In a three-part series, women who fled to the district report on their experiences.
Today: Maria (name changed), who was born in Iran in 1987, fled Afghanistan in 2015 and now lives in Weilheim.
Weilheim
- “Four beds, four chairs, four plates, four cups.
In the refugee accommodation in Wessobrunn everything was counted exactly for my two children, my husband and me.
We all lived together in one room.
We shared the toilet, bathroom and kitchen with three other families who had also fled to Germany.
Of course, I was very happy that after our escape from Afghanistan and after spending two months in a refugee camp in Munich, we had finally arrived at a safe place where we could stay.
Nevertheless, the three years that we lived in the accommodation were difficult times.
"Nobody had the opportunity to take even a little moment for themselves"
When we came to Germany, I was two months pregnant with my third child. So our room had to be enough for a newborn, two children aged five and ten and two adults. The situation was very challenging for all of us. Nobody had the opportunity to take a moment to themselves. In addition, it was always loud. With four families with a total of eleven children, it cannot be quiet at all and of course there are no disputes.
The location of the accommodation made our life there even more difficult, as the bus connection was very poor and the tickets cost a lot of money.
We had to rely on the bus because it took us to Weilheim.
There the children had their day care center and school, I attended a language course there, we also did our shopping there and had visits to the doctor and other appointments.
Apartment wanted via newspaper ad
After two years, our living situation improved as we were given the opportunity to move to the second floor of the house. Now we finally had a second room, our own kitchen and our own bathroom. At the same time, however, we started looking for a three-room apartment because we needed more space and peace. I studied the ads in the newspaper and called the phone number given when there was a suitable offer. Unfortunately, I didn't speak German very well, which probably had a negative impact on my chances.
So we didn't manage to get an apartment that way.
So I thought about putting my own ad in the newspaper.
My supervisor was rather skeptical and considered it unlikely that anyone would answer.
But I persisted and thought that if it didn't work out then we could at least say that we tried.
On the day of the move, a dream came true for my children, my husband and me
The ad cost us a lot of money, so we only ran it for two days.
A few days later we received a call from our current landlord.
We almost burst with surprise and joy.
On the day of the move, a dream came true for my children, my husband and me.
To this day I cannot put into words how happy I was back then.
I cried a lot at the accommodation in Wessobrunn.
During this time, I only felt like a guest.
It wasn't until our own little apartment that I felt that we weren't guests here.
We have finally arrived. "
(Summarized by Miriam Schäfer based on the information provided by Maria. After a year and a half, the family received their approval that they were allowed to stay)
The project "Tell me ..." by NeNaLaWei
The women's stories were written down
as part of the “Tell me…!”
Campaign.
Every woman has the opportunity
to tell
a certain
story from her life
and thus
inspire
others
and make them think.
“Tell me…!” Is part of
the “NeNa LaWei” project
(New Neighbors Landsberg-Weilheim).
The aim of this leisure and cultural project is
to promote
the encounter and
exchange of women with and without a migration background
.
The “NeNa LaWei” project is carried out by the Diakonie Herzogsägmühle under the sponsorship of the “Development Partnership Allgäu-Oberland”.
If you feel like telling a story yourself or would like to take part in “NeNa LaWei” in general, you can contact Miriam Schäfer (0151/54142574 or miriam.schaefer@herzogsaegmuehle.de) at any time.
Further information
is also available on the website.
Read also:
Memories of the Flight: Reaching Your Goal with Prayer and Hope
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