Project Team and Motivations:

Maria Pelteki & Marina Schuberth

Through our engagement for the AG In- und Ausländer e.V project "Support for unaccompanied minors" in Chemnitz we came in touch with refugees and their destinies for the first time. Those are youngsters that had to leave their country without their parents and often had to undertake journeys under the risk of their lives in order to escape a country where surviving is not certain anymore. If they manage to enter the European Union and make it to Germany for example, their lives are often not coined by fair treatment. Apart from thinking that these circumstances have to be changed one of our motivations for the initiation of such a project was to face the lack of knowledge, intolerance and the ignorance in society and break them down by informing about the situation of refugees in the European Union. Starting from their journey, the conditions of accommodation and the problematic nature of the asylum procedure we will also make the status of refugees in our society, we are all a part of, a subject of discussion. With the help of this day we want to sensitise people that downright in Chemnitz we are everything but not far away from the trouble spots in the world.

Sylvia Brauner

I am Sylvia, 22 years old and I study European Studies with a focus on economics since October 2011.Before deciding to work for the project "Between Asylum and Reality" I only knew little about asylum procedures and the legal background. Through my engagement I can use this great opportunity to become acquainted with the topic and to get in contact with organisations and the persons concerned. In this way I'd like to get information first hand and learn about personal destinies.

Darja Graf

(21), European Studies with a focus on social sciences. I'm interested in the general topic 'asylum' and I think it's important, because Europe defines itself being a community of values inter alia. But neither do asylum law nor the treatment of refugees and other help seeking persons fit in values such as the respect of human dignity or the equality of  all people. Europe as the 'room of freedom' is in need of a change, for national states shouldn't have the right to downgrade people in misery and to complicate their access to a life in prosperity, freedom and security.

Astrid Brettenhauer

My name is Astrid Bretthauer, I am 22 years old and I am a student of European Studies with a focus on economics. Unfortunately I didn't have contact to refugees yet and my knowledge is mostly based on medial coverage. But exactly this gives me motivation to actively participate within the project in order to get the opportunity to gather most different impressions and experiences in order to enlarge my knowledge.

Sebastian Ludwig

My name is Sebastian Ludwig, I am 25 years old and I am a student of European Studies with a focus on economics. Being a part of the project " Between Asylum and Reality"  is not an everyday task for me as it seems to be too far away from all my personal matters of concern. I claim that most people in Germany that are not directly affected by this topic feel like I do. That's why I think it's of special importance to raise public awareness on this problem with the help of this project. I think it is part of our responsibility in society to help asylum seekers claim their human rights and to support them in their longing to lead a life in peace and freedom.

Clemens Gerstenberger

(23) Field of study: European Studies with a focus on social sciences, press and Public Relations: My motivation: The appealing character of the project "Between Asylum and Reality" for me personally is to have the opportunity of raising peoples' awareness to the hard destiny of asylum seekers. So often they are faced with seemingly invincible barriers that don't free their way to a life that is at least temporarily reasonable. In my opinion this is not only caused by political requirements of the receiving states but also by people's lack of knowledge and deep-rooted prejudices. Even a small contribution can be useful to sensitise more people for this topic and make sure that this problem can reach public consciousness and stay in people's minds.

Anne Winkel

An odyssey from Berlin via Freiburg led me to Chemnitz in order to personally discover the field of European Studies.On this journey I learnt to love traveling, because it gives me the opportunity to gain insight into different cultures within Germany and outside of it. Many people don't have this privilege of free evolvement. It is to be questioned seriously how and why this status quo endures within the prosperous EU. For me the project offers an opportunity to look at the world from another perspective. Apart from putting the focus on discrimination of any kind it is an important topic that can affect everyone of us but especially hits refugees in various ways and situations. That's why I'm appealed to educational projects and motivated to be part of an event that helps people to inform themselves and to break down prejudices.

Bruno Flashar

my name is Bruno Flashar, I am 22 years old and also study European Studies at the Technical University of Chemnitz. The topic of asylum in Germany and Europe is of special importance here in Chemnitz! People know way too little about it. I hope that our project can be of use and value in order to move this topic more into the focus of public awareness.