Beginning of a Great Deal of Immersion
By Ty Tapley
When I began preparing for this trip I was cognizant of, and eager to have many “eye-opening” experiences. After finishing the first few days of immersion within the NGO I was assigned to, my expectations were met. The NGO can be described in two ways, both can be considered colloquial in the American sense. One can be thought of as a good descriptor, while the other sounds callous when used to talk about its function. The first descriptor is applied to the employees of the NGO’s; they can be viewed as trouble shooters. They are tasked with aiding the refugees. Their responsibilities range from the relatively benign to the emotionally difficult. Two examples of both types of duty were helping the refugees track Amazon packages, and helping one in particular wade through the bureaucratic red tape that the German government has implemented because his wife was in the hospital. Finally, the employees of the NGO are also tasked with researching potential jobs to occupy the refugees time. They cannot assign the refugees jobs; that responsibility lies with either the job agency or the job center. The second descriptor is applied to the building that the refugees occupy. The building is owned by the city government, and can be described as a half-way house of sorts. While seemingly harsh at the get go, the meaning behind that particular descriptor lies in the overall purpose of the building. Its primary function is to house the refugees that have recently arrived; those awaiting asylum, appealing a denied asylum request, and housing those who were granted asylum but have been unable to find an apartment within the Munich proper.
When I began preparing for this trip I was cognizant of, and eager to have many “eye-opening” experiences. After finishing the first few days of immersion within the NGO I was assigned to, my expectations were met. The NGO can be described in two ways, both can be considered colloquial in the American sense. One can be thought of as a good descriptor, while the other sounds callous when used to talk about its function. The first descriptor is applied to the employees of the NGO’s; they can be viewed as trouble shooters. They are tasked with aiding the refugees. Their responsibilities range from the relatively benign to the emotionally difficult. Two examples of both types of duty were helping the refugees track Amazon packages, and helping one in particular wade through the bureaucratic red tape that the German government has implemented because his wife was in the hospital. Finally, the employees of the NGO are also tasked with researching potential jobs to occupy the refugees time. They cannot assign the refugees jobs; that responsibility lies with either the job agency or the job center. The second descriptor is applied to the building that the refugees occupy. The building is owned by the city government, and can be described as a half-way house of sorts. While seemingly harsh at the get go, the meaning behind that particular descriptor lies in the overall purpose of the building. Its primary function is to house the refugees that have recently arrived; those awaiting asylum, appealing a denied asylum request, and housing those who were granted asylum but have been unable to find an apartment within the Munich proper.
Overall, to use the word fascinating to
describe what I am observing would be an egregious misuse of the English
language. However, due to my strong yet
tenuous grasp of the English lexicon, fascinating will have to suffice. It is fascinating to observe what the German
government is implementing to help integrate the refugees. It is fascinating the level of support the
community provides; whether it is bringing baked goods to the refugees, or
tutoring the young children, or it is teaching them German, the support from
the community is astounding. Keeping
these things in mind, it fills me with some form of excitement to see what else
the rest of the week shall bring.
Comments
Post a Comment