As we continue to grow, help us track Democrats Abroad Germany’s finances better as bookkeeping volunteer! Previous experience with QuickBooks and accounting highly desirable.

Time commitment: 5 hours per month

Interested or have questions?

Contact Person: Powen Shiah, [email protected]

We held a collaborative event with the Progressive Caucus - which we hope was the first of many -  to discuss the most notorious film of 2019, Parasite. The aim of this event, which took place on March 27, was to kick off a potential film club and to gather film buffs together to share ideas, perspectives, and raise concerns relating to society today.

The new Biden Administration is making climate change a priority for the United States, after four years of neglect, if not outright denial, under the Trump Administration.

But climate change is a global problem, which requires global solutions, and global support and understanding to help us get there. US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, after a visit to the European Commission, stated that the United States would “work together and with other countries to help the world's most vulnerable cope with the devastating impacts of climate change.“

As Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, we are acutely aware of the effects of climate change on our relatives, friends, and communities that live around the world:

We know many in the AAPI community are in shock after the violent attack in Atlanta earlier this month. It comes after a year of increased rhetoric and violence against AAPI communities since before the pandemic began, and is an intensification of a phenomenon that has happened for a long time.

We felt it was best, at this point, for us to take a step back, and share a reading list: of articles that examine how the events of the past year have affected the AAPI community; of non-fiction books that explore the history and stories of AAPI communities; and of works of fiction that detail AAPI immigrant experiences.

We hope you find this list useful.

It's time for a new beginning: the Berlin chapter elections for 2021-2023 officers will take place this Wednesday, February 17, 2021, starting at 7pm. ►RSVP and scroll down for more details on candidates.

This is the last email newsletter from the Berlin chapter's current leadership team. We're looking forward to electing our successors on Wednesday. Here are a few words of farewell from each of us.

Diego Rivas, Chair

Resilient, opinionated, and progressive, the Berlin Chapter of Democrats Abroad has grown so much these past four years. Not only has our membership doubled, but we have taken important and sustainable steps forward by implementing an elected chapter board and developing our kiez captain network. This was only possible thanks to all of the volunteers and their passion for change. We did our part in getting ‘45’ out of the White House and winning the House and Senate. I will fondly remember the laughs, lessons, discussions (yes, sometimes heated), but most importantly the community spirit of people from all walks of life uniting for a greater cause. It has been a pleasure. I am sincerely looking forward to seeing the chapter continue to grow and to keep in touch with everyone - see you at the next possible pub night.

Emily Lines, Vice Chair

This has been a wild 4 years and I can’t believe that my time as Vice Chair is coming to an end. I enjoyed working with everyone here in Berlin and I am impressed and proud of all the work and time all of our volunteers contributed. I hope that everyone continues to remain engaged and I look forward to continuing to work with the Berlin chapter in the years to come!

Amy Herr, GOTV Coordinator

It has been a wonderful four years volunteering as Events and GOTV Coordinator for our Berlin chapter. I’ve so enjoyed getting to know all of you, maintaining an active network, and helping many of you send in your ballots! I am excited to see what our chapter will do in the coming years, and look forward to the time that we can all meet again.

Theresa Gasinski, Membership & Volunteer Coordinator

I am continually impressed by all of the dedicated and passionate volunteers we have here in Berlin. There is always someone willing to wake up early on a blustery Saturday morning to help set up for our Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, learn the complicated voter registration rules to prepare for the Global Presidential Primary, or open up their home to other Democrats Abroad members for Kiez meetings. I'd like to thank you all for committing your time to help our chapter grow and create a sustainable network of politically-minded Americans doing their part to build an equitable and just future.

Powen Shiah, Communications & Press Officer

When I showed up at my first Democrats Abroad event, I never imagined I would end up volunteering myself for the next several years. It's been my small way of making sure I could look back on these strange and difficult times, knowing that I did my part to keeping a progressive light burning and to stand up for an inclusive and more just vision of the world. I'm looking forward to seeing how our community and movement grow in future. It's been so rewarding to be part of Democrats Abroad Berlin!

