VOLUNTEERING SPECIAL
A Former Newcomer Helping New Newcomers
By Holly Todd
In 2015 , I was living in Hanover , and I learned of a local German “ course ” taught by volunteers to newly arrived refugees . It gave them not only basic communication skills but was also a place to meet other people until they were admitted into official integration courses . Appalled by the war in Syria , I was also feeling apprehensive about how life in Germany might change as the country took in over a million refugees that year . The news warned of the incompatibility of Islam with German democracy . I wanted to see for myself what the refugees were like and , as someone who had once been a lonely , frustrated newcomer in Germany , I felt strong sympathy and wanted to help . German wasn ’ t my native language , and I had never taught English , but I was told I should just show up and check it out .
The day I arrived , with very little fanfare I was handed a workbook and assigned to a table and a group of three refugees . During short breaks and after the two-and-a-half-hour classes
( three times a week ), the general approach was explained to me . Since neither “ pupils ” nor “ teachers ” were required to attend ,
I had different groups of one to four refugees with varying needs every week or two , sometimes every day . The majority were Syrian , but others came from Africa , other Middle Eastern countries , and the Balkans . You had to be creative and flexible to get such culturally and educationally diverse individuals communicating in German .
It was tough but never boring , and from day one , I loved it . Among the most gratifying moments was a short period where I taught an older Bosnian woman who had been in Germany for decades and a very young man from the Ivory Coast who wore great hats and had a wonderful laugh . The only things they had in common were a minimal education and a strong conviction that they couldn ’ t learn a new language . Somehow they started feeling small successes in relation to one another that propelled them both forward , for a few weeks anyway .
My favorite pupil was a Syrian named Abdullah who was terrible at language learning but was friendly , funny , and warmhearted . He began bringing along his young , pregnant wife , Rasha , who turned out to be as quick as he was slow at picking up German phrases in spite of heavy morning sickness . I began helping the family ( they had two boys in kindergarten ) outside of class , which involved seeing them through several moves ; helping with schooling , work , and health issues ; and accompanying them on many visits to social and immigration services and the employment bureau . What began as mentoring deepened into friendship , and I was at Rasha ’ s side with Abdullah when their daughter was born in 2016 .
When I moved to Hamburg a year later , my German teaching days came to an end , but this past year I helped Rasha and Abdullah again when they had to find yet another place to live in the midst of a new refugee crisis caused by the war in Ukraine .