Im Norden Südamerikas leben Asylsuchende und sans papiers (Menschen ohne gültigen Aufenthaltsstatus) unter oft menschenunwürdigen Bedingungen, und das auf europäischem Territorium. Die Entscheidung über Asylanträge kann sich über Jahre hinziehen. Jahre während derer die AntragstellerInnen nicht arbeiten dürfen und lediglich 300 Euro staatliche Unterstützung im Monat erhalten. Die überwiegende Mehrheit der Anträge wird abgelehnt. Je nach Herkunft erwartet die Menschen in diesem Fall die mittellose Abschiebung in ihr Herkunftsland oder ein Leben in Französisch-Guayana, illegalisiert und wirtschaftlich ausgebeutet. Durch den Abriss von Siedlungen und Hürden bei der Asylantragstellung wird die Situation von staatlicher Seite noch verschlimmert.

“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go the land of Mori’ah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon on of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’” —Genesis 22:1-2 Saskia Boddeke and Peter Greenaway’s exhibition “Obedience” (“Gehorsam” in German) at the Jewish Museum Berlin does not just come with a poster; it comes with a trailer giving potential visitors a first impr

On October 3, 1990, the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany. This date marked the official final point of the German reunification process. Anthropologist Katherine Verdery points out that the end of communist regimes all over Eastern Europe was often framed as a rescue scenario from the claws of totalitarianism and the beginning path toward life ‘as it should be’ in the formerly socialist block. Indeed, a teleological thinking seemed to take hold, expecting an upward path toward progress and success. Accordingly, in their reunification euphoria, German leaders as well as the public took for granted that the extension of the Western social, economic, and political structures would automatically lead to a prosperous and harmonious society. But it did not. The twenty-fifth anniversary of German reunification this past weekend coincided with what politicians and the media have called the “refugee crisis” and “a huge challenge which will affect German society lastingly.”