As of: February 13, 2024, 9:03 p.m
By: Theresa Kuchler
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In the thermal hall at “Kirschbichel”, part of the asylum helper group around Silke Schmid (back right, pink sweater) met with Mayor Manfred Schmid (front right), three residents and a reporter from the Schongauer Nachrichten.
© Hans-Helmut Herold
When it was clear that refugees would be accommodated in the town, citizens in Schwabsoien came together to form an asylum helper group.
The new “Kirschbichlers” are grateful.
Schwabsoien – The wind blows loudly over the roof of the tent, the air inside is warm and stuffy.
The refugees who were accommodated in the thermal hall at “Kirschbichel” in Schwabsoien almost three weeks ago do not feel particularly comfortable in their current home.
“It’s just an emergency shelter,” says Silke Schmid.
The committed Schwabsoien resident and wife of the mayor says that some refugees reacted quite disappointed when they were put back in a tent after the hardships they had already been through.
Nothing can be changed about the situation now, says Schmid.
“But we want to make the best of it.”
That's why she teamed up with other people from Schwabsoien to form an asylum helper group.
Even before the first refugees had arrived in the village, over a dozen volunteers had already signed up to help the now 21 newcomers.
“We were already 15 people at the first meeting,” says Schmid happily.
There are now around 20 citizens in the district who, for example, get medicine for the refugees or take care of registering them with the sports club.
Citizens in Schwabsoien come together to form an asylum helper group
At first the group of helpers took small steps.
The volunteers tried to make the tent a little more homely: they hung welcome signs and put apples and flowers on the tables.
“The tents were so impersonal,” says Angelika Wille, who is also part of the group of helpers.
“We wanted to show hospitality.” When the refugees arrived, the people of Schwabsoien welcomed them with coffee and cake.
But there is of course more to integration work.
When people come to a village who speak a foreign language, belong to a different religion or come from a culture that you have never come into contact with, this often creates uncertainty.
“Of course there are reservations and worries,” Silke Schmid is under no illusions.
Her husband Manfred is also aware of this: The mayor of Schwabsoien has therefore tried to focus on transparency and communication right from the start, he says.
“Nothing negative” has happened since the first refugees arrived
When it became clear that up to 50 refugees would come to Schwabsoien, there was an information afternoon in the thermal hall where citizens could ask questions and express concerns.
“That was very good,” says Manfred Schmid looking back.
Since the first residents moved into the emergency shelter, “nothing negative” has happened.
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According to Silke Schmid, the “super good cooperation” with the district office’s asylum team and the two security employees is also a great help.
She praises them for doing far more than the tasks of a security service.
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As the helper group team explains, the village has already welcomed the refugees well: the “Kirschbichlers”, as the volunteers affectionately call them, have already been involved in setting up the large carnival tent and collecting waste paper.
“The boys tackled it really well,” say Thomas Stalter and Edith Zwick.
Residents of the emergency shelter would like to work and attend German courses
In general, it quickly became apparent that the new villagers were motivated and would like to work.
“They don’t want to sit around all day,” says Silke Schmid.
Amjad, for example, would like to do an internship at the railway.
“I want to train to become a platoon driver,” says the 27-year-old from Yemen, who already speaks German quite well.
Like the other “Kirschbichlers”, Amjad would like to take a German course to improve his language skills.
“Unfortunately, all the courses are packed right now,” Silke Schmid has to say, disappointing him.
Until places become available again at schools in the region, the group of helpers wants to step in: with German courses offered by former teachers.
“Everyone brings their own skills to us,” says Silke Schmid.
“And we get a lot of gratitude in return.”
The local newspapers in the Weilheim-Schongau district are represented on Instagram under “merkur_wm_sog”.