Programme Erasmus + Europe on the move : Migration Biographies
Theses
supported by school psychologists and social workers who worked with the children on a psychological level to help process their experiences . At the beginning it was difficult for Samira and Aleyna to keep up with the others because they missed a lot of school since leaving Syria . The older sister was able to write and read but had difficulties with calculations and only learned to calculate with numbers up to 20 . The younger sister had difficulty with writing and calculating . Adding and subtracting was only possible for her through using her fingers as a support . It was hard for both sisters to catch up even after the “ transitional classes ”. The oldest child is very eager and studies a lot for school . She has learned a lot of German , has done a lot of schoolwork and is working hard to fill the gaps in her knowledge . Her dream is to do the German “ Realabschluss ” 163 to later become a nurse . Sadly , her results were not good enough to allow her to do the “ M-Zweig ” in the “ Mittelschule ” 164 to receive the ” Realschulabschluss ”. She must now do a vocational training .
All the children showed good development , but the experiences of their past will always follow them , influencing their life and behaviour . During the interview the children seemed happy to go to school again . They suffered discrimination from teachers and other students , leading to doubts and a sense of not feeling welcome . This made them question why others act like this . The parents showed their worries about this behaviour but keep encouraging their children to stay strong and to stand up against discrimination .
In my experience the family is very friendly and welcoming . This attitude combined with communication and kindness helped the family to integrate well and make friends as well as being accepted by others .
The biggest change has been their daily life . Back in Syria the parents worked hard to afford their needs . Now they cannot go to work because of their language barriers and aforementioned situation with their youngest son . The life lived in Germany differs a lot from the life in Syria especially their daily life but also the culture and people . It took some time for them to adjust but in the end they love both countries in their own way .
What they miss most is their property and wealth . They miss the possibility to decide what they want to buy and being able to afford it . In Syria they had a good income and could buy what they wanted to . Here they do not have that freedom to buy what they want . They miss this freedom .
What they love most in their new home is the peace and stability afforded to them . They experience what it means to live in an actual democracy and to have social freedoms as well as human rights . Some of these advantages and freedoms did not exist back in Syria .
The family had to fight for a long time to finally arrive in Germany . However , they did it and learned to love the country . They feel freer and securer here and are happy to have the possibility to live here . They miss Syria but do not want to go back . The events in the past have been too cruel for them to want to return . They are planning their future here in Germany and hope that their dream comes true . 165
3 . Conclusion
The high number of Syrian refugees arriving in Germany since 2014 shows the damage that authoritarianism and war can have on a country and its population . The brutality of the regime led to the mass protests that began with the “ children of Deraa ” and was motivated by the Arab Spring movement . A few years after the beginning of the civil war , the IS conquered land , grew progressively stronger and brought more brutality and destruction to the country . The increasing destructive nature of the war including terroristic attacks , massacres , bombs , shootings and more forced many people to flee their own country . The size of the conflict was underestimated for a long time . The consequences of the Syrian conflict could not have been predicted , especially in Europe . After having fled the immediate conflict , many refugees planned on reaching further in
163 The “ Realschulabschluss ” can be compared with a secondary school certificate
164 The “ M-Zweig “ is a possibility for students with high achievements in school to reach the secondary school certificate . The “ Realschulabschluss ” can be had after
having visited the ” Mittelschule ” which teaches the same subjects as the “ Realschule ” but mostly at a slower pace
165 ( Haddad 2019 , 5f .)
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