German religious initiative helps Syrian refugees
Last year, 12,000 Syrians applied for asylum in Germany - not including refugees reunited with family already in Germany. A Christian group is making sure they get everything they need for daily life in the new country.
Date 09.04.2014
Author Juli Rutsch / sad
Chili-infused cream cheese? In broken Arabic, Andrea von Schmude is trying to explain the contents of the package to three Syrian women. When her Arabic fails, she switches to English. Battol, the only one among the three women who understands English well, shakes her head. She'd rather have cream cheese with herbs. And two liters of milk. They're still debating whether to get chocolate pudding, as well.
The next stop is even more fraught: meat and sausage. They decide against it altogether, out of concern that the products could contain pork - which, in Germany, is highly likely.
Every Wednesday, von Schmude picks up the three Syrian women in Bonn and drives them to an ecumenical food bank in a nearby town. Showing their discount card allows low-income people to get groceries there. Each family pays 1.50 euros ($2) to pack out as much as they need.
Von Schmude tapped her contacts to help the women access the town's food bank. In Bonn, the facilities were already overrun.
http://www.dw.de/german-religious-initiative-helps-syrian-refugees/a-17553604
http://www.au-ro-ed.de/syrienhilfe.html