Munich's helping hand

Gulf News

Gulf News Reporter Anjana Sankar travelled to Munich Germany to visit  Bayernkaserne. Germany is currently seeing a huge increase in the number of minors into the country and they require medical facilities and shelter as a first step to integration into German society. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv

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00:00When I arrived in Munich, the city was bustling. Subway stations and bus stops were crowded

00:14and tourists were exploring the city's attractions. Street musicians were playing as the Munich

00:20Marathon passed through the city on a chilly Sunday morning. Everything seemed perfect.

00:28Yet a closer look revealed how this Bavarian city of 1.5 million is reeling from an influx

00:34of refugees. This year alone, more than 800,000 refugees from war-ridden countries in the

00:40Middle East and Africa have crossed the borders into Germany.

00:45I met Dr. Matthias Wenderborn, who has founded a voluntary team of 70 doctors called RefuDocs

00:51that offers medical care to refugees. I travelled with him to his clinic, located in one of

00:57the biggest government-run refugee camps in Munich. At first glance, the cold steel

01:03bars and grey walls of this former military barracks looked like a high-security complex.

01:10But to my surprise, people were freely moving in and out without being hassled by security

01:15guards.

01:16So we started with this building because it had all the facilities we needed. We needed

01:20water, we needed some toilet facilities and all these things. So we started here and then

01:29with the upcoming, with the growing number of patients, we could grow out here and make

01:37with containers a bigger place.

01:40He deals with medical problems ranging from bullet wounds and blisters to common cold

01:45and allergies. The clinic has all the basic facilities, including an ultrasound scan,

01:52separate concentration rooms made of porta-cabins, a reception, a waiting room and even a storeroom

01:59that stocks everything from medicines, sanitary napkins, baby nappies, milk formulas and even

02:05contraceptives. At any given time, there will be a paediatrician, a gynaecologist and an

02:11internal medicine specialist on duty. There's also a psychiatrist in the clinic to deal

02:16with refugees who have been traumatised.

02:19Six-year-old Joseph Kupano from Congo is one of the hundreds who benefits from the services

02:24of RefuDocs after escaping the war and violence in his country. And having travelled thousands

02:30of kilometres to make it to Germany, getting medical care for a persistent flu is a luxury

02:36for this little boy. It's not just adults and families who are pouring into Germany.

02:41Ever since Europe opened its borders, one of Germany's biggest challenges is the growing

02:47number of unaccompanied minor refugees. I visited a shelter home for child refugees

02:53in Munich run by Caritas, one of Germany's biggest voluntary organisations. I met dozens

03:00of boys who have lost their families. Some were sent away by their parents who wanted

03:06them to escape violence and bloodshed.

03:08I don't want to leave Syria, but my family said to me, go out, because if you stay here,

03:15the army take you to war.

03:19Here they take German lessons as the first step to integrate themselves into a foreign

03:24country.

03:24We are trying to teach them German in a very interactive way. We are taking them out to

03:32the nature. We are showing them a lot of pictures, colours. We are trying to do it in an interesting

03:38way, not just sitting down and theory.

03:41Many boys are traumatised by their experiences and have behavioural problems.

03:46Some boys can't sleep at night and still sleep in the morning when we have school. Some boys

03:54are really funny, walk around the whole day with a happy smile and if the sun goes down

04:03they look more and more sad. And at night they go for the security and cry sometimes

04:12and need some help.

04:14To give these young boys a new lease of life, and more importantly to keep them occupied,

04:20there are clubs and NGOs that organise regular activities.

04:24WC Walker, one of the oldest football clubs in Germany, has launched a special team for

04:30refugee children. Currently, the FC Walker refugee team has more than 30 boys between

04:36the age of 13 and 17, training with them once a week.

04:40An ex-refugee from Lebanon, Khudor Lama, is sponsoring the jerseys and sneakers for the

04:47team.

04:49It's the best thing to bring people together without language, because the problem is they

04:55don't speak German when they are here.

04:57There are some strong voices that have spoken against Germany's open door policy. But what

05:04struck me was the extraordinary warmth and welcoming spirit of the larger majority drowning

05:10out those xenophobic calls to stop refugees.

05:15Anjana Shankar, Gulf News.

05:18For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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