Monthly Archives: December 2016

Berlin, new writer, refugees, society

CHRISTMAS WISHES

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As we draw to the close of a very disturbing year in terms of global history, I would like to wish you a peaceful Christmas and all the best for 2017.

I am personally looking forward to having time off work and being able to spend more time with my children. This year, I have also decided to make a real effort to be more aware of those for whom Christmas is a challenging time of year. For those who have been affected by so-called natural disasters or acts of war or violence. For those going through separation, loneliness or bereavement. For those living on the street and those who have to work hard over the Christmas period.

My work colleagues and I have just come up with the following suggestions, most of which require no money:

  • just smile and share a short encouragement with the elderly lady you see at the bus stop or the stressed out cashier in the supermarket
  • call in on a neighbour who lives alone
  • send an e-mail to a long-lost friend, former school teacher or colleague
  • help out in a soup kitchen or offer to help refugees.
  • take a small gift of chocolates or flowers to show your appreciation either to a stranger or person living alone or going through a hard time.

Take care and I’ll write again after Christmas. It’s also my birthday on New Year’s Eve. I’m looking to that, I think …

Berlin, European Union, new writer, politics, refugees, society, tourism, war

Berliner

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It has taken me a couple of days to write again. I have been so upset by what has happened in my city, even though we are still waiting for details to emerge.

Last night I went to the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market which is right next to where I used to live. There was an eery silence while hundreds of people laid flowers and lit candles. Very faintly in the background I could hear Christmas music and a vacuous sermon from the Gedächtniskirche, totally out of kilter with the prevailing mourning.

When I went into the KDW, the largest department store in the EU, it was empty. Three days before Christmas. Surreal.

My main concern is the sadness for those who had their lives so unexpectedly and tragically taken from them, for the injured and for all those who are close to them. This tragedy will affect the most relaxed capital city in Europe for many years.

My secondary concern is that a possible act of terrorism will achieve the goals of those who carry it out. Society becomes divided. Acts of mercy are described as treachery. Racism rules. Trust is undermined. Faiths are divided although believers worship the same God. An ominous fear prevails. Democracy is hijacked by extremists.

This morning on the way to work there was a very large holdall unattended on the station platform. As I got nearer, an Asian guy approached it and I asked him if it was his. “Yes,” he replied. For the first time in my life I realized that the question was meaningless: if he was a suicide bomber, it would make no difference.

On the train, I then read about that (excuse me) fucking idiot, Nigel Farage, saying that this event in Berlin was Angela Merkel’s fault. Horst Seehofer and the AfD are following suit.

In Berlin we have the first ever ruling red-red-green coalition. Last week, it looked as if Berlin was going to pioneer the political future model for Germany. As just one minor example: they have up-to-now rightly stood against increased video surveillance of our city. Will all that change now?

I hope against hope that my adopted city and country will not give in to the aims of terrorism. I hope that democracy and freedom and racial tolerance will prevail. And I trust that, in spite of all current appearances, the pen will triumph over the gun.

 

Berlin, European Union, new writer, prison, refugees

40,00€ better off

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After my blog post yesterday I felt truly challenged as to where to start. Joining Amnesty International was easy. But what next?

Then, waiting for the bus to go home, I noticed a family of refugees (mum, dad and three children) with their entire belongings crammed into a mix of suitcases and ikea holdalls, standing at the same bus stop. As the bus arrived and they struggled to get on board through the rear doors, I helped them to carry their bags.

On the bus the most amazing conversation took place. With the help of hands and feet, broken English, Google translator and a phone call to my Syrian fiend, Mariana, they told me in 8 minutes their very disturbing story as to how they reached Berlin from Syria. I discovered from them that there is even a harrowing website that helps refugees to cross the Mediterranean.

Apart from their tangible mixture of relief and uncertainty, they were not sure how to get to the refugee camp near Spandau. I told them that I would accompany them to the camp.

As we got off the bus, a young German woman said that she would come with us and wanted to help. So she accompanied us and showed deep interest in their story. When we arrived at the entrance to the, to me, somewhat intimidating camp, I asked our German friend to explain everything to the surly entrance guard.

As we said good-bye and exchanged phone numbers, I looked  in my wallet and found 40,00€. I quickly folded it into four and gave it to the oldest daughter as we said farewell. The daughter immediately gave it to her mother, who broke down in tears.

As we left the camp entrance, the young German asked me to go for a coffee. I agree. We go to YE-MC, who serve the best Döner in the whole of Berlin. She tells me that she is a humanist studying theology, currently making her way through her doctoral thesis on the social construction of God.

During the intense dialogue, we both agree to teach German to refugees as our initial contribution to the situation. This morning we have just registered and have found out that we will start before Christmas.

So I have learnt that taking positive action to help others is an incredible investment in humanity. When you make the decision to engage, what you receive is unintentionally so much greater than what you give. I feel encouraged. As Mother Theresa said: “If we can all do small things with much love, we as individuals can change the world.”

Links:

How to volunteer to help refugees

European Union, new writer, politics, war

The greatest crime: forgetfulness.

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This morning on the way to work I saw a new poster of a woman with a child in her arms in the middle of a war zone, with the title: “The greatest crime: forgetfulness.”

Over 3.5 million children die unnecessarily every year (that’s a city the size of Berlin). And right now, so many children and their families are being killed daily in Syria, Yemen,  Nigeria, Cameroon, Afghanistan, Iraq, Niger, Chad – to name some of those that I am aware of.

