Welcoming refugees and showing them the way. Broadcasters and online platforms are discovering the vital role they can play in helping refugees cope with life in a new country.
“Hello, my name is Fadwa. And my name is Amani. Welcome to Germany.” Fadwa and Amani work for SWR, one of Germany’s main broadcasters, and are the presenters of News for Refugees, an information and service site specifically designed to introduce refugees to Germany.
“You’ve probably not been here that long, and much appears strange to you: the language, the way of life, the bureaucracy, the food,” the pair continue in Arabic (with English subtitles). “You have so many questions about everyday life and you don’t know where you can find your answers without the barrier of language.”
Published in four languages (Arabic, German, Dari and English), the site features videos, interviews, radio programmes and articles of interest to refugees in Germany. Among the topics covered are environmental projection and mobility, language learning, work and training opportunities, the asylum process and so on.
Radio Refugee
Similar initiatives also exist elsewhere or are in the works. Late last year, Dutch broadcaster VPRO announced plans for an online platform called Net in Nederland (‘Just Arrived in the Netherlands’), aimed at showing newcomers to the country the way in Dutch society with on-demand media. The platform is expected to be up and running very soon.
For inspiration, the makers of Net in Nederland could take a look at Radio Refugee, a project at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam by Sofie van der Wijk. Her aim is to link the previous and present lives of refugees through three radio stations, each targeting a different audience: one for children in refugee camps, one for adults in camps, and one to welcome people to Europe – as Fadwa and Amani are already doing for the half million refugees and asylum seekers in Germany.