Berlin Chapter Elections

Wed. Feb 17, 2021, 7pm
Online (RSVP for Zoom access)
RSVP | Facebook | Candidate Lists & Info

Happy New Year! We hope everyone was able to recharge over the holidays and start your new year off well. So far, 2021 has already been a wild roller coaster ride. Many of us are still processing the upsetting (and infuriating!) events of January 6th at the Capitol. Please get in touch with your representatives in Congress and let them know how you feel. Information on how to contact Congress and a sample script can be found here. But starting January 20th, we’ll be looking forward with hope and excitement to the plans and leadership that are already being displayed by the Biden-Harris administration.

“Moving from being the marginalised to the margin of victory”: last month we co-hosted an online discussion that featured on the ground AAPI activists in Georgia and Tom Perez, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. It was clear how important the AAPI vote was in the Georgia November election, and this did not go ignored by the Ossoff and Warnock campaigns. If you were not able to attend the event, you can check out our short event recap. We are so thankful for the Georgia voters that showed up and for the work of the activists we heard from to get Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock elected to the US Senate.

As we begin our first full year as a caucus, we will be focusing on growing our membership and continuing to advocate for AAPI concerns within Democrats Abroad. If you are interested in volunteering with the caucus, please reach out! You can find descriptions of various volunteer opportunities here: http://www.democratsabroad.org/aapi_volunteer

Our first event this year will be Teatime Networking on Thursday, January 28th. We’ll be speed networking to give everyone a chance to meet each other, and talking about our experiences as Asian and Pacific Islander Americans living overseas. This will be the inaugural teatime event and will continue as an event series throughout the year.

We look forward to what 2021 has in store and to making even more of a difference in DA and at home!

With gratitude,

Cory J. Lemke and Emily Lines

Democrats Abroad Berlin worked hard this past year to mobilize Americans across the German capital to vote in the 2020 Global Presidential Primary as well as the U.S. General Election.

We wanted a Democratic House, Senate, and Presidency – and we won all three! Our underlying goal was to reach the 22,000 US citizens living in Berlin – we knew that every vote would be needed. During this pivotal year, we...

• Hosted a Global Presidential Primary voting center
• Built a network of neighborhood-based mobilization
• Turned our precincts in Leipzig-Halle and Dresden into a new chapter: Democrats Abroad Saxony
• Phone and text banked thousands Democrats Abroad members
• Organized virtual book club meetings and pub quizzes
• Put on two fundraisers: a wine-tasting fundraiser and a tax information session
• Provided voter assistance by offering online office hours and answering hundreds of emails
• Called the “Count the Votes! Rally” in front of Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday, November 4th, 2020
• Represented our efforts on German and European media

All of this was only possible thanks to our 100+ volunteers. A huge shout out to everyone who made our work possible! Continue reading for more details on the Berlin chapter’s 2020 accomplishments.

Happy Holidays! 2020 presented the world with unprecedented challenges, but this has only motivated the AAPI Caucus to work harder. We are proud of our accomplishments in the past year and are ready to answer Joe Biden’s call to action - build back better.

It’s hard to believe that this journey to form an AAPI Caucus just began in April this year and we officially launched at the Global Meeting in June. We got off to a running start and haven’t looked back since.

• We hosted several talks with AAPI leaders to learn about organizing in our community.
• We hosted a Mid-Autumn Festival to celebrate our collective heritage.
• We created AAPI language content to help get out the vote for the general election.
• And our work is not done!

Georgia On Our Mind: AAPI Outreach Organizers & Tom Perez

Your grandmother’s kimchee, your Sunday afternoon poi snack, Dad’s lobster noodles, or that slice of Chicago pizza - these all represent a piece of home to us.  And as Americans overseas, it’s often hard to get your fix of food from home – whether you’re in Tokyo, missing your lasagna fix; or in Munich, searching for a dim sum restaurant.

We’d like to create a place to share the stories and recipes that remind you of home, that make you laugh, or that solve a problem!  We’ll post them here on our webpages and in our newsletter. If you have a video, even better – send us the link!

►Submit Your Recipe From Home

Democrats Abroad was thrilled to host director Yi Chen to discuss her new documentary First Vote on November 6, 2020.

