Leaving a Home and Finding a New One
What if your home was no longer safe to live in? What about your country? What would you do? Many choose to leave, if you are a refugee from the Middle East or Africa then you’re most likely to go to Europe. Even in Europe, it is very hard to find food, work, or housing. Currently, in Germany there are over 284,000 homeless refugee. If you were a refugee with a family coming into Europe, then you worry about safety. You are coming from a horrible place, and you left to get a better life. So, why are people not caring or there to help? The world needs to step up and help all of its people.
In the article, “I was a Lampedusa refugee. Here’s my story of fleeing Libya – and surviving,” written by Daniel Trilling, Hakim Bello is a refugee from Libya. When he tried to escape the crisis, it was very hard for him to find safety. It was very dirty and unsafe, and many people died before they even got to Europe. Even when they had gotten to Europe, more specifically Italy, it was jammed packed with people. There were not enough jobs, food, shelter, and space for all the refugees. Since they were refugees, they could not leave the border or find work. “I was offered jobs, but I couldn’t take them because I did not have the right paperwork. The Dublin treaty enforces refugeesto stay in the country where they arrive. ¨I ran out of money and ended up living on the street, at a camp where refugees were fighting for the right to live and work in Germany.” He then starts to complain about other larger countries that were not doing their part. He believes that if Europe could come together and help each other with this crisis, then the problem would be easier to handle. He now has a child and he wishes that the baby would not have to deal with the issues of being a refugee and the conditions he has to go through.
Fluuchtilinge Willkommen, or Refugees Welcome, is an organization that helps refugees become able to purchase nice, affordable homes in Germany and other countries around the world. The organization believes that refugees should be able to live in a home or a flatshare when they arrive to their new country. Refugees Welcome also takes charity to help them pay for houses. Now, many people are able to find safe homes that they might not have been able to get without assistance. “So far we’ve matched 531 refugees to sheared flats!” (Refugee) The countries that they’ve impacted the most are Germany, Austria, Poland, Greece, Spain, Netherlands, and Portugal. They also have a team of social workers, religion and culture specialists, and communications experts to help find refugees decent places to live. Because of the organization projects, they will be able to continue their growth in the coming years. To get involved, a donor can go online and make donations to the organization via bank transfer, crowdfunding, or Donate Bitcoins, or he or she can sign up for their newsletter to see what he or she can do in his or her country.
Imagine if you and your family had to walk through these shoes, and follow the same path. You and your loved ones sail on a forsaken ship to a place that doesn’t even want you there. You’re doing all of this just because your previous home was no longer safe for you. You are alone, and the rest of the world is doing nothing to help you and people exactly like you. If you were in their shoes wouldn’t you want the world pushing to help you, any way they can? We need to do something to help these helpless people. We want the world to allow refugees to find homes, jobs, and safe transportation throughout Europe and the world.
Works Cited
Bello, Hakim. "I Was a Lampedusa Refugee. Here's My Story of Fleeing Libya – and Surviving | Hakim Bello."
The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 20 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/20/lampedusa-refugee-fleeing-libya-boats-italy>
"Refugees Welcome | This Is the International Website of the Berlin-based Project „Flüchtlinge Willkommen“."
Flchtlinge Willkommen.N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.<http://www.refugees-welcome.net/>