Deutsche Welle (English edition)
Idlib braces as a crossing to Syria prepares to close
Millions of people in Syria's Idlib region depend on foreign aid that passes through only one border crossing. The UN mandate regulating passage through it is about to expire; human catastrophe looms if it isn't renewed.
The Syrian city of Idlib is separated from the Bab alHawa crossing at the Turkish border by about 40 kilometers (25 miles). Huda Khayti, director of the Women Support and Empowerment Center Idlib, travels there several times each week to check on people in refugee camps along the border and bring them aid. Millions of internally displaced Syrians have been living there under extremely difficult humanitarian circumstances for years, and Khayti is worried about their fate.
"These people are extremely dependent on aid," she told DW by phone. "They don't have a voice. The world doesn't see them. If the assistance stops, they will quietly begin dying — either from starvation or illness."
The threat that aid could be cut off is real. The UN mandate that is the foundation for all aid delivery in the region of Idlib is about to expire.
Crossing's closure imminent
In 2014, the UN Security Council passed a resolution to open four border crossings into northwest Syria to supply essential aid to people living in the country's last rebel stronghold. But the mandate must be renewed each year, and Syria and its closest ally, Russia — which has veto power on the Security Council — have increasingly objected.
Last year, negotiations produced a tediously achieved compromise that closed all but
one crossing: Bab al-Hawa, about 50 kilometers west of Aleppo. But the mandate for that crossing is set to expire on July 10.
Various estimates put the number of people living in Idlib at about 4 million, with more than a million of them in refugee camps. Many have repeatedly been forced to flee within Syria. In the time since the Security Council passed its resolution, it has become increasingly difficult for aid organizations to deliver food and medicine to people in the region.
'True humanitarian catastrophe'
According to the United Nations, about 1,000 truckloads of aid roll through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing each month. Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimates that about three-quarters of Idlib's 4 million inhabitants depend on humanitarian assistance.
Only three hospitals are currently operational in Idlib, and COVID-19 infections are rising. The region has so far received very few vaccine doses, and both HRW and the UN fear the worst should the Bab al-Hawa crossing be closed.
"If the aid doesn't come this will end in a true humanitarian catastrophe, because then medi
cine won't come," Khayti said. "We are being bombed. How are we supposed to treat the wounded, the sick, those infected with COVID-19? How can our humanitarian assistance be up for debate?"
Russia obstructing extension
For weeks, Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Russian backers have been stepping up attacks in southern parts of the province — especially the area around Jabal Zawiya — despite an official cease-fire.
At a Security Council meeting in late May, Russia indicated it was unlikely to agree to an extension of the mandate to keep the border open. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on the other hand, urged the opening of a second border crossing to allow for more aid to reach the last rebel stronghold.
"The discussion about the one checkpoint is the bare minimum," said Till Küster, Middle East coordinator for the aid organization Medico International. "In reality, we should actually be reopening more checkpoints."
Medico International supports the women's center run by Khayti, and sends materials to refugee camps to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Independent organizations such as Medico are also using unofficial routes to transport their aid to Idlib, Küster said. But that means they must forgo UN security and customs exemptions.
"If fewer and fewer goods enter the country, prices here will explode," Khayti said. Thanks to the devaluation of the Syrian currency, prices for food, fuel and other essential goods have already skyrocketed.
Assad receives benefit
In principle, the United Nations can only be active in a member country with the consent of the government. As Assad's protecting power, Russia has long urged that all aid go through Damascus. "Russia is playing power games with the West," said Bente Scheller, a Syria expert at the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin.
The regime, which only provides aid to populations loyal to Assad, would gain further leverage by closing the Bab al-Hawa crossing. The move could help it to recapture the last rebel stronghold by increasing pressure on the local population.
It's not just Assad who would benefit from the closure of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing. "It would also enhance Turkey's role," Scheller said. "It would then be in Turkey's hands how much aid it wants to allow in the first place — and to whom it goes. Humanitarian interests play only an indirect role here: When Turkey allows aid deliveries, it's to prevent even more people from fleeing Syria to Turkey."
Syria's long conflict
The country has been at war for more than a decade. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 13 million people have been displaced, according to the United
Nations, about half of them within Syria. The country has been split into zones under government, rebel and Kurdish control.
