Summersemester 2010 – 18 students from the TU Dortmund went digging for stories in the historic mining city of Dortmund. Instead of coal they found diamonds. Their mission was to report from underreported communities. They came back with stories about neighbors and neighborhoods where people are at times struggling to be accepted. The stories include what it’s like to be gay and Muslim, the struggles of Bulgarian day labors. There’s an uplifting story about a Christian football fan club and what they do to keep the game clean, a fascinating look into the Tamil community and you’ll meet some women who get together regularly to bridge the gap where a minaret has caused controversy.

Bidding farewell in Tamil

Rasiah Thillayampalam’s last journey

No one knows, what their last journey is going to be like. No one? No! Rasiah Thillayampalam knew exactly, what was going to happen. He was a Tamil furtune-teller from Sri Lanka a predicted not only his own death, but also what his after-life would look like. For the whole story click here.

A Video by Miryam Nadkarni and Julia Weiß

Trapped in between

Gay Muslims in Germany have to face more challenges than just coming out

Homosexuality and the Islam: For many people this sounds incompatible. This audio-slideshow shows a discussion of the gay student’s representatives at the University of Bochum. Vurat explains how he deals with his identity issues – and how he found a way to arrange his sexual orientation with his belief. For the whole story click here.

An Audioslideshow by Lina Friedrich and Natalie Klinger

A „total offensive“ against alcoholism and violence

How a Fanclub from Dortmund is trying to help fans to deal with difficulties

In decisive moments of football games, some fans pray for spiritual guidance. The Christian fanclub “Totale Offensive” prays not just for their own team, but also for assistance against even greater opponents: Fans in need are given a hand against alcoholism and violence. For the whole story click here.

An Audioslideshow by Melanie Bröcker, Lukas Gunkel, Jasmin Maxwell and Judit Andrea Révész

A day laborer’s life in Dortmund – 35 Euro per day

Rare jobs, low salaries, uncertain future – over 200 Bulgarians in the Nordstadt of Dortmund are facing the same problems. Amet is one of them. Six years ago he came to Dortmund to earn some money for his family back in Bulgaria. He is still struggling. For more information click here. For another story click here.

A Video by Sebastian James Brunt, Julia Bülling, Anna-Maria Kramer and Caroline Nagorski

The Halfmoon Over Eving

A minaret caused troubles between cultures

Where cultures mingle, controversy is never far away. Eving, a district in the heart of Dortmund, was once a home to mineworkers. Today, integration is one of its biggest issues. When a Muslim community wanted to expand their mosque with a minaret in 2009, tensions arose. For more information click here.

An Audioslideshow by Samuel Acker, Philipp Anft, Philipp Glitz, Noelle O’Brien-Coker and Jan-Ole Niermann