Refugees talk about their experiences

What does it mean to flee your home country? Abdul Abbasi and Allaa Faham have experienced exactly that. The two Syrians will talk about their experiences as refugees on Tuesday, 15 November at the Kulturetage. What is it like to flee from a country where hunger, poverty and insecurity dominate everyday life? How does it feel to arrive in a society with different values, rights and living conditions? At the invitation of the University's Institute of Educational Sciences, the two young refugees will answer these and other questions on Wednesday at Oldenburg's Kulturetage. The event is part of the "Life Back Home" project, in which young refugees talk about their lives before, after and during their flight, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Abdul Abbasi (21) and Allaa Faham (19) have been living in German for two years and are actively involved in German-Syrian dialogue at schools and universities. The two young men recently appeared on the ARD talk programme "Anne Will". They talk about their experiences in Germany in order to improve mutual understanding between immigrants and those who have settled here. They also want to raise awareness about the developmental background to flight and displacement. During the afternoon, Abdul and Allaa will not only talk about their experiences, but will also film short videos with participants, which will then be posted online. The aim of the event is to sensitise future teachers and other multipliers in the education sector to interculturality and to critically question the alleged refugee crisis, according to organiser Julia Egbers from the Institute of Educational Sciences. It is also about perceiving the future cultural composition of school classes and other groups as an opportunity for intercultural dialogue. The German-language event is primarily aimed at student teachers, but is also open to interested members of the public. Admission is free and registration is not required. The event starts on Tuesday, 15 November at 14:15 in the Studio of the Kulturetage (Bahnhofstraße 11). In addition to the "Life Back Home" project, Allaa and Abdul also promote intercultural dialogue via their video blog "German Lifestyle".