Khayti has been running the women's center in Idlib since spring 2018. She came to the area when the democratic opposition and rebel groups alike were brought to the province, which is controlled by the militant Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, among others.
"I experienced in Ghouta what it means when the regime starves people," she said. "They sealed off everything at that time and didn't let anything or anyone into the city. It was almost worse than the bombs we had to endure. I don't want to experience that again. It's a terrible feeling, and it scares me that this is what we are facing."
Khayti is afraid that people will be forced to flee once again. But, with most of Syria not an option and Turkey keeping its border shut, there are few alternatives.
"What do you expect from 4 million people? That we sit here and wait for our deaths?" she said. "The international community only acts when a catastrophe is already underway, or over. We want you to know that we need help now."
wrote in a 2018 report on insurance and climate change. "Although lower-risk policyholders have a weaker incentive to reduce risk, they are more likely to buy insurance since premiums are more affordable."
Yet those who opt out are rolling the dice. And in the event of a natural disaster, the state could also be expected to jump in. The German government has already promised swift aid to those affected by the floods.
But getting even such federal emergency aid can be problematic. In Bavaria for example, only people who can prove that they tried and failed to get coverage can receive aid from the state, according to a report in the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. It is also questionable to what extent such aid can cover the immense costs of reconstruction.
And beyond that, is it fair to stick individual homeowners with the costs of insuring against increasingly erratic weather? This is the question insurers and regulators are currently trying to address.
Our changing climate poses a conundrum for insurance companies, whose business model relies on their ability to quantify the risk of an event happening and bear the cost should it actually occur. This translates into collecting enough money in premiums to cover the cost of claims. And managing this won't be as simple as raising premiums to reflect higher risk.
"We are in a world where risk is just increasing day to day because more carbon is going into the system," Dickon Pinner, a senior partner at the global consulting firm McKinsey, said in the firm's podcast Reimagine Insurance. "So just transferring that risk is insufficient."
Unclear outlook for premiums
The growing unpredictability of extreme weather events makes it more difficult for insurers to assess risk. And historic measures are no longer the reliable indicators they once were.
"The changing nature of climate risk means that the likelihood of these events actually repeating in central Europe over the next 50 years will increase sevenfold," said Antonio Grimaldi, another McKinsey partner, in the podcast, speaking about the severe droughts seen recently in Europe.
What these changes mean for insurance premiums in the short and long term is unclear. A higher likelihood of devastation could mean insurers raising prices to reflect the increased risk. But prices going too high could discourage people from getting coverage just when they need it most.
On the other hand, a growing sensitivity to the risks of climate change might push more people to insure their properties against catastrophic weather.
"The more people who take out insurance, the lower the cost to cover damages, and the greater the scope for insurance companies to calculate premiums," said Straub. For this reason, he believes catastrophic weather insurance should be compulsory.
In the wake of the floods, Germany's left and center-left parties as well as the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) have called for catastrophic weather insurance to be made mandatory. They added that it's the duty of the insurance industry to provide homeowners with affordable policies to protect themselves against extreme weather.
Insurers can actively shape future
With a business model that relies on predictability, insurers also have an incentive to use their special role in society to shepherd the transition away from carbon-based energy sources, experts believe.
"At a macro scale, this is about massive capital allocation and reallocation," said Pinner. Insurers can send price signals through by diverting capital away from risky assets such as fossil fuels, he continued.
In its report, the European Commission has suggested many ways the industry might help restore stability. Insurers' data and knowledge could be tapped to help develop better building code regulations based on their assessment of an area's risk. Or, insurance policies could include clauses that require damaged buildings to be repaired to a higher standard than previously accepted, reducing the risk of future damage.
But until such changes are put into place, people will have to prepare the best they can for weather that is becoming increasingly harder to predict.
"It is not possible to plan where the next flood or landslide will occur," said Straub. "Anyone could be affected. The more people who pay into the insurance pot, the easier it will be, and the cheaper it will be for everyone in the long run."
warning system, he noted, will be air-raid sirens and smartphone
This article has been adapted from the original German
organized by collective agreements."
Recent protests and wildcat strikes have been organized by the Gorillas Workers Collective.
According to Jakob Pomeranzed, a member of the collective, the group began organizing after February, when riders were expected to complete deliveries without work-issued winter gear in heavy snow.
