In the organizer's words:

The nursing shortage and care migration are not a new phenomenon. As early as the 1960s and 70s, people from abroad were systematically brought to Germany to fill the personnel gap in the care sector. Most of them came from South Korea, the Philippines and India. Their experiences shape German history - but often remain invisible.

WHO CARED makes these stories visible: in video portraits, the online archive records the life stories of these women who left their homeland more than 60 years ago to work in the care sector. The special feature: They are interviewed by their children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews.

With a focus on care migration from Kerala in southern India, Urmila Goel and Viola Mattathil-Reuther talk about researching this history of immigration - and what we can learn from it for the present, in which Germany is once again increasingly recruiting people from India and other countries as care workers. Thressiamma Arackal herself came to Germany from Kerala in 1975 at the age of 16, worked as a nurse in Hamm (Westphalia) for 40 years and started a family. In a conversation with her son Abhilash, she talks about her experiences. The two will provide insights into WHO CARED's archiving and remembrance work. There will also be drinks at the bar and suitable music by Manoj Kurian.

What boundaries does migration draw between the experiences of two generations? What longings shape them? How do the former nurses view care, migration and their own history?

Thressiamma Arackal's story and two other films from the project can be seen until July in the exhibition of the annual program Beziehungsweise Familie at the Humboldt Forum.

Participants

Abhilash Arackal is a cultural and music manager from Cologne. He acts as an organizer, promoter, cultural actor and musician, moving between pop and transculture. The migration history of Indian nurses is also reflected in his family history, which is why he is committed to greater representation of Indian and South Asian perspectives. This also includes the WHO CARED project: making this part of German history visible and thus contributing to the culture of remembrance is a matter close to his heart.

Thressiamma Arackal came to Germany from the village of Vaddekkencherry in Kerala (South India) in 1975 to complete her nursing training. She left home at the age of 16 and worked at the St. Barbara Clinic in Hamm (Westphalia) for a total of 40 years. During this time, she started a family and gave birth to three children. Today she is no longer working, but is still connected to the hospital: As a volunteer chaplain, she still regularly goes in and out of the building where she began her training 50 years ago. It is important to her to document her career both for her descendants and for society in Germany. Together with her son Abhilash, she has therefore recorded her story for the WHO CARED online archive.
Her story can be experienced at the Humboldt Forum until July 2026 as part of the exhibition of the annual program Beziehungsweise Familie.

Urmila Goel is a cultural anthropologist and deputy professor at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. She has been researching migration from India to Germany since the late 1990s and has published extensively on the subject. Her research interest began with her own upbringing as the daughter of a migrant from Haryana and her involvement in Indo-German youth work. The more she studied the stories of the nurses from Kerala, which had always been part of her life, the more she became fascinated by this history of migration. She began to study it scientifically, collect material and develop the idea of an oral history archive. At WHO CARED, Urmila keeps an eye on the wider context, maintains links with academia and supports participants in conducting interviews.

Viola Mattathiel-Reuther is an administrative lawyer with a strong sense of justice and curiosity about the German migration society. She has a doctorate in criminal law and is committed to ensuring that everyone gets a fair chance. Viola comes from a family of many strong women who have always combined work and motherhood. At WHO CARED, she deals with all legal issues such as copyright, data protection and more.

Manoj Kurian Kallupurackal is a freelance brand consultant, designer and social entrepreneur. His expertise ranges from media design and the development of communication concepts to the development of brands and communities. After working for many years in India, Malaysia, Egypt and Switzerland, he now lives and works in his home city of Cologne. As founder of the non-profit platform Masala Movement and curator of various cultural projects and event formats, he aims to create spaces for post-migrant perspectives where diversity and identity are celebrated - with respect for the past and fresh perspectives for the future. His transcultural identity also flows through his music - as a DJ, he selects and combines sounds ranging from folklore and fusion to global electronic beats in an unconventional way. At WHO CARED, Manoj is responsible for the creative direction. As the son of a nurse with a migrant background, he wants to make the experiences of women like his mother visible - with the desire that their lives and contributions are recognized as an important and natural part of German history.
For the project, Manoj interviewed his mother about her life story. The interview film can be seen until July in the exhibition of the annual program Beziehungsweise Familie at the Humboldt Forum.

Julia Wadhawan is a journalist and author by profession. Her father comes from India, her mother came to Germany at the age of ten as a late repatriate. She didn't realize for a long time that she had a 'migration background' - after all, she was born and raised in Germany. It was only as a journalist in India that she came to terms with this. Her first book "Sag mir nicht, wer ich bin" (2022, dtv) tells the story of this journey and identity policy debates between two countries that at first glance seem more different than they are. The process showed her how healing and exciting it can be to talk to her own parents about their history - and how important this understanding is for social debates. This is just one reason why WHO CARED is close to her heart. As part of the team, Julia keeps track of everything that has to do with text.

- free of charge
- Language: German
- Location: Mechanical arena in the foyer
- Part of: SPÄTI
- Belongs to: Relationship family