I feel so challenged. What am I doing about this? Why are Europe and the USA so unbelievably powerless to help? Where is the church? Where is God?

Humanly speaking, our selfishness must lie somewhere at the root of the answer. I know that if it were my son depicted in the image below, I would drop everything and do all that I could to stop this from happening. If these atrocities were happening in our country, we would have to do something. But we are too far removed. We seem to have become numb to the images, as if they were scenes from a fictitious movie rather than real life. We forget.

Tony Robbins wrote: “Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.”

I don’t know about you, but I have made my mind up to spend my remaining years on this beautiful planet helping to bring healing, peace and reconciliation.

For further information about how you can help, contact:

Caritas International

Save the Children

Amnesty International

 

Berlin, European Union, new writer, politics, vision

Brexit Schadenfreude

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I am sorry to have to say that I read the current UK news with a certain amount of Schadenfreude: industrial action on the railways, postal strikes just before Christmas, inflation (butter has gone up 80%), the decline in the value of Sterling, supreme court battles over the government of the country and so on. We are now finding out what many always knew: that the net advantages of remaining in Europe are very much greater than the financial subventions being paid to the EU.

And that is only the financial consequence. I am just as baffled by the British lack of vision for Europe as I am by all those flag-waving Americans cheering at the speeches of Donald Trump. As I wrote two years ago in my short story, Beyond Redemption: “Racism runs much deeper in our veins than we care to think.”

In the UK there was no debate before the referendum about the consequences of a Brexit to world peace, international democracy, human rights, the environment or the freedom of movement (the most fundamental freedom of all). No-one made the point that all relationships are costly in terms of time and money.

Instead, which David Cameron should have known, the decision was made at the mercy of the gutter press and an older generation who will not be alive to suffer its consequences, along with erroneous financial greed and the ugliest racism imaginable.

Enormous lies were plastered on the sides of buses by racist buffoons such as Boris Johnson, but he has now been made Foreign Secretary. As the German press asks, where is the integrity in that?

Since I was a student I have been such a pro-European that I would always say that I was a European when people asked me where I came from. And I still have a passion for Europe that I am not going to give up on. So my question is, where are the politicians in the UK that have a genuine vision for Europe? The best we had was Nick Clegg, but he stood down as a result of David Cameron’s somewhat unexpected, though short-lived, success at the last general election.

It is my firm hope that one day, we will have politicians with a vision and passion for Europe that goes way beyond the financial. Politicians who swap roles in each other’s nations for a few years. Women and men who can speak other European languages, who promote school and university exchanges between continents and nations, who embrace other cultures, who are prepared to invest time in international relationships. Reading the latest UK news (and I apologise to the people of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for the London-centric nature of this blog entry), I think this my be some time away, don’t you?

Berlin, coaching, new writer, vision

Worried about Germany

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For several days I have developed a real concern for the future of my adopted country.

I don’t think there can be any doubt that Germany is leading the way in Europe in terms of economic prosperity, a vision for the EU and a readiness to support refugees.

Angela Merkel last week received almost 90% backing from her CDU party and she is prepared to lead the country, if elected, through the next four years.

My big concern is, what happens after that? Where is her successor? Even the CDU admit that they have no real candidate other than Dr. Merkel.  So the danger is, particularly if the German economy struggles or the integration of refugees proves more challenging than expected, she will not only be replaced, but replaced, possibly, by exactly the kind of politician we do not want. Exactly as has just happened in the USA.

My plea to all good political leaders, irrespective of the party they belong to, is to begin to look for the best, young aspiring women and men in their ranks, to train them in the role of national leadership and to promote them on the political stage so that both the public and the government can already see the next generation emerging from the wings.

Many Germans would say that the recent success of their football team in the World Cup could be ascribed to the skills of Jögi Löw in encouraging those players in their late teens a few years ago and investing seriously into their future. This has paid tremendous dividends and it is exactly what, in my opinion, the leading politicians of the older generation need to do now. In this way we can best ensure that we do not end up with people like Nigel Farage, Marine Le Pen or Donald Trump leading our nations and it may even result in the younger generation engaging more constructively in the political agenda.

Berlin, Business management, coaching, consultancy, management, new writer, start-ups, vision

Mini-series: Business Management 12

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Marketing

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The world is changing fast all the time and the marketing that worked five years ago probably won’t work today. Right now the two most successful marketing strategies for most companies are internet presence and word-of-mouth recommendation. This means that, whatever else you might be doing, the following are critical:

  • when you google your product or area of the market, how high up the Google pages do you come? It makes complete sense to give everything you can to getting yourself to the top of that list. Find out all you can about SEOs.
  • think creatively about as many ways as you can to increase the possibility of your product being recommended from person-to-person. Can you use an app, social media or even financial incentives to improve on your current situation?
  • the above two bullet points should have an effect on your use of other media. For example, very few potential customers will read a press release but many will read an interesting story about a customer who has seen success or something interesting happening as a result of using your product.

Links:

Tips for developing a marketing strategy 

Best practice: content marketing

Berlin, Business management, coaching, consultancy, free literature, management, new writer, start-ups, vision

Mini-series: Business Management 11

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Carry out a regular SWOT analysis

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Life is very busy and very quickly unimportant things begin to feel like genuine priorities and we lose sight of the main goal. Therefore it is good practice to carry out a regular SWOT analysis, looking with a very critical eye at your company’s and you team’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Once you have done so, take appropriate action in any relevant areas.

Links:

SWOT analysis

Tips on carrying out a SWOT analysis