"In workers' chat groups there were messages about workers falling off their bikes," Pomeranzed said. "And there were no jackets at that time. The jackets we got arrived in March and reached all the warehouses by April."
Eventually, workers at two warehouses started a strike, which grew until the company called off work for the week. In the months that followed, a group of Gorillas workers created the collective. On June 3, a general assembly was held to elect an electoral council, which plans to organize elections for a legal workers council.
Paycheck trouble
The Gorillas Workers Collective escalated protests in June, after hundreds of employees complained that their paychecks were inaccurate — most saying they were paid less than they were owed.
"Every month I have been paid less than I'm owed," Gorillas rider Kristopher Goanez said. "Last month I was finally paid 40 hours that I was owed from three months ago."
The scope of the issue was made clear when a popular meme account (@GorillasRiderLife) began sharing messages from riders who claimed they were underpaid.
"We realized there was a necessity for union and community within the riders and warehouse workers," a creator of @GorillasRiderLife said. "And we had randomly landed into filling this void."
On June 28, members of the collective and concerned employees protested in front of the company's headquarters in
Prenzlauer Berg.
CEO Kagan Sümer, who reportedly ran the first Gorillas warehouse out of his apartment last year, arrived at the protest and made a statement. He acknowledged that 250 payment issues had been identified and promised they would all be resolved. Protesters at the scene demanded that resolutions be reached quickly.
"We are here to listen. ... We need to keep this communication going," Sümer told the protesters. "And I support that you are here to act."
Protesters, however, pressed him for more solid solutions, and also deadlines for those solutions.
"He's saying it's good you're fighting for your rights, but if they are rights we should already have them," Pomeranzed said in response to Sümer's comments. "We should not have to fight for them to pay us our contractual hours or to pay for our sick leave."
In the following days, the Gorillas Workers Collective issued a list of demands that included 19 points. The first two involved resolving all payment issues within 48 hours. Other demands included giving full-time riders at least two days off in a row per week and providing bikes with cargo carrying components.
Backbreaking job
Many Gorillas warehouses lack cargo bikes, forcing riders to carry large loads of groceries on their backs. Numerous riders have reported back injuries after working for the company for six months or more.
"I was injured while carrying a heavy order," Gorillas rider Fernando Bolanos said. He was diagnosed with cervicobrachial syndrome. "My doctor sees many riders because she speaks Spanish. She told me this injury is common among Gorillas employees."
Some Gorillas warehouses are equipped with cargo bikes, but most riders are given bikes with no cargo-carrying components. Bolanos said in his case baskets had been removed from riders' bikes.
"The reason, I was told, was because riders taking deliveries on the baskets meant that people couldn't see the Gorillas logo," Bolanos said.
Gorillas currently operates in 21 German cities, and has recently expanded to the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
Responding to a request for comment, Gorillas replied with a formal statement that was published in response to the recent strike.
Gorillas wrote: "We at Gorillas have been the countermodel to the gig economy since we were founded one year ago. From day one, we have employed our riders on a permanent basis with social security, sick pay and paid vacation. ... We are and we will remain a rider-centric company. That's why constructive dialog with our employees, including those from the group Gorillas Workers Collective, will continue to be our focus."
monize the habitat of animals and plants with the tradition of viticulture in the region, using steep-slope viticulture.
The spaces of earth between the vines, known among winemakers as alleys, are green and blooming. Slate walls have been built between the rows of vines, creating additional habitat for reptiles and amphibians.
Ecosystems with a high level of biodiversity are more resistant to the challenges of climate change. Soil in these environs holds water better, preventing erosion. It's an environment hostile to pests.
In addition, colorful and lively vineyards attract tourists, which is becoming increasingly important for German steep-slope wine-growing regions such as the Moselle.
Germany promotes biodiversity in the vineyard
German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze also wants Germany's vineyards to be more colorful and diverse. The ministry supports winegrowers financially. A total of around €4.4 million ($4.7 million) is available for the project over a period of six years. Ever more winegrowers, Schulze said in a statement, have recognized "that the biodiversity of their areas is declining sharply, and they are ready to do more for biological
diversity."
