17 ms·

Refugees Welcome

208 points by rolux 11y ago

rolux 11y ago
Guardian article: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/01/berlin-group-behind-airbnb-for-refugees-overwhelmed-by-offers-of-help http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/01/berlin-group-be...
- rolux 11y ago
  And just for the record: I submitted this story under the title "Airbnb for refugees", with the quotes -- which I think might have yielded a more insightful discussion than the question of "Refugees welcome" (or not), to which the title was changed after an hour or so.
an4rchy 11y ago
Awesome idea! It would be great if airbnb did something like this... They already have the infrastructure in place, they could support NGOs etc and probably get a tax break!
- eadz 11y ago
  They have done something similar. In Australia they partnered with a local government to provide accommodation in an emergency. Press release: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/press/news/airbnb-partners-with-victorian-government-to-prepare-for-emergencies https://www.airbnb.co.uk/press/news/airbnb-partners-with-vic... But seeing AirBnB do something for refugees would be great.
estefan 11y ago
Bloody good luck getting them out again.
- djm_ 11y ago
  Thankfully, I don't think people with an attitude like that would take them in the first place.
  - estefan 11y ago
    Part of my job is contingency planning... The obvious thought is how nice and kind this all is, but what if after the 2 week honeymoon period you want the person to move out? It can happen with friends when someone needs to crash for a few weeks/month or so and people get tired of not living their normal lives, so why not with a stranger? If that person has literally nowhere else to go and no money, are you really going to kick them out on the street? If you ever let out a property or room in a property without a contract you're up the creek if you ever want to make them leave. But of course, people don't think about that at the start... So in that case, good luck getting them out.
    - gambiting 11y ago
      Well, unless you are 10 years old, you need to know how to accept responsibility. If you accept someone to live under your roof, you need to plan for a situation when they can't/won't move out. Similar to adopting a child - if you get tired of being a parent after two weeks, you can't just give the child back. I know some people who would be ok with living with a refugee. I know some people who wouldn't. I'm one of them too. But I think it's alright either way.
    - chki 11y ago
      The website gives at least some insight to that problem: >What happens if we don't get along? In this case the same will happen as in any other shared flat: You try to find a solution together - if necessary we will help out. A buddy accompanies each placement process as an additional contact person (more information sign up as a buddy). If this does not work, there is the possibility to dissolve the housing situation.
- DasIch 11y ago
  Why would anyone want to? Germany desperately needs immigration to keep up the economy and welfare system and overall immigrants pay more to Germany than they get out of it.
  - mrdodge 11y ago
    These people will not be net contributors to the system.
    - jacobush 11y ago
      I don't know about Germany but the average immigrant coming to Sweden currently has more education than the general population in Sweden. (11.5 years vs 11)
      - mrdodge 11y ago
        They are also unemployed at a far higher rate than the natives and cause many times for crime. Equating education levels from a broken state to Western European education levels is a false equivalency as well.
      - progx 11y ago
        People that emigrate to Sweden or fleeing People? And how good is the education, the study time give no conclusion about that?
      - dudul 11y ago
        Not sure what study you're referring to, but if it uses the term "immigrant" it probably merges refugees with "regular immigrants" - that is other EU citizens immigrating for work for example. Plus, going to school 6 more months doesn't mean that they are more employed. What are the numbers regarding refugees and unemployment for example?
      - draugadrotten 11y ago
        > I don't know about Germany but the average immigrant coming to Sweden currently has more education than the general population in Sweden. (11.5 years vs 11) reply This is simply false. Please provide a source for this claim, preferably SCB. Official statistics claim that Syrian refugees have 3 year university degree in 10% of cases, and the Swedish population have 24% a degree. Official statistics: http://www.scb.se/sv_/Hitta-statistik/Publiceringskalender/Visa-detaljerad-information/?publobjid=24489+ http://www.scb.se/sv_/Hitta-statistik/Publiceringskalender/V... Google translate can tell you more http://www.tino.us/2015/04/onsketankande-av-stefan-lofven-att-30-procent-av-syrier-har-hogskoleutbildning/ http://www.tino.us/2015/04/onsketankande-av-stefan-lofven-at... Please back this book - it will give some valuable insights. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2079803541/moral-superpower-a-book-on-immigration-by-tino-san/comments https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2079803541/moral-superp...
spindex 11y ago
This could be interesting. How much does a refugee cost? Will this refugee clean my house, cook dinner and tend to my garden? Do I need to interact with it or can I put my refugee in a separate part of the mansion?
- dombili 11y ago
  It's sad that you've created an account just to make this comment.
- ins0 11y ago
  We don't have space for this kind of sh*t you're posting
- dao- 11y ago
  If you're trying to say that the site's concept humiliates refugees, please be more specific as I don't see where it does that. If you're just trying to be funny, try harder, or better yet, just leave it alone.
sschueller 11y ago
I would like to see the US step up its process to accept refugees. Currently it takes 18 to 24 months for refuges to be able to get on a plane the US. The US has agreed to accept up to 70k refugees yet at this rate it will take for ever while Germany has hundreds of new refuges per day. [1] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/11/us-accept-thousands-syrian-refugees http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/11/us-accept-thous...
- bpodgursky 11y ago
