Germany: Wide variety of information services for newcomers by refugee journalists

A new online magazine named 'Amal, Frankfurt!' launched on Tuesday (January 10) in the central German city of Frankfurt am Main. According to the epd news agency, it will provide local news from Frankfurt and the surrounding area in Arabic, Dari, Ukrainian and German.

Amal, which is financed by Germany's Protestant Church and foundations, gives refugee journalists who cannot practice their profession in their home countries a voice and work.

Already since 2016, sister platform 'Amal, Berlin!' has been offering local news in Arabic, Farsi/Dari and German. 'Amal, Hamburg!' followed in 2019. According to epd, 'Amal' reports on politics, culture and the latest from the communities of newcomers. 'Amal' is Arabic and means 'hope.'

Also read: Syrian reporters start Spain's first refugee-led news site

Journalism for and by refugees

The Amal websites aren't the only news portals geared toward migrants and refugees in Germany. Over the past few years, a number of other news and information services were launched, most recently as a reaction to the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing to Germany from Ukraine. Here's an incomplete list of offerings for refugees, often made by refugees:

• Deutsche Welle's (DW) own Ukrainian and Russian services offer reliable news about the two neighboring countries as well as daily news summaries in both languages on YouTube.
• WDRforyou is a journalistic offer from public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), which is part of the ARD network. Launched in 2016, it wants to "inform, entertain and explain Germany" in Arabic, Farsi and German on its website, Instagram and Facebook.
• Germany4Ukraine, a platform created by the Federal Ministry of the Interior where refugees can find answers to questions about entry, work permits or medical care.
• Radio Arabica, a radio program that covers life in Berlin, culture, news, comedy and sport for the more than 100,000 Arabs who live in the German capital.
• Kohero Magazin is an online magazine about "cultural cohesion" with the stated goal to "make the perspectives, stories and opinions of people who have immigrated to Germany more visible to the general public".
• Radio Popcorn, a radio show in Persian by and with Ali Hassanpour, airs every Saturday.
• 'How to Deutschland' from Funk, an online content network for young people from Germany's public broadcasters, published information in Ukrainian, German and English for "people who had to flee to Germany." The Instagram posts typically had practical tips and let those affected have their say. It was paused in July.

• Refuge Worldwide, a Berlin-based radio station launched in 2021 that produces a "diverse range of radio shows, training courses, media and live events."
• Migazin, stylized MiGAZIN, is a German-language online magazine that covers migration and integration issues. It also offers a daily newsletter.
• Multicult.fm, a radio station in Berlin that reports on migration policy issues.
• BR Interkulturell from public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) features both a weekly radio show dedicated to intercultural topics and a monthly TV magazine called 'puzzle'.
• Metropol FM is a Turkish-language radio station in Germany launched in Berlin in 1999. 
• Colorful Voices publishes stories and podcasts about displacement, migration, integration, racism and similar topics in Arabic, Farsi, English, French and German.

With epd