Newsletter 105

Gefördert durch den
Europäischen Flüchtlingsfonds
(EFF)
Newsletter
No. 105, September 2015
Dear friends and all other people interested in our work,
The German authorities estimate the number of asylum seekers to
hit 800,000 by end of 2015. In many places in Germany, we are
now facing the challenges of building a co-existence with refugees. The harrowing fate of refugees has occupied SOLWODI
over the past months. Time and again we receive in our counselling centres, women who were exposed to unspeakable violence
on the way here as they fled war and conflict. These fates affect
us deeply. It is our intention to accompany these women to a safe and free life. This
is possible if we meet the refugees as a society with benevolence and a helping
hand because they are in need of help.
We are all at some point dependent on help and thankful when someone lends a
helping hand. That was also what motivated me when I founded SOLWODI in
1985 in Mombasa: I wanted to decide, together with other women in distressful
situations, how they could change their lives and make them more tolerable. At that
time I stood all alone, without financial or other means, only with the wish to be a
helping hand.
Our work has always been focused on the distress faced by women. Hence, we
have from the very beginning sought to respond to the individual problems and accompany each individual case as much as possible. That was only possible because
many of you have also chipped in and helped. We are step by step entering political
lobbying (page 1). But our local and regional engagement can also appear very varied, as the report from our 18 counselling centres always prove (page 2). We do not
want to forget, during the course of all our activities, what it is all about: the violence experienced by affected women. These women were asked what they valued
about SOLWODI (page 3). After all, it is also our wish that their voices are raised
and that they speak for themselves.
Celebrate with us 30 years of helping women in distress!
Sister Lea Ackermann
Content
30 years of SOLWODI also
mean 30 years of political work
Page 1
SOLWODI – Regionally active,
nationally networked, nationwide engaged
Page 2
SOLWODI is 30 !
Page 3
Book recommendation
Page 4
Summer festival at SOLWODI
Refuge Association Koblenz
Page 4
Imprint
Page 4
SOLWODI is supported by the
Lotto Stiftung Rheinland-Pfalz.
We would like to express our
heartfelt gratitude for this support.
30 years of SOLWODI also mean 30 years of political work
At SOLWODI it was clear from the very beginning that a societal rethink and involvement at a political level
would be necessary. As a result, we entered political lobbying very early on, hoping to also provide preventative
work.
Our work has been strengthened through this in recent years. We hold talks with politicians, police and lawyers,
explaining our concerns locally and regionally. But we are also well connected and active at the national and international levels. At the federal level, however, we repeatedly notice that our voices and point of view are not always
welcome. Our experience in trying to present the signatures of our campaign "End prostitution! No female sex
slaves in Germany!" has been particularly noteworthy. Around 27,000 people - including many of you - support our
call for a nationwide prohibition on the purchase on sex. But neither Family Minister Manuela Schwesig nor Minister of Justice Heiko Maas has responded to our request to present them with the signatures. And so it is here again:
We will raise our voices until something happens.
Newsletter September 2015
_____________________________________________________________________________________
SOLWODI is regionally active through the counseling centres, women's homes and shelters. SOLWODI Associations are
networked across the country and through political and practical work, not only nationally, but also Europe wide engaged. Read for yourself!
Regionally active … in Osnabruck: Thank you barbecue for volunteers
This year SOLWODI Osnabruck employees held a barbecue to thank about 30 volunteers for
their strong support. The volunteers assist SOLWODI employees through their handicraft activities, tutoring and translations and giving them advice and assistance. The get-together
took place in fine weather with salads, drinks, barbecue and pleasant conversations.
… in Berlin: A summer festival on the Tempelhofer field
About 40 women and their children from very different countries came together with the
SOLWODI team, volunteers and dedicated helpers on 28 July to the Tempelhof Field at the
invitation of SOLWODI Berlin. Most brought with them delicacies prepared according to
recipes from their home countries. There was singing, drumming and dancing in the shade of
a sprawling oak while a brief sketch by a theatre group was spontaneously performed. There
was plenty of food and despite the intense heat, people were happy.
… in Aachen: Integration Day 2015
Integration Day 2015 took place on 23 August in Aachen. Many organisations sat together in
the Aachen Euro Congress, exhibiting the peaceful coexistence of cultures and religions.