Described as a “beguiling and refreshingly non-partisan political travelogue” by the American Film Institute, Chen’s documentary follows four Chinese Americans who voted for the first time in the 2018 midterm elections and illuminates their contrasting political and social views. Cory Lemke, Vice Chairperson of Democrats Abroad Republic of Korea, hosted the discussion. First Vote highlights voters in battlegrounds states with different political leanings. The subjects of the documentary include engaged Trump fans and progressive journalists, showcasing the diversity of the Asian American electorate. 

Throughout the film, Yi Chen explores the meaning of identity to Asian American voters, especially those living in the South.  In her discussion with the AAPI caucus, Chen spoke about her research, which she conducted through interviews and demographic analysis. Subjects said their families, childhood experiences, values, and cultural elements  all came into play when they began to engage with politics.  As a notable dividing trait, Chen shared that first generation Asian immigrants tend to lean more Republican, while second and third generation Asian Americans are traditionally more Democratic. Chen touches on a number of topics relevant to her work including voting rights, immigration, and why engaging new diverse voters matters so much.

Growing up, we made dumplings often enough that it became a semi-regular thing in my household.

Sometimes, my mother would invite her few Chinese friends over and we’d spend an hour or two making dumplings, then eating until our stomachs hurt. Their children, my sister, and I pressed the edges of the wrappers together carefully, using a fork sometimes to create the ridges. My mother and her friends, chatting absently, were ten times faster than the rest of us. My aunt, who I see once every few years when we take the trip to my mother’s hometown, uses one hand to fold dumplings, a skill I have yet to acquire or understand.

I’m better now than I was when I first started out, even to the point that I can teach my German friends how to plop the right amount of dumpling filling into the wrapper, open on your palm, and carefully tuck the sides in. It’s become a tradition for my group of friends here for Lunar New Year; my girlfriend has even mastered the perfect fold. I use my mother’s recipe, which she typed up and sent to me in an email a year after I moved out and requested while feeling homesick. It’s one of the most concrete, tangible things from Chinese culture I can share.

Anya’s Mom’s Dumpling Recipe

We did it! 🥳 👏 We are so excited about the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and we hope that you have all been able to celebrate and breathe a bit of a sigh of relief. On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris will be the first AAPI and black woman to hold the office of Vice President.

In addition, we want to congratulate all the AAPI candidates that won election or reelection this year. Kai Kahele of Hawaii and Marilyn Strickland of Washington will join the House of Representatives as new Democratic AAPI Members of Congress. Congressman Andy Kim of New Jersey also comfortably won re-election, increasing his margins after a tight election race in 2018. A total of 153 AAPI candidates were successful at the state and local levels. You can find a list of who won on the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies website.

Your grandmother’s kimchee, your Sunday afternoon poi snack, Dad’s lobster noodles, or that slice of Chicago pizza - these all represent a piece of home to us.  And as Americans overseas, it’s often hard to get your fix of food from home – whether you’re in Tokyo, missing your lasagna fix; or in Munich, searching for a dim sum restaurant.

We’d like to create a place to share the stories and recipes that remind you of home, that make you laugh, or that solve a problem!  We’ll post them here on our webpages and in our newsletter. If you have a video, even better – send us the link!

►Submit Your Recipe From Home

Here's an example from Anya, one of the AAPI caucus steering committee members!

Anya’s Mom’s Dumpling Wrappers Recipe

We are getting closer to Election Day - only 14 more days. Please help us make our voices heard! Despite being one of the fastest growing groups in the United States, the AAPI community has one of the lowest voter turnout rates of any other racial minority group. To make sure our needs are addressed, we need to show up at the ballot box. Talk to your families. Talk to your friends. Make sure they know how, when, and where to vote. Together, we can build a home that is more inclusive of all of us. 

2020 has presented us with some unique challenges. The outbreak of COVID-19 has made international travel challenging, economies have been ravaged by the virus, and families are struggling to put food on the table. The Trump administration has fanned the flames of xenophobia against immigrants for his own gain. We hope, despite these challenges, you find peace of mind in the fact that the Asian American & Pacific Islander Caucus is fighting for you in every way we can. 

