Report from Valentina Pettinger, Young Caritas Austria
“Our actions as Young Caritas touch the sensitisation work on the immigration problems and particularly on the asylum. I go to a school every week since november 2015. At the beginning Monica has given me advices in order to motivate me. Now we are very numerous and autonomous. I prepare different activities, like games or work for the fight against the prejudices. There is a lot of work which concerns this subject, because the overcoming ideas are numerous. Thanks to my engagement I have the possibility to learn many things in new structures. This is a true discovery for me and it is profitable to see different ways of working and problem approaches. Discovering a new associative culture interests me a lot, it is what one would like to do and this is the way of the procedure. This is really a new experience!
At the beginning of my licence at the university, I have started to study the immigration subject. Then I have decided to make a work experience in this area and become voluntarily. With the applicants of the asylum who aren’t allowed to work we distributed street newspapers. We also accomplished the social escort to help the people, informing themselves about her rights and possibilities and searching a lawyer etc.
The Austrian society is divided regarding the admission of the refugees within the country. Many are against her arrival and look at them in a negative kind. In contrario numerous people want to act and bring her support to migrants in Austria. In my country, the look of the people could change if the debate would be more neutral and woul be less loaded with emotions. There are too much inexact facts which are cited. The politicians also do not always work in a proffesional kind. This scares the population, because many of the authorities say that this is “a very heavy, impossible challenge”.
They do not give the necessary swing!”
