Refugees land safely in Kirchheim: five women stand by her side for a year

From the tent city to Kirchheim: A Syrian family has now arrived in the district of Munich.

Five women take care of her there.

We visited her.

Kirchheim

– With the “Neustart im Team” (NesT) program, the federal government is offering a new perspective to those in particular need of protection: Refugees are brought to Germany safely and legally. On one condition: there must be at least five people who will accompany you closely for a year. In Kirchheim, five women agreed to make it easier for a family from Syria to arrive. A story of lived solidarity.

The Syrian family lived with their six children in a refugee camp in Lebanon until the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) selected them for the NesT program and the Federal Office for Migration granted them a residence permit.

The Archdiocese of Munich and Freising supports the project.

She made an apartment available in Kirchheim.

The only thing missing was the volunteers.

"It wasn't an easy decision"

The Archdiocese asked the Kirchheim helpers' group.

"The decision wasn't that easy," says Chairwoman Gerlinde Reichart: "But we have so often lamented how many refugees are drowning in the Mediterranean.

We couldn't say no when a family could come to us legally and safely."

Five women from the circle of helpers dared to do it.

They undertook to closely accompany the family for a year and signed the contract with the state.

"With the apartment, the Archdiocese had solved one of the most difficult challenges," says Gerlinde Reichart: "100 square meters, we only had to furnish it." The 67-year-old laughs.

The joy is palpable when the leader of the helpers' group talks about the adventure that began last spring.

parents and five children

"We had said yes to the project, but we didn't know which family would come to us." The five women cautiously put out feelers.

"We did video conferences in the camp in Lebanon." Later, the mentors wrote profiles, introduced themselves and sent photos of themselves.

The Syrian family started learning a little German.

The first impression?

"He was very good!" Gerlinde Reichart smiles, "they were so personable and very disciplined." The parents, in their early and mid-40s, five sons and one daughter, between 21 and five years old.

"After the first Zoom call, it was clear to us: we can do this together."

There was a lot to do before arrival.

Barbara Hartmann, who heads the "Needs" working group in the group of helpers, procured cupboards, tables and chairs.

"A local company closed their guest house and donated furniture," she says.

In June, the family arrived from Beirut by plane.

But first she had to be in quarantine.

They spent two weeks in the Friedland border transit camp near Göttingen.

With two buses from Lower Saxony to Kirchheim

On June 21st the last part of the journey was due.

A delegation from Kirchheim drove to Lower Saxony in two of the parish's minibuses to receive "their" family.

The first meeting went very well.

"They were happy and so happy," says mentor Brigitte Hartmann.

She vividly recalls the moment the family arrived at their home.

"It was very overwhelming.

How beaming they were and almost couldn't believe it.” After seven years in the camp, they were able to breathe deeply and finally had perspectives in life again.

During the home visit in Kirchheim, the atmosphere is cheerful.

But when the father talks about the willingness to help in Kirchheim, he cannot hide his tears: "For us, these good ladies are father, mother, aunt, uncle, sister and brother."

“We suffered a lot from racism”

It was only over time that the mentors found out how the family had to flee their destroyed house in Aleppo to Lebanon, and they were hardly able to take anything with them. They lived in a tent city near Beirut. School attendance was not possible for refugees. "We suffered a lot from racism," says the father with the help of a translation app. “Especially in winter it was very difficult. It was cold and wet.” They also had to shake the snow off the tent at night to keep it from collapsing. He got sick. Fate turned when a UNHCR staffer walked into their tent and selected them for the program.

Arrived in Kirchheim, there was a tour of the authorities.

Registration office, job center, health insurance.

"It was a lot of work, we hadn't imagined it like that," says Gerlinde Reichart.

The family didn't have a cent for a good month.

The circle of helpers jumped in.

Jürgen Gnuschke made sure that money was raised.

The Archdiocese also helped with a subsidy.

"The great thing is that our family is so eager to learn," says Gerlinde Reichart.

The pragmatic entry still convinces her: “The program is only positive.

And we are so lucky with the family, everyone is so open and committed, so the work is fun.”

Children go to school

Since September, the older sons have been attending youth integration courses in Munich with the aim of starting an apprenticeship after the basic vocational school year.

A boy and girl first went to first grade to learn the alphabet and numbers, then they went to middle school.

"They make rapid progress and are very eager to learn," says mentor Brigitte Hartmann.

The 73-year-old often comes by and helps where it is needed.

Sigrid Schnittke is a retired teacher.

She is particularly involved in school issues.

Each of the five mentors has now found their area of ​​work, says Gerlinde Reichart.

But behind them is the whole circle of helpers.

“The task would be too big for the five of us alone.

We have another 80 helpers we can count on.”

More news from Kirchheim and the district of Munich can be found here.