Yesterday Marit (the women in the center of the picture) invited us to accompany her to one of the many Asyl Cafes around Ludwigshafen and Mannheim (and all of Germany). Here the many refugees can come for tea, coffee and assistance with their many needs. This is where our colleague Greg Rabus and the Canadian teacher Karl Langeloz began in September of 2016 to work with refugees - in the work that lead to the ministry of Friedenshaus today.
We no sooner arrived than we were seated with a couple from Eritrea. They were looking for help to get their family of five out of the large building in the camp. We visited with them and passesd them on to a social worker. Next came a couple from Iran who needed help with their health insurance application. That Ruth could handle. Above, Ruth assists a young mother of three from Somalia with her German language homework. We thought it was crazy busy and very full- and everyone (even Greg later) said how much more calm and organized the cafes are now compared to when the country was dealing with the sudden arrival of 1 million refugees two years ago. We've learnt that every city was given it's portion of refugees so the percentage is the same across Germany. Amazing!
I just spent the day with one refugee family from Syria navigating the health care system, and I'm exhausted. YOU are helping so many!!! Fantastic.
ReplyDeleteNo, Rebecca, here it's also one family at a time. There are just so many that need help. Gunter Bachman told me today about his mother remembering refugees being brought in groups to their village (after WWI). The mayor would then distribute them amongst the village families. She said they weren't particularly welcomed, but were given work and food and lodging by each family. This he contrasted to the overt welcome the first refugee influx got in Germany a few years ago. The gov't took care of their housing etc, but the people tried to make them feel very welcome.
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