Objekt des Monats
Jedes Objekt in der Sammlung des Deutschen Auswandererhauses erzählt eine ganz persönliche Auswanderungs- oder Einwanderungsgeschichte. In dieser Rubrik stellen wir Ihnen jeden Monat ein anderes Objekt vor – eine Fotografie, ein Dokument oder ein persönliches Erinnerungsstück.
November 2016
Brochure from 2014
Historical Context
Soleyman Teymoory receives the brochure from the Munich Refugee Council about the ‘Info Bus for Refugees’ upon his arrival in Munich in 2014. The ‘Info Bus for Refugees’ is a collaborative project of the Munich Refugee Council and Amnesty International Munich. The brochure is intended to assist newly arrived refugees: in this case, it is written in Dari, a variant of Persian, and contains information and contacts regarding asylum in Germany. The brochure is also available in other relevant languages.
The ‘Info Bus for Refugees’ has been present since 2001 in front of Munich’s initial reception centers for asylum seekers. The Info Bus team and volunteer interpreters support newly arrived refugees upon their arrival in Munich and provide guidance during their asylum procedures. Additionally, they assist refugees with bureaucratic matters and help them in their daily lives in Germany.
Short Biography
The flight of the five-member Teymoory family from Afghanistan through Iran, Turkey, and Greece to Germany takes seven months. After almost six months in Iran, the Teymoorys manage to escape to Turkey. The crossing from Turkey to Greece nearly ends in disaster: the ship sinks, and they drift for seven hours in the water until being rescued by the Greek coast guard. From Greece, the journey to Germany takes another 19 days. Upon their arrival in Munich in December 2014, the father Soleyman receives the brochure for the ‘Info Bus for Refugees.’ From the initial reception center in Munich, the Teymoory family is initially assigned to Bremen and then to Bremerhaven, where they have lived since January 2015.
Significance of the Object
On July 28, 2016, the 65th anniversary of the “Agreement on the Legal Status of Refugees” was commemorated, which was adopted at the United Nations conference in Geneva. According to the definition of the Geneva Refugee Convention, a refugee is a person who has left their country “out of a well-founded fear of persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”
After the Geneva Refugee Convention was crucial for the majority of asylum procedures in Germany in the 1950s, it lost significance as refugees, for example from the socialist states of Eastern Europe, received protection under Article 16 of the Basic Law. This applies when a person is persecuted by state authorities. In 1993, Article 16 was restricted by the Asylum Compromise, thus the Geneva Convention regained importance. In the first half of 2016, asylum seekers received protection under the Geneva Refugee Convention 148,000 times.
At the end of 2015, a total of 65.3 million people were fleeing war, conflict, or persecution. This number has never been so high. It is the largest number ever recorded by UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). With 2.7 million, Afghanistan, the home country of the Teymoory family, was the second most common country of origin after Syria (4.9 million). As seen with the Teymoory family, the Geneva Refugee Convention still holds significant importance for the current refugee situation even after 65 years. As the brochure shows, there have long been not only state but also non-state organizations that professionally support refugees.
Do You Also Have …
… a story of emigration or immigration in your family that you would like to share with the German Emigration Center together with the related objects and documents for its collection? Then please contact Dr. Tanja Fittkau by phone at +49 471 / 90 22 0 – 0
or by e-mail at: t.fittkau@dah-bremerhaven.de