We became friends when he was five years old – now we speak the same language

On the way to the concert hall, he grabbed my hand and looked at me with wide eyes. I looked back at his parents and nodded for their approval. Hamudi was five years old and had fled to Germany from Syria with his parents and little brother a few months earlier. His little hand in mine was both a sign of trust and a cry for help. 

I am Robert, I work as an editor and live in Berlin. Until then, I hadn’t had any contact with refugees, and I wanted to change that. A local network of volunteers and the church gave me the platform to get involved. My motivation was to be able to look after one family specifically.

About a year later, the family was no longer living in the emergency shelter, the children were attending kindergarten, and the father had started an apprenticeship. Despite the refugees’ high level of motivation, it is almost impossible to deal with the administrative procedures without the help of volunteers. What I learnt in the process: Integration works when three things come together: Language, a job and friends. Hamudi is now in secondary school; his German has long been his primary language, and it is better than that of his parents. We are still friends.”