Mitiku Deletewegene gives a friendly smile when he and his boss Herbert Engelhard come back from the construction site that evening. He is finally allowed to work, repair heating systems and renovate bathrooms. The Ethiopian has had a permit to work part-time since the beginning of the year, and recently even full-time. Herbert Engelhard is very happy about that, the young man is urgently needed in the company, he is hardworking, works precisely, the customers like him. And he likes his work, the boss and his family. He affectionately calls Herbert Engelhard’s wife Nora Mama. But the road to obtaining a work permit was long.
“He didn’t deserve to be deported”
Nora Engelhard was very committed to ensuring that Mitiku was allowed to work in the company, spoke to authorities and made applications. That was an act of strength, for Mitiku Deletewegene as well as for Nora Engelhard. One or two tears shed during lunch together, she says. “He’s a nice guy, he’s never been guilty of anything in his life, at least in Germany”. She doesn’t know much about his life in Ethiopia, but she is certain: “He didn’t deserve to be deported”.
Mitiku Deletewegene was allowed to move into her own apartment
Mitiku Deletewegene was recently even allowed to move out of the shared accommodation in Schopfloch (district of Ansbach), where he had lived until then. He found a small apartment, again with the help of Nora Engelhard. Now he can take care of himself. The boss attaches importance to this statement.
“He finances his apartment himself, his livelihood, he not only gets the minimum wage from us, but he is paid appropriately, like everyone else, we don’t let anyone hold us against it. He likes to be here, he likes to be a Dinkelsbühler, it is developing well and we are happy about it “. Nora Engelhard, head of Mitiku Deletewegene
Many Ethiopians are terrified of the authorities at home
The fact that Mitiku Deletewegene received a work permit and was even allowed to move out is due to the fact that he was at the Ethiopian consulate and applied for a passport. So he helped to clarify his identity, the German authorities insist on that. Before the visit to the consulate, Mitiku was terrified, as were many other Ethiopian refugees. Monika Hoenen from the Dinkelsbühl helper group has often seen people break into a sweat just because she asked them to apply for a birth certificate. Even if this document would open so many doors for them in Germany, many apparently cannot overcome themselves in Ethiopia out of fear for their families.
Refugee worker: Germany has to correct its image of Ethiopia
From the point of view of refugee worker Monika Hoenen, it would be time for the German authorities to correct their image of Ethiopia. The fact that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the Nobel Peace Prize because he pushed for reconciliation with neighboring Eritrea, conceals the still difficult situation in Ethiopia, she says. “This panic fear must come from somewhere,” said Hoenen.
Civil war has raged in Ethiopia since November
A civil war has been raging in Ethiopia since November. Refugees report atrocities committed by the militias, an international mediation in which Central government conflict with Tigray Province Abiy Ahmed refused. In the summer of 2020, a pop singer belonging to the Oromo minority in Ethiopia was murdered. Unrest broke out, 166 people died in clashes with security forces and the conflicts between individual ethnic groups. Even if Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed attributes the unrest to “internal and external forces”, it appears that he has strayed from the peace course. Nevertheless, Germany is currently deporting people from Ethiopia to their homeland or trying to do so.
“I would like to hope that in Germany you might not sit on such a high horse, but say to yourself that people who are decent people and really make an effort to integrate into the job market, on the training market, are now being given to them an opportunity. For human reasons, but also because we simply need it. And because our entrepreneurs don’t understand why they are not left here if they prove themselves. ” Monika Hoenen, Dinkelsbühl helpers group
At least something is moving in the German authorities. At the end of 2019, many of the Ethiopian refugees in the Schopfloch shared accommodation, who are being looked after by Monika Hoenen and the Dinkelsbühl helper group, received training and work permits, albeit temporarily.
Students in shared accommodation excluded from online classes
In the spring, however, the first problems arose: the vocational students and all the other students were virtually unable to attend classes during the first lockdown because the accommodation had no WiFi. Monika Hoenen did print out worksheets and some teachers sent the documents by post. But using learning programs, working on the computer, improving German language skills, none of that was possible, because the integration media library in a grammar school, where the students would have had access to the Internet, was also closed due to Corona.
Four weeks of quarantine for refugees in Schopfloch
In addition, the shared accommodation in Schopfloch was in quarantine for four weeks. Separating the infected from the non-infected, organizing the supply of the residents with food, asylum advice at the fence from the mobile office in the car, residents, helpers and authorities have solved many problems together. What was not found, however, was online teaching. “We have the same situation now in lockdown,” fears Monika Hoenen.
After five years: Ministry of the Interior wants to cover the cost of WiFi in accommodation
However, improvement is in sight in the second lockdown. This week, Monika Hoenen received the news that the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior was paying the 4,600 euros for the WiFi connection in the accommodation, just as the Dinkelsbühl helpers had started to collect money for it. After five years, the volunteers finally wanted a solution to the WiFi problem.
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