Nachhaltigkeit as a Community
Whenever you hear about sustainability, you typically think of the environment: green energy, less pollution, electric grid, etc., but in order for our world to become fully sustainable, we must also learn how to be so within our communities among each other. In Weimar, sustainability was the focus of the class we took and a large portion of our grade was a group project that we had to work on. My group chose the less thought of view of sustainability and the topic we chose was Sustainability and Refugees. The refugee crisis has been all over the media since its beginning in 2015, and it has even been used as propaganda for Germany's alt-right party the AfD. With Germany's national election in September, they have used the crisis as means of inflaming anti-immigrant sentiments throughout Germany. Their stronghold is in former East Germany where those states are still poorer and behind infrastructurally compared to their former Western counterparts. Even with that being the case, Weimar has proven to be an example of better integration efforts of their 900 refugees. Locals from university students to their older population have joined together to provide them with what they need to feel better at home in the city.
One of the first places we started was with the Bauhaus Universität in Weimar. They partner a Bauhaus student with a refugee student to help them learn German and work through the German university environment. The school also offers voluntary language classes for refugees of all ages and many students have volunteered to help. Because women tend to attend less because they have children, they even have volunteers who will watch children while the mothers are attending the classes. This is an important aspect because we learned that, once a refugee's application process for asylum has been approved, they must be enrolled in language and cultural immersion classes in order to receive welfare benefits. In order to enter the German workforce, they must reach a level of at least B1. One thing they also offer with the language courses is free (non-alcoholic) beverages to the refugees at the Café so that after class they can grab a drink with German students and volunteers. They told us that for them integration is more than just learning the language, it is important to also interact with local people to build that cohesion and sense of community.
Through Bauhaus Universität, we had also heard of an event going on that would maybe of interest for our project. There is a shop called the International Café that was a place for refugees and locals in Weimar to talk and hang out. They were hosting a thank you garden party for all the volunteers that had helped out this past year and invited refugee families from around the area. When we arrived, it was nice to see a good mix of both. There were also locals from Weimar of all ages there for support and talking with the families. We spoke with the director of the International Café to learn more about what they do. She told us how the Café is sponsored by Caritas and besides being a normal Café, they also had areas where families could come to do homework for language classes or where children could do their school work. There was also an area where women could talk with someone about the social opportunities and options for them. They have only been open for two years, but they have been able to make a large impact.
Another person we talked to was Wael Salah. He owns a syrian restaurant in Weimar called Damas. We sat down with them one night to ask about how it was living in Weimar. He left at the beginning of 2015 from Damascus, right before the mass migration, because his brother is a doctor in Germany and was able to easily sponsor Wael and his family so they could move here. Even though it is difficult to open up a business in Germany if you are a foreigner, Wael and his brother were able to set up Damas and Wael was able to remain in Germany under a work permit. He has three sons, the oldest is in the third grade and he has two twin boys who are under a year old. For his eldest son, it was easier for him to accustom his new life in Germany because he started kindergarten with other German children and has German friends. Wael commented how he knows better German than he does. He himself had taken German for six months, but it was very hard and since he is the only one in the small shop that knows any German, he had to spend all of his time there. He relied on learning on his own to be able to speak as he can now. He said that the local people were extremely nice and helped him learn the language when they came in to order. His story is happier and better than many, but there were still many things he had to leave behind in Syria. His parents and other siblings are still in Damascus. He was very humble in mentioning this to us, but even though he also owned a small shop in Syria, he had also won Arab Idol!!!! Unfortunately, he had to leave the rest of his family and his possible new future behind because of the conflict.
Immigration has always and will continue to be a complex and hard topic. Politics has a large part to play in it, but it also has to do with people not being fully informed. It can become confusing to follow and understand how it's implemented. However, a sustainable world can only be achieved if there is a united front to fight for it. How are we to be united if we can't come together in our own communities? If we cannot work together to integrate our society then that large charge we want to see in the world won't happen. Looking specifically at the refugee crisis in Germany, there are definitely challenges and possible mistakes made along the way by politicians, but those obstacles cannot be dwelled on instead of learning from them and trying to work through them. However,
Germany has been an example to the international community of sustainability not only in the traditional sense, but also with one of the biggest migration crises since the end of the Second World War.
To learn more about Weimar's example, The New York Times wrote a piece on it that can be found here: New York Times
One of the first places we started was with the Bauhaus Universität in Weimar. They partner a Bauhaus student with a refugee student to help them learn German and work through the German university environment. The school also offers voluntary language classes for refugees of all ages and many students have volunteered to help. Because women tend to attend less because they have children, they even have volunteers who will watch children while the mothers are attending the classes. This is an important aspect because we learned that, once a refugee's application process for asylum has been approved, they must be enrolled in language and cultural immersion classes in order to receive welfare benefits. In order to enter the German workforce, they must reach a level of at least B1. One thing they also offer with the language courses is free (non-alcoholic) beverages to the refugees at the Café so that after class they can grab a drink with German students and volunteers. They told us that for them integration is more than just learning the language, it is important to also interact with local people to build that cohesion and sense of community.
Through Bauhaus Universität, we had also heard of an event going on that would maybe of interest for our project. There is a shop called the International Café that was a place for refugees and locals in Weimar to talk and hang out. They were hosting a thank you garden party for all the volunteers that had helped out this past year and invited refugee families from around the area. When we arrived, it was nice to see a good mix of both. There were also locals from Weimar of all ages there for support and talking with the families. We spoke with the director of the International Café to learn more about what they do. She told us how the Café is sponsored by Caritas and besides being a normal Café, they also had areas where families could come to do homework for language classes or where children could do their school work. There was also an area where women could talk with someone about the social opportunities and options for them. They have only been open for two years, but they have been able to make a large impact.
Immigration has always and will continue to be a complex and hard topic. Politics has a large part to play in it, but it also has to do with people not being fully informed. It can become confusing to follow and understand how it's implemented. However, a sustainable world can only be achieved if there is a united front to fight for it. How are we to be united if we can't come together in our own communities? If we cannot work together to integrate our society then that large charge we want to see in the world won't happen. Looking specifically at the refugee crisis in Germany, there are definitely challenges and possible mistakes made along the way by politicians, but those obstacles cannot be dwelled on instead of learning from them and trying to work through them. However,
Germany has been an example to the international community of sustainability not only in the traditional sense, but also with one of the biggest migration crises since the end of the Second World War.
To learn more about Weimar's example, The New York Times wrote a piece on it that can be found here: New York Times
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