Refugee auxiliary group Neudorf? All going well…!

[Summerinthecity 47]

And this may be taken literally as on 9^th April “Naturwerkstatt Duisburg” invited refugees, people helping refugees and all who are interested to a forest rallye.

It was a totally mixed group of all ages and nationalities who came to the meeting point at TURA 88. The new Duisburg citizens seem to be very interested in getting to know their new home. I think this is very positive. 

Then we went on a two-hours-walk through the forest, stopping by at different meeting places where we were explained different things and also had to answer questions. It wasn’t very complicated since the tour was above all designed for families. For example we learned how to distinguish a beech tree from an oak tree by looking at the trunk. At another meeting place we had to put our hands into boxes and guess if what we grasp is a piece of a roedeer’s leg, a branch, antleers or mushrooms. Furthermore, we learned about bees and how wax and honey are produced. We were also shown a woodpecker’s “home” and at a pond smooth newts.

During the walk there was also enough time to talk to and laugh with each other and also the kids enjoyed themselves.

I can just recommend everyone to overcome his mistrust ( which I honestly don’t have that much since in many companies ( Optische Werke Schneider, König & Reeker, Acla Werke… ) I was working with international customers ) and be open for the meeting with other people. You won’t loose anything, but it can make your life richer.

 

[sjinq8 35]

Well said Summerinthecity, and it is nice to read postive things rather than the usual scaremongering.

 

It is really sad how they are all being tarred with the same brush - to think that all refugees are terrorists is akin to thinking all Germans are Nazis, which is just nonsense. I lived for years in the Middle East before coming to Germany and generally found most of the stereotypes to be so untrue. I am a foreigner in a foreign country at the end of the day, and I count myself lucky that I was able to come here by choice rather than being forced to flee my home because of war.

[Summerinthecity 47]

Thank you, Sjinq8. This is exactly what I am thinking.

[Insigna 1,248]

31 minutes ago, sjinq8 said:

Well said Summerinthecity, and it is nice to read postive things rather than the usual scaremongering.

absolutely. Being involved with Refugees myself, I would not associate them in any case with those terrorists but that said, the biggest fear is not so with the people themselves but with what they represen and their religion. I enjoy great converstations and debates mainly around culture gaps and it strikes me how their mindset can be different from ours. For some integration will come easier than for others but it is by getting involved and learning about them that we can ease up the transition 

[foreign in fatherland 108]

Well that is lovely to hear. How nice they were spending time enjoying the beautiful nature, flowers and wildlife in the sun whilst I was worrying about where my next job was coming from so I could pay my 1.health insurance 2.rentnerversicherung 3. Stuer geld. and remain 'solvent'

 

Just explain to me why we should pay for this?

[Insigna 1,248]

On 27/05/2016, 20:04:35, foreign in fatherland said:

Well that is lovely to hear. How nice they were spending time enjoying the beautiful nature, flowers and wildlife in the sun whilst I was worrying about where my next job was coming from so I could pay my 1.health insurance 2.rentnerversicherung 3. Stuer geld. and remain 'solvent'

 

Just explain to me why we should pay for this?

we should not but somebody decided to make use of our taxes in that fashion and for them, well, we propose, they dispose...'their words, not mine'

[Summerinthecity 47]

I see your point, but as long as there are war drivers leading people into war, and weapon producing companies making a considerable profit with it, as long as in some countries people have to live under unacceptable conditions there will be people trying to get to the countries where life is still pretty safe and although most of us have to struggle to keep their job and a certain standard of living at least we don’t have to starve. So there will always be refugees, that’s a fact. But the more we succeed in integrating them into our society, the better for all of us. These activities we do together with them are a way of making them accustomed to the German way of life ( besides, of course, German classes and then helping them to find a job ). No one of us has to pay any extra money to organize these activities since they are all done on a volunteer basis.

[Guest]

summer - I'd like you to define integrate. does that mean they embrace the German way of life as most of us have done. Do they if they perhaps marry a local, embrace Protestantism or Catholicism? Or if they retain their own faith, no problem but keep it low key?

