Respekt und Anerkennung: Im Austausch mit dem politischen Aktivismus ehemaliger mosambikanischer ‚Vertragsarbeiter‘ und Aktivist*innen in der DDR

In the organizer's words:

According to the Mozambican Ministry of Labor, almost 17,000 Mozambican 'contract workers' who had been living in the GDR since 1979 were forced to return to a country destroyed by civil war in the course of German reunification, most of them without receiving the pay or severance pay to which they were entitled. The training that many of the so-called madgermanes - a term with many roots, which today is mostly understood as an allusion to "Made in Germany" - had received in Germany was and is worthless in view of the situation in their country of origin. A significant portion of their wages was withheld in the GDR and was to be paid to them in Mozambique upon their return. However, the 'contract workers' did not receive their withheld wages. Instead, the money is said to have remained in the GDR to pay off Mozambican national debts. It has still not been paid out in full.

On Sunday, April 21, 2024, Ibraimo Alberto, Emiliano Chaimite, Adelino Massuvira João and Fatima Woznica will guide visitors through parts of the exhibition "Echoes of the Brother Countries" from 14:00 and will meet at 15:00 in the Beatriz Nascimento Hall for a panel discussion moderated by Julia Oelkers, which will be dedicated to their political activism and its status in the German public sphere. The second part of the panel discussion will be open to dialog in order to discuss questions openly with the audience and overcome distances.