Over the past month, our caucus has been working hard to address these issues and get out the AAPI vote. We produced informational videos about voting from abroad in a number of languages including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Khmer, Tagalog, Thai, and others. Please help us spread this message by going to our Facebook page, our YouTube channel, Instagram, and Twitter and passing on our videos.

AAPI Americans are sometimes under reported when it comes to election coverage, but polling suggests that this demographic could be key in November. As Christine Chen of AAPI Vote notes, “Asian-Americans are set to be the margin of victory in Arizona, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.” Support for Biden varies across the AAPI community, whether by ethnic background or by age, showing the difficulty of a “one-size-fits-all” narrative, yet also the potential for growth when parties take this community seriously.

There are several AAPI candidates running for open and Republican-held seats across the United States. As we move into the final stretch of the campaign, we wanted to highlight a few of these candidates here. Look to these races to see if the new Congress will include more Democratic AAPI politicians! (We've taken the liberty of including candidates of Middle-Eastern background to this list as well: their successes on Election Day should also be celebrated!)

We know you're getting a lot of emails right now about the 2020 election. This email focuses on how you can get help and make a difference in Berlin.

We are just 50 days until the election. Ballot day, the day when absentee ballots will be sent out, is this coming Saturday, September 19th. When you receive your ballot, please complete it as soon as possible and return it in September. This is especially true for those states that require you to return your ballot by postal mail.

If you have not requested your absentee ballot yet, you still can and should do so now at votefromabroad.org. Make sure you remind friends and family, both overseas and back in the U.S. if they have done the same. We even have a helpful FAQ available to answer common voting questions.

If you have questions or issues with requesting a ballot, please attend our LIVE 1-on-1 Global voter registration assistance all day every Sunday and now on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12-4pm EDT (6-10pm CEST). Or email [email protected] with your issues and questions.

We are happy to announce the establishment of two AAPI caucuses at the Democrats Abroad country level! If you would like to start an AAPI caucus in your country, please get in touch and check out our guide on forming a caucus.

Continue reading to learn more about the new AAPI caucuses in China and South Korea.

1. Voting

Asian American and Pacific Islander communities face many of the same issues with voting access as other minority communities. The AAPI community includes many Americans who do not speak English as a first language, yet voting materials are often presented in just a few languages (if any non-English language at all). In order to ensure that more AAPI Americans exercise their right to vote, voting materials need to be provided in as many languages as is appropriate for a given community.

2. Inclusion

We value the multitude of communities under the AAPI umbrella, from the ways we identify to our varied experiences. We view our diversity as a strength, and will prioritize growing and strengthening our causes through our collective differences. We aim to empower unique voices across our community and to hold ourselves accountable to push for initiatives that are best for our wider community.

2.1 Intersectionality

Intersectionality is the understanding of an individual’s social and political identities not as static and separate, but as dynamic processes influenced and connected to each other. Ranging from gender and sexuality to economic or disability status, there are countless intersections with the Asian American and Pacific Islander American identity.

For example, those who hold both LGBTQA+ and AAPI identities  “[experience] complex dynamics at the intersectionality of their ethnic identities and sexualities”. AAPI with disabilities report more instances of everyday discrimination and higher stress than AAPI without disabilities. 

As the AAPI Caucus, we recognise that different members of our community will face unique circumstances due to other identities they hold. 

2.2 Discrimination Against AAPI

Discrimination against AAPI Americans has always been present in American society. Yet the issue has become more prominent in recent years: AAPI Americans are more likely to be blamed for a variety of issues, ranging from the current coronavirus pandemic to struggles with employment. To combat this discrimination, the voices of AAPI Americans need to be heard, to raise awareness and fix the problems that AAPI Americans have been facing for generations. 

2.3. Intra-community inequality

The AAPI community includes nearly 50 diverse racial and ethnic groups. However, research on this community, and the diversity within it, is sparse, due to the perception that the AAPI community is generally perceived to be not as disadvantaged as other minority communities. Yet income inequality within the AAPI community nearly doubled between 1970 to 2016, and some AAPI communities make, on average, less than half of their more well-off AAPI counterparts. 

This is compounded by a lack of academic and statistical research into the challenges facing AAPI communities, due to the aforementioned perception that these communities are not as disadvantaged. This lack of data limits the ability to fight for structural change within these communities. 