SOLWODI was present at a stand, and employees informed about the work of SOLWODI
Aachen and reported about their own work and experience with migrant women in prostitution.
… in Berlin: A benefit concert for our women
On 13 June, it was loud on the Kranold Square in Berlin-Neukölln. The Catholic Church
in northern Neukölln and the International Pastoral Centre Berlin organised together with
the Neukölln district office a benefit concert for SOLWODI Berlin’s work. Just as the
concert started with the band Patchwork it poured, but neither the band nor the numerous
helpers could be deterred. The rain was drowned out by music and there was a cheerful
happy mood.
Networked nationwide … in Koblenz: SOLWODI at a police symposium
The police headquarters Koblenz hosted on 21 July a conference on "human goods". Police officers, representatives of
the prosecutor's office and courts, as well as aid workers were invited. Expert presentations dealt with legal provisions
for foreigners, legal support for victims of trafficking in criminal proceedings and the psychological injuries of affected
women. Sister Lea Ackermann also gave a presentation, in which she recounted her experience in advising and assisting
the victims.
… in Bad Kissingen: Women on the run
The symposium "The situation of women and children on the run" took place in Bad Kissingen
on 29 July. The meeting, which was aimed at professionals and volunteers who work with
refugee women, was attended by some 60 people. A lawyer, two nurses and a doctor were included amongst the speakers. Renate Hofmann, Head of SOLWODI counselling centre in Bad
Kissingen, spoke about the migration grounds of women who are during often abused or traded
during their flight and on the challenges that await these women here in Germany. She also
elaborated on the offers of help from SOLWODI and suggested ways in which everyone could
help.
Nationally and Europe-wide engaged ... in Dublin: SOLWODI criticizes Amnesty International‘s draft
The human rights organisation Amnesty International decided at its general meeting on 11 August in Dublin to work in
future on the decriminalisation of the sex industry. Its strategy paper on prostitution has even been heavily criticised
ahead of the voting by women’s organisations and survivors of prostitution. SOLWODI has also repeatedly called on
Amnesty International and Amnesty Germany to reconsider its position and to vote against the paper. SOLWDOI criticised that while Amnesty International committed itself to the rights and protection of people in prostitution but also at
the same time supported the impunity of those who profited from prostitution – pimps, brothel owners, human traffickers
and clients.
2
Newsletter September 2015
_____________________________________________________________________________________
SOLWODI is 30 !
Since SOLWODI’s founding in Kenya in 1985, we have been able to accompany thousands of women along the path to
a new life. These women often remain without a voice because they are either threatened or too traumatised to speak for
themselves. Hence it was important for us to ask precisely these women: “How has SOLWODI helped you?” and “Why
is it important that SOLWODI exists?” These are their answers:
“I had so many problems –
permits, courts, youth authorities, apartment…. All
seemed hopeless. Thank God
I found SOLWODI! I could
come anytime with the smallest and biggest difficulties. I
think SOLWODI should be
present everywhere!”
“Without SOLWODI I would
not be here today, would have
had to live unhappily for the
rest of my life with my exhusband, whom I did not love
and with whom I was forcibly
married.”
“What is good is that in the
women’s shelter, each woman
in distress is welcome regardless of where she comes from,
what language she speaks and
what religion she has.”
“Thanks to SOLWODI I can
look at people in the eye. Before I always looked down
and each one came, touched
me all over and said, “Come
over here you slut.” Now I
am Rebekka, the businesswoman.”.
“SOLWODI can help women to hope so
that they can find solutions for their
problems. SOLWODI helps women with
important paper work so that women are
not unjustly treated anymore.”
Letter from a beneficiary to SOLWODI
employees:
“When I first got to know you, I was fearful
like a wounded sparrow which felt pain at
touching the wound. I had fear because I
had lived through awful things. And my
wound was huge. Then you and SOLWODI
entered my life. I was lost in the darkness. I
was always again between life and death.
You were the light that took away the darkness from me. With you I learned to speak,
to go and to trust people again. You and
SOLWODI became the turning point for my
second life. For the help and support I am
always thankful to you and SOLWODI. You
have given people more than life. Some
wounds heal slowly but the scars remain. I
will never forget the things that I have lived
through but I will not give up on life. I will
always fight. Thank you SOLWODI.”