[RenegadeFurther 2,394]

@jeremy, this debate is done.

 

No good can come from continuing it.

 

All that is left to do is sit back and watch the destruction of a continent.

[Summerinthecity 47]

No, of course I don’t expect them to become catholic or protestant. Of course they can still be Muslims, Buddhist, Hindu…or whatever their religion is. Of course they don’t have to eat Sauerkraut and Würstel now. ( In fact, I tried Syrian food and food from Ghana lately and both was delicious! ). It is also of course o.k. if they continue speaking Arabic, Dari, Pashtu, Bengali, Tamil, Tingrinya, Somali, Hausa or whatever if they are at home of with friends from their country.
But what I expect them to do is to learn German and find a  job ( or at least try to find to find one since we all perfectly know that not everyone who wants to work also gets a job ).
And that’s a point where we Germans can help to as I call it integrate since this, in my opinion means integration: Learn the language of the country where you live now and work. We can tell them where to find German classes, how to look for a job and how to write an application the way German companies want it to look like.
Another part of integration in my opinion is to get in touch with local people, meet them, join activities and whatever your interests are maybe join a local sports club.
I have already met quite a lot of these people who came here as refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Guinea, Nigeria and so on and my experience is that with only a very few exceptions they all want to learn the German language, find a job and a flat, and they want to get in touch with German people. And sometimes I am really surprised how much German many of them already learned in one year.

[dannys 133]

1 hour ago, Summerinthecity said:

No, of course I don’t expect them to become catholic or protestant. Of course they can still be Muslims, Buddhist, Hindu…or whatever their religion is. Of course they don’t have to eat Sauerkraut and Würstel now. ( In fact, I tried Syrian food and food from Ghana lately and both was delicious! ). It is also of course o.k. if they continue speaking Arabic, Dari, Pashtu, Bengali, Tamil, Tingrinya, Somali, Hausa or whatever if they are at home of with friends from their country.
But what I expect them to do is to learn German and find a  job ( or at least try to find to find one since we all perfectly know that not everyone who wants to work also gets a job ).
And that’s a point where we Germans can help to as I call it integrate since this, in my opinion means integration: Learn the language of the country where you live now and work. We can tell them where to find German classes, how to look for a job and how to write an application the way German companies want it to look like.
Another part of integration in my opinion is to get in touch with local people, meet them, join activities and whatever your interests are maybe join a local sports club.
I have already met quite a lot of these people who came here as refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Guinea, Nigeria and so on and my experience is that with only a very few exceptions they all want to learn the German language, find a job and a flat, and they want to get in touch with German people. And sometimes I am really surprised how much German many of them already learned in one year.

Naive alert!

You met "quite a lot of these people" who want to integrate and live a modern life in a modern continent you say.. exactly how many of the 1-2 million asylum seekers did you meet? (no pun intended)

From what I know about the origin and life style from where most of those people come from, less then a third of them check for what you say - most of them came to Europe to piggybank on a wealthy (so they think) and supportive (so they were told) social system, most of them don't really care about learning German, don't care about integration, don't care about regulations or laws other then what they believe in (from back home, which are - not so pretty..), many of them don't plan to work and were told that if they reach Europe they will be provided with food and shelter free of charge. Fact is that the crime rate went sky high where ever those people are located which gives you another hint about who they are.

My german friends see them, sometimes refugees who came to Germany 2-3 years ago - still not speaking german (and caring less about it), still not looking for a job (they get free money freeloading on the tax payers who actually work), some of them are violent etc..

Well dear, not so pretty but all are facts.

Cheers
 

[Summerinthecity 47]

Another very successful event of the refugee auxiliary group Duisburg Neudorf is the monthly breakfast meeting every first Saturday of the month at 10 a.m. ( sometimes a little bit sooner depending on when the preparations are ready ) where a lot of refugees and neighbours get together and sometimes local clubs present themselves. The idea is very simple: Everyone brings something for the buffet and takes a seat.
I join these meetings almost every month. My real name is Astrid Günther, if you are looking for me.