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I'm German. What else?

Jana Pareigis
March 10, 2017

"Where do you come from?" As an Afro-German, DW host Jana Pareigis was asked this question very often. In our film "Afro.Germany," she discusses with other people of color how they experience living in Germany.

Jana Pareigis in "Afro.Deutschland" NEU
Image: M. Weiß

Jana Pareigis: 'This is my home'

00:46

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There are a few things in life I've always wanted to do: Making a documentary about Black people in Germany was one of them. Afro.Germany has been near to my heart.

"Report as objectively as possible" - that was one thing that I was taught during my journalism traineeship at Deutsche Welle. And I have kept it in mind since I started working as a reporter and TV news anchor in 2010.

However, for Afro.Germany, I consciously gave up this principle and made a very personal documentary, in which I share my experiences with racism and I speak with other black people in Germany about theirs - about being exoticized and excluded, threatened and insulted. We speak about what kind of change needs to happen, and about empowerment. All of these topics have been on my mind as long as I can remember.

I am from Hamburg and studied political science and African studies there, in New York and in Berlin Moreover, I have lived in London and Harare.

When I am abroad, people are often surprised when I tell them that I am German. "There are many Afrogermans?" they ask me disbelievingly. "Sure," I always answer. "Around one million Black people live in Germany."

But even in my home country, I am often asked where I am from. There is still this myth that Germany is a "white" country, even though more than a quarter of the population are people of color. Germany is a diverse country, and in Afro.Germany I want to portray this diversity.

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