2.4. Political Representation

American politics is enhanced when it reflects the diversity in American communities. Like other minority communities, AAPI politicians are under-represented in state and national politics: for example, only 3% of the House of Representatives identifies as AAPI, despite making up 7% of the broader American population.

A better, more accessible system to elevate, support and nominate AAPI politicians for political office at all levels of government will help ensure a government that is more responsive to the concerns of minority communities. 

3. Immigration

Immigration is a core issue for the AAPI community: in 2019, 28.2% of immigrants into the United States were AAPI. 

Many of the protections for undocumented migrants in the United States affect the AAPI community. Almost 16,000 AAPI individuals received protection from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, and an additional 120,000 AAPI individuals were eligible for protection. In addition, changes to Temporary Protected Status also affect the AAPI community: specifically, current plans to remove TPS status for Nepali nationals is under review in court.

4. Affirmative Action

The AAPI Caucus supports efforts to promote diversity in American higher education. America’s student populations should reflect the diversity of the American population, yet minority communities often lack the opportunities and signals that more privileged communities have access to. 

Despite assertions to the contrary, affirmative action programs do not limit educational opportunities for AAPI students. Evidence from California’s repeal of affirmative action in 1996 showed that this decreased the number of Black and Hispanic students and reduced the chance that Black and Hispanic students would finish college, while providing no benefit to White and AAPI students. Affirmative action does not deny opportunities to any student, instead allowing more people to benefit from higher education.

5. American leadership

As Americans living overseas, and as AAPI individuals with family connections overseas, we are keenly aware of how America, its institutions, its policies and its values are perceived overseas. We understand how American actions can have unintended consequences abroad, and how American decisions are perceived by overseas communities. 

Thus, we support efforts that ensure the United States lives up to its democratic and liberal values at home, which in turn bolsters its reputation overseas. We support a competent, well-staffed and experienced diplomatic corps to help formulate and develop America’s foreign policy. 

At our August meeting two weeks ago, we started assembling local voter outreach teams in Berlin. Couldn’t make it? To get involved with tabling, flyering, and other organizing, email [email protected] so Theresa (Berlin’s volunteer coordinator) can connect you with the Kiez captain for your neighborhood.

🤓We’re halfway through August, it’s time for our new tradition of online American pub quiz! Wednesday evening, join players in Berlin; Germany; and beyond for great trivia and a good cause (raising funds for voter outreach in Germany). We’ll even throw in a convention update from Berlin chair & delegate Diego Rivas. Bring teammates or come on your own – we’ll match you up.
►RSVP for quiz night now

Reminder: if you or a friend need help registering to vote, you can drop in every Sunday for direct one-on-one help on Zoom. We also have upcoming Kiez events where you can get help as well!

On Tuesday, September 8, 2020, we’re hosting Progressive Palates, a virtual wine tasting and fundraiser. Not sure which wines you like, or how to pick a bottle for a given occasion? This introduction to wine tasting is for you!
🍷Learn more & register for Progressive Palates

News You Can Use

#SaveThePostOffice

> Call Your Congressional Reps
> Email USPS Board of Governors

A robust and functioning post office is an essential service, for medicine, for Social Security checks, and yes, also for voting by mail. Take a stand against the current administration’s hobbling of this quintessentially American institution to suppress the vote. Call on your congressional representatives to investigate and write each member of the United States Post Office Board of Governors to remove Louis DeJoy (click the links above).

Bonus: Ask Democratic governors to allow emailed ballot return for Americans abroad

Have you requested your absentee ballot THIS YEAR?

We’re 11 weeks from the 2020 election. If you haven’t registered to vote and requested your absentee ballot this year, it’s time. Make sure to do it now so there’s time for your ballot to get here and to travel back to the U.S.

Visit VoteFromAbroad.org to complete a ballot request — and then send in that request!

Get trained: Help Americans abroad vote!

You can learn how to assist fellow Americans with voting and absentee ballot requests at a voter registration training! The more voter registration volunteers and phone bankers, the higher the overseas turnout in November will be.

• Voter registration training on Aug 20 & Sept 2, 2020
• Phonebanking training on Aug 19 & Sept 1, 2020.