“From SOLWODI I learned
much about what I used to
fear: taking the bus alone,
using an ATM, studying for
the citizenship test, being
able to be with other women
and undertake something
without a male accompanying me, having fun… Now I
live in my own apartment
and have a job which is
stressful but also fun. I earn
my own money and can decide for myself what I do
with it. I have found my life
and know that I will be
helped when it is needed.”
“Before my contact with
SOLWODI I was confused
about my situation. I was
sad, without hope and had
great
fear.
Through
SOLWODI my life has
changed. I do not write what
I hear but what I myself
have been through and bear
witness to.
"Because SOLWODI had trust in me
that I could be master of my own
life."
"SOLWODI fought for me at
the immigration office.”
Read other answers on our homepage: www.solwodi.de
In 2014, 1728 women from 106 countries turned to SOLWODI for the first time.
.
SOLWODI celebrates its jubilee:
On 11 September the journalist Maria von Welser reads from her book „Wo Frauen nichts wert sind“ (Where women
have no value). The reading will be accompanied by harpist Elke Steltner. The event begins at 7:30pm in the Boppard
city hall. You are warmly invited to celebrate with us. Advance tickets and reservations are available at SOLWODI.
On 23 September there will be an event in the Schlosstheater Neuwied entitled Radical Living. Rupert Neudeck, founder of Cap Anamur, will speak together with Sister Lea Ackermann on the subject. Reception drinks will be available at
the closing. You are warmly invited to join us. Please register by calling SOLWODI by 14 September.
Announcement: Benefit concert with Margit Sponheimer on 23 October 2015.
3
SOLWODI – Newsletter September 2015
Book recommendation: „Was vom Menschen übrig bleibt. Die Wahrheit über Prostitution“ (Paid for. My
journey through prostitution) by Rachel Moran, Tectum Verlag 2015
It is a report from the depths of prostitution milieu and human psyche. Rachel Moran, who herself
survived seven long years as a prostitute in Ireland, describes in her book with impressive ingenuity,
what this experience means to her. As a homeless teenager, she was already working the streets at
the age of 15 and in the years that followed, experienced countless times, the violence, disgust and
rejection, which belong to the life of a prostitute. The abyss, of which the Irish journalist writes, do
not allow any doubt: The so-called "Happy Hookers" are a myth. What makes Moran’s book particularly valuable is that the author not only dissects what these experiences have had on her psyche,
body and identity as a woman with detail, honesty and sensitivity. Instead, she goes one step further
and sets the "commercialisation of sexual abuse"—as she calls prostitution—in the larger context,
showing with incredible fluency and clear thinking, what this does to society as a whole.
Summer festival at SOLWODI Refuge Association Koblenz
On 23 August, more than 100 people celebrated 20 years of SOLWODI Refuge Association in Koblenz and 30 years of SOLWODI. The summer festival, which was held in the Oberwerth sports school in Koblenz, took place
on the International Day to Abolish Slave Trade. "Does one still have to
mark this day?" Asked the first chairman of the society Prof. Ingeborg
Thümmel. "We think so. For today there are still people, mostly girls and
women who are forced to sell their bodies." They would not want a parallel
society in which the dignity of the individual is no longer true. This idea was
further touched upon by Sister Lea Ackermann, founder and director of
SOLWODI as she once again criticised the actions of Amnesty International to decriminalise prostitution worldwide. "Whoever turns women and
children into a commodity debases half of society," she said. At the same
time she expressed her gratitude to all volunteers, helpers and supporters,
because "30 years of SOLWODI would not have been possible without
you." Prof. Ingeborg Thümmel and Monika Hömberger presented Sister
Lea with a check in the amount of 5.000 Euros. Music from the Shama
Abbas band and Daweli Reinhardt—long-time supporters of SOLWODI—
accompanied the socialising.
Contact:
SOLWODI Deutschland e.V. / Propsteistraße 2 / D-56154 Boppard-Hirzenach
Tel: 0049 – (0)6741 – 2232 / Fax: 0049 – (0)6741 – 2310
Email: [email protected] http://www.solwodi.de
Bank Accounts
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