#30 In Germany with Sawsan Chebli: Working in the Highest Spheres of Power

For the #30 episode of We Belong, we met Sawsan Chebli, a Palestinian-German Politician who worked in the highest spheres of power in Germany. Sawsan was born to Palestinian asylum seekers in Germany and grew up with her parents and twelve siblings in Berlin. Between 2010 and 2014, Chebli was the first spokesperson for intercultural affairs of Berlin's State Minister of the Interior and Sport. In 2014, she served as deputy spokesperson of the Federal Foreign Office, she was the first Muslim person to hold that post. From 2016 until 2021, Sawsan served as State Secretary for Federal Affairs in the state government of the Governing Mayor of Berlin. In conversation with Sawsan, she shared the challenges she faced as a female politician, the hate she faced as a muslim outspoken woman and what motivates her to keep going despite threats and criticisms. Episode produced in collaboration with Get The Trolls Out.