  Your comment annoyed me enough that I looked through your history to find > That is what it was for me when I moved to the US from Switzerland. > Only then I realized that the way people live in Switzerland is not something you can take for granted and in the end made me move back. Since you don't live in the US anymore, please stick to trying to influence Swiss policy. Since you aren't going to have to deal with the consequences of a widely expanded US refugee policy.
  - 542458 11y ago
    That's an ad hominem. Rather than debating the merits of his suggestion, you're attacking his person. Furthermore, it's not unreasonable for people living in one country to have opinions on the policies of others, especially when it's something like taking in refugees which has strong influences on a global scale.
    - dropit_sphere 11y ago
      I don't think ad hominem is necessarily a bad thing in this case; we practice it as a society by not counting votes from 17-yr-olds based not on the merits of their ideas, but their persons. And in this specific case: citizenship and residency ought to give one's voice more weight.
      - 542458 11y ago
        For sure, but we're not counting votes, we discussing policy. In the case of discussion the goal is to hear many sides and opinions of the merits and drawbacks of an issue. Just like how in an election non-voting minors can still participate in debate, in a discussion of policy I think we should still hear the opinions of others.
imahboob 11y ago
This is brilliant!!
arxpoetica 11y ago
I love this.
dudul 11y ago
"However, we want to encourage you also to welcome irregular refugees." I know that in some countries this would be illegal, not sure about Germany though TBH. Edit: No sure why this got downvoted, especially considering the response by mtrn.
- mtrn 11y ago
  According to § 96 AufenthG it is illegal to aid people, who have no permit of residence and whose application for asylum has been denied. However, this is not as clear as it sounds, since emergency relief and humanitarian support is encouraged in general. However, as I read § 96 (I am no lawyer), it is slightly biased toward trafficking and the commercial aspect of the facilitation of illegal entry.
- ashleyp 11y ago
  Germany have already relaxed their restrictions and welcomed them.
zerolinesofcode 11y ago
The fact that skin color is used to represent refugees is a disappointment. Otherwise, it would be a great idea.
- jerf 11y ago
  Sorry, did you just complain that pictures of the refugees is properly representative of the real refugees in question? Should it be white? Japanese maybe? No pictures at all? Pretty sure you'd complain then too.
candl 11y ago
It "amazes" me why these "refugees" flock to Germany or Great Britain and not to their very wealthy brethren in countries such as Kuwaii, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Arab Emirates, etc... Same culture, same religion and they are much closer! It also amazes me why the EU leaders insist for other European countries to accept these "refugees" when the majority of EU countries is not responsible for this situation at all. Luckily there are some leaders out there that are not afraid of this stupid political correctness and they build fences on their borders because they know what this might lead to.
- ashleyp 11y ago
  Why cares who's responsible? They're humans. Arn't we all responsible for all humans on the planet?
  - jqm 11y ago
    I don't think we can be. Sadly.
  - gyardley 11y ago
    Whether we should be is up for debate, but no, I'm pretty sure we're not.
    - ashleyp 11y ago
      Who says we're not?
      - gyardley 11y ago
        The legal codes we're subject to, whether we are or we aren't. I believe in most locales people are responsible for their own children, but - and correct me if I'm wrong, happy to learn something - I don't think there's anything in there that makes anyone responsible for random strangers on the other side of the planet. Again, this doesn't have anything to do with whether we should be responsible for random strangers on the other side of the planet.
kcbanner 11y ago
Your strange scrolling webpage makes it hard to read the actual content without scrolling past. Why do people insist on using this broken scrolling behaviour.
- erikb 11y ago
  Scrolling works totally fine for me here.
- chbrown 11y ago
  I'm sure they did a lot of user testing and decided that their Javascript-powered scrolling mechanism was a better user experience than the default browser behavior of just moving up and down proportionally to your mouse wheel.
werber 11y ago
Cool idea, but is this a non profit?
- dao- 11y ago
  Yes, see http://www.refugees-welcome.net/#faq http://www.refugees-welcome.net/#faq 'Does this project make money with putting refugees in touch with flats?' 'No, “Refugees Welcome“ is a non-profit organisation. However, you can support our work with a donation to the association Mensch Mensch Mensch which carries this project. Our bank details are: Mensch Mensch Mensch e.V. IBAN: DE88430609671167120500 BIC: GENODEM1GLS We can provide donation receipts.'
  - werber 11y ago
    Awesome!
domrdy 11y ago
This is cool! Another interesting project I came across is workeer.de, which is a job board for refugees. It's interesting because refugees in Germany do not have a work permit. Great way to help people with technology.
jqm 11y ago
Maybe if the great powers weren't so busy playing geo-political chess by proxy there wouldn't be so many refugees. Syria was fairly stable before the west decided Assad should go. Syria was fairly stable before the west destabilized Iraq. This is the problem.
- dao- 11y ago
  edit: accidentally submitted too early, sorry. Syria was fairly stable until its people made demands and their leader responded with gun fire. Not sure where you see the role of "the West" in that escalation. Do you think the problem was that the West sneakily infected Syrian people with the absurd idea that they could have the same rights as people elsewhere? Or maybe that the West failed to support Syrian rebels when they begged for it, allowing Assad to go on fighting his people for years and IS and other jihadist groups to gain ground in the country?
  - jqm 11y ago
    Most Syrians supported Assad. Also, many of the militant revolutionaries were imported from other countries and supported/trained by foreign powers including the gulf states. Now we have ISIS which is simply an extension of that program that has maybe