Munaeem's Blog

  Based on reporting from DW News Documentary On the eastern edge of Berlin, far from the bright shopfronts of Alexanderplatz, lies Marzahn-Hellersdorf. Its concrete blocks have stood through decades of change. First under East German socialism, then in the uncertainty that followed reunification. Now the district is known for something else. It is one of the most socially and economically disadvantaged areas in Germany. Government figures show that 18.1 percent of residents here live at risk of poverty. The national figure is 16.6 percent. Among teenagers, nearly 14 percent leave school without a diploma. Across Germany, the figure is about six percent. A Grandmother’s Morning At six o’clock, Eveline “Evi” Weyer sits in the quiet before the day begins. Her husband, ill with cancer, sleeps in the next room. She learned only two months ago that she also has cancer. After decades of work in agriculture and in a factory, she lost her job after reunification and never found stabl...