IFSW Secretary-General, Rory Truell visited Vienna and Munich
last week to see first hand the social work response to the refugee
crisis. This is his report:
IFSW (26 October 2015). Retrieved from:
http://ifsw.org/news/the-refugee-crisis-social-workers-at-the-forefront-of-finding-solutions/
These are a few of the pictures in the temporary kindergarten set up
in Vienna’s main railway station run by volunteers and social workers
responding to the thousands of refugees as they make their journey to
find safety and security.
Corridors in the railway station are lined with tables offering
donated food, clothing, hygiene products and advice. Advice on which
boarders are open or closed. Advice on how to register family members
that have become lost on the journey. Where to find a place to wash, and
if there is no room left to sleep at the railway station, advice on
where else to go that is safe.
When the packed trains roll-in there is only standing room which
swells into the streets. Social workers and volunteers find themselves
standing amongst the crowds responding to one request, then another and
another. Giving guidance on the possibilities ahead, pointing to the
possible places where families can rest and eat.
The situation is chaotic and painful for the refugees who have
travelled with such uncertainty; and not knowing the challenges that lie
ahead tomorrow. The volunteers come out in their hundreds each day,
organising donations and distributing them.
It is a vista of the best and worst of humanity. The worst, as the
refugees are escaping wars that could have been prevented if politicians
had the will to engage with one another, and also if the international
agencies had of been able to provide and protect refugees closer to
their home countries.
The best of humanity because of the outpouring of volunteers of all
ages, many who were previously refugees themselves, who recognise their
obligations and responsibilities that all people should be treated with
dignity.
The Austrian government’s response to the crisis has been extremely
limited and it is clear that the politicians have been caught off-guard,
which has an enormous human cost, including to the 1300 unaccompanied
children held in a temporary camp close to Vienna. It was clear that
when the World Food Programme cut their funding to refugees in the camps
in Turkey and North Africa people would have no option but to take
their families on a perilous journey to find places to survive.
It is
also clear that the millions of remaining refugees in Turkey and
elsewhere will also take the journey northwards as the war in Syria is
intensifying and situations in Afghanistan and Yemen show no signs of
improvement or hope.
But while politicians have so far failed to create a positive
humanistic response to this crisis, many of the citizens of Austria and
other European countries have taken action. The outpouring of volunteers
in Austria and Germany who have welcomed the refugees sets an example
for the politicians to follow. Sometimes the answers come from the
governments, but often and in this situation the governments will have
to react to the actions of civil society.
Many social workers moved directly into action. Work plans that were
once focused on normal daily social work activities changed to
supporting families without food or shelter. Assisting young women that
have had to use their bodies to pay the price of journeying from extreme
poverty and conflict to somewhere safe. As soon as the crisis began the
social workers came together to support and advocate solutions in this
crisis.
At the heart of social work are the principles of respecting human
dignity, actively supporting the right of people to have a say in their
own development / recovery, and building people’s capacity. At a meeting
organised by the Austrian Association of Social Workers for government
services and NGO’s responding to the crisis, social workers commented
that: ‘We need to now break down the traditional silos that have divided
us. We need to think outside the box, share resources and work together
in new ways to maximise our abilities’.
The Austrian social workers have reached out to social workers in all
the countries that people are fleeing from and arriving in, through an
electronic blog on the IFSW website. “We need to be able to connect
people who are lost from their families and we need to know when another
big group of refugees will arrive. We cannot get reliable information
from the media or the government.”, an Austrian social worker explained.
Last week a representative from the Austrian Association joined a
meeting with the German Association of Social Workers to increase
coordination and share learning. Both Associations hope to be able to
hold further meetings with social workers from all the affected
countries to support better plans for the refugees’ journeys, transition
and integration into new environments.
Social workers are also running community education campaigns in the
host towns and cities. ‘Most people are very supportive to the refugees
and of course some people feel threatened’ a German social worker told
me. “For example there was one farmer in a small town who said: ‘Over my
dead-body would I allow refugees into my town’, but we took refugees to
meet him and after hearing their stories, he wants to do all he can to
help”, she said.
Social coordination, organising volunteer-led German language
classes, information sessions on how to be orientated to German/Austrian
laws, customs and culture, where to find support are all part of the
new social work role in each of these countries.
IFSW is also advocating, through its UN accreditation, for global
governance to bring an end to the conflicts that drive the crisis and
for better coordination to support for the refugees’ access to host
countries. Social workers throughout the affected countries will meet
next year and continue strengthening their capacity to support the next
groups of refugees, their integration and realisation for better lives.
The pictures at the top of this report painted by the children at the
temporary kindergarten at the Vienna railway station tell the reality
from the child’s perspective. They portray a mix of trauma, trying to
create understanding, their journey, restating their identity, and a
desire to express love for the care that the volunteers and social
workers have shown them.
One volunteer told me, “It’s beautiful to have these children in our
Kindergarten, it is a little bit of fun and normality. Every time a
child laughs it returns the sun to our hearts.”
END
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Link to IFSW Statement on Refugee Crisis
Link to the IFSW blog on the refugee crisis
Link to the Austrian Association of Social Workers for messages of support and advise / information.
Link to the German Association of Social Workers for messages of support and advise / information
