those left behind will continue to remember, honour her/him, name the newborn after her/him while the dead continue to protect and bless the living. This African philosophy perceives society as a circular unit whose members are composed of the living dead, the living and those yet to be born. These three components are in constant flow and mutual reinforcement. Luckily, Zindzi left behind one daughter and three sons, who are all following on her footsteps to serve the community. She also has at least 9 grandchildren, two of whom lay to rest next to her and mom. Zindzi lives on.  Furthermore, in some African traditions, the number of years a in person’s life is counted according to the person’s contribution to the community. Thus, some people live thousands of years while others, whose lives were destructive to the community, are counted as a minus. In that way, we are happy that Zindzi did not only live for 59 years but considering her positive and rich contribution to her community and to the world she has lived at least 59,000 years.    So, let’s carry on the work. The road to freedom, equality, peace, and sustainability is long and bumpy, but together we can do it. Pictures by Kannan P Samy  More Pictures