In 2015, hundreds of thousands of people from Syria came to Germany. Anas Barakat was one of them. He has meanwhile arrived in Ebersberg. A pattern integration.
Ebersberg - Anas Barakat goes to the Ebersberger Klostersee with his friend and “foster brother” Niklas Bachmann. He likes the lake. His cover picture on Facebook shows him on the bank of the water. The native Syrian greets a driver as he walks by. “Is a work colleague,” he says coolly. The 21-year-old works in Ebersberg. He lives in Ebersberg. His friends come from Ebersberg.
Anas Barakat, green and blue eyes, charismatic, good German, is Ebersberger.Since 2015, Germany has given a lot of thought to young people from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. After hundreds of thousands of people immigrated, the populist AfD has risen to the various parliaments of the country. Immigration is the subject of the far right: it tells stories of failed integrations.
Integration: The story of Anas Barakat is different
The story of Anas Barakat is different. It starts five years ago. In Hama, Syria. It's civil war, Barakat is right in the middle of it. For fear of the consequences for his family living in Hama, he no longer wants to talk about the war. The boy escapes, he is alone with his neighbor. You go by bus to Turkey, then by ship to Greece. Train, bus, taxi, on foot - at some point it will be in Munich. Anas is 16.
He comes to a refugee camp. Because he is a minor, the youth welfare office takes care of him. That sends him to Ebersberg.
Found a home in Glonn
In 2017 he made up his secondary school diploma in Kirchseeon. He does internships at a hairdresser and at the district clinic. He likes working in the hospital. At the same time, the young person meets the Bachmann family from Glonn. She organizes apartments for refugees and often takes people into her home. Barakat has to move again and again, the family offers him a guest room in their house. At first he is shy, after two years he becomes a family member.
"They made me German," smiles the Ebersberger. "Grandma had a third grandchild," says Niklas Bachmann, 18. The young man who just finished high school gave German courses for refugees in 2015 or cooked with them after school.
After the internship, Barakat begins training in the district clinic. He is thrown out during the probationary period, his German is not good enough. Although an unfriendly official advises against the training, he tries again after a voluntary social year. This time he does it: he is a trained nursing assistant. "Education at school was difficult." It took him some time to understand the terminology used in the hospital.
Language is the key
Language is the key to integration, the nursing assistant is sure of that. German is important in order to get a job and be self-employed. He spoke broken German early on.
The young man later wants to get married, start a family, and buy an apartment. “Buying is better than renting,” he says. That is a Syrian mentality thing. Most of all he wants to stay in the district. “I'm happy here,” he says.
He does not forget his family in Syria. On the contrary, he misses her. He often speaks to them on the phone and sends them money through Western Union. His home is Ebersberg. "If I left Bavaria, I would miss it."
He wants to postpone the two-year training as a nurse. Then he has the prospect of an unlimited residence permit. Barakat, who wanted to become a clothes seller as a boy in Syria, has become a sought-after worker in Germany.
Around four months ago, he volunteered for the Covid station in the clinic. At first it was stressful. But Anas Barakat is not afraid of the corona virus. “I've seen worse things,” he says.