The approximately 100,000 hectares on which wine is grown in Germany comprise an "indispensable cultural landscape" upon which plants, insects, reptiles and birds must be specifically protected, the government says. In its federal program for biological diversity, the German Environment Ministry works together with the Fair'n Green, a system for sustainable viticulture, and Geisenheim University, which specializes in viticulture.
Pilot project for sustainability
Ilona Leyer from the university is particularly proud of one project: her vineyard laboratory at Assmannshäuser Höllenberg, a well-known winery. Leyer is a professor of applied ecology and is deeply passionate about her project.
The vineyard was completely redesigned at the beginning of 2018, with steep vertical slopes becoming horizontal transverse terraces. The terraces were then greened and replanted with vines. "This is a step toward the paradigm shift that German viticulture needs," explains Leyer.
In the past few decades, labor-intensive viticulture on steep slopes has declined sharply and the landscape has become less productive due to fallow land. "Viticulture has become more monotonous; you can hardly find habitats such as transverse walls, seams and ditches," explains the scientist.
The biodiversity that existed in vineyards just a few decades ago is fading. In addition, too many pesticides and fertilizers are used. But in Höllenberg, it's a different story. Animals and plants have returned. "The vineyard is alive and biodiversity is coming back," says the scientist.
Protection against extreme weather
Transverse terraces have other advantages: They are easier to cultivate with machines than steep slopes, which require a lot of strenuous manual labor. They also offer more protection in extreme weather, such as heavy rains, such as recently occurred in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Water may collect in the alleys, seeping into the ground instead of rushing into the valley or rivers, as is the case with steep slopes.
But the Höllenberg vineyard is only a pilot project. Experts do not expect a rapid boom in the cultivation of transverse terraces in former steep slopes. For a start, vineyards would have to be redesigned and replanted in a complex and expensive way using large machines.
Sustainability in the vineyard — and the cellar
Winemaker Theresa Breuer knows what she wants. The energetic woman with muscular upper arms wants to work sustainably in the vineyards and in the cellar. "For us, working sustainably in the vineyard, but also in the social environment with our team, has long been a topic where we have already taken our first steps," says the winemaker from Rüdesheim am Rhein.
She has joined the Fair'n Green association. The logo is included on every bottle filled by the Georg Breuer winery. The association is also supported by the environment ministry, and has set itself the goal of taking economic, ecological and social aspects of viticulture into account.
The Breuer winery is amongvaround 80 companies that are participating. The association's 10 advisors are on hand to provide help and advice to the winemakers.
How do I better control the use of pesticides? Do I still need them? How can my business shift to green electricity? How much CO2 emissions can I save by using lighter cylinders? The association advises winegrowers on all these questions.
OroraTech from Munich, for example, uses the Donut app that randomly pairs co-workers and reminds them to meet up, whether it's for coffee or just a 15-minute Slack call. And the employees of Cloud & Heat, a German data center provider, have regularly met for virtual after-hours gaming nights to stay in touch during lockdowns.
'Experimental phase'
Working from home, with all its digital and virtual underpinnings, can also turn out to be problematic, as German recruitment platform Campusjäger (campus hunter) has found out.
Workers of the firm took part in a field test recently in which they were required to wear pulse-rate meters to find out how distracting and stressful interruptions caused by electronic communications could be. Inactivating digital notifications, it turned out, allowed people to remain focused for longer — 19% longer at the office, and even longer when working at home.
"Flexible and hybrid working models require a balance between trust and transparency," acatech notes in its paper. Static annual performance assessments must be replaced by "continuous, transparent ad-hoc feedback, which takes account of peer feedback and is employee-driven rather than management-driven."
Acatech proposes that companies begin the transition by establishing "experimental zones," because there is no "master plan" for shaping the future of work that would provide guidelines anticipating all relevant developments.
Chemical firm BASF is currently trialing mobile working at its headquarters in Ludwigshafen within its "flex work" project. This is intended to create concepts for "office design [and] IT solutions as well as providing advice on how to forge cooperation in flexible work teams," said Schössler.
BASF has set up pilot teams tasked with guiding employees through the first phase of the flexible-working project. They have a special digital toolkit at their disposal that will help staff organize workshops, conduct surveys, and meet administrative requirements. For staff in management positions, virtual tutorials are available about how to lead from a distance.