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Asylum Centre Giessen | ICJA07 | 2018-07-28 - 2018-08-11 | SOCI,STUD,REFU | Age: 18 - 26

 

Since many years now we offer this successful workcamp together with the protestand community center "Petrusgemeinde". The Asylum Centres for asylum seekers in Hessen are located at the edge of the city Giessen. There are currently about 1 000 asylum-seekers hosted in two facilities. The refugees are in Germany because of various reasons, e.g. political, ethnic, religious, persecution or poverty. Usually they stay at the facility for few months until a decision has been made about their application. Sometimes they are sent to other centers or to other “safe countries” where they entered the European Union, or to their countries of origin. Most of the people living in the Asylum Centres in Giessen are from Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Eritrea and Balkan countries: Young men, women, children and older people. The asylum seekers live in simple conditions and are not allowed to work or leave the district in which they live. Their permission to stay in Germany often is limited and so is their contact with the locals living in the city. The international volunteers are invited to the Asylum Centre for two weeks to take part in the daily life of the refugees. In the study part of the camp, we want to discuss the situation of refugees in Germany and Europe, as well as the current developments in the area of Asylum-policies. We want you to get in contact with the residents of the Asylum Centre so that we can learn about their stories, difficulties and perspectives.

Work: Together with the refugees we want to organize common activities, where the women and children are taken into consideration. In addition, our goal is to get in contact with the young members of the local protestant church to raise greater awareness for the refugees and to break the isolation of the refugees. We will prepare contact with students of the university that are willing to take care of the medical issues of the refugees and to pursue the legal issues of the asylum law. We will also get in contact with students of the University who medicate people without legal status. We especially invite volunteers to participate, who are able to speak Turkish, Arabic or Farsi. Besides organizing common activities with the refugees, we plan to construct some furniture made from old palettes together. They can be used outside, and will be nucleus of a meeting point of the inhabitants of the center.

Accomodation and food: The workcamp will be hosted by a local protestant church which is already involved in working with the refugees. The premises of the church are plentiful and volunteers will have a lot of space for sleeping, cooking, dining, relaxing, and for indoor and outdoor activities.

Location: Giessen

Location and Leisure: Giessen, a city populated mostly by students located in the mid-west of Germany. It is easy to reach via Frankfurt airport and Frankfurt Hahn airport. Leisure Time: There are plenty of possibilities for leisure time activities: playing football or canoeing as well as possibilities to visit some other cities. (e.g. Marburg, Frankfurt or Heidelberg).

Train/Bus station: Giessen Mainstation

Requirements:

Language: eng,ger

Extra Fee: 0

Please bring sleeping bag, pillow (if needed), isolation sheet, work clothes, bathing suit, music, your talents and something specific from your country. After registration, we require a self-declaration concerning the children and youth protection. A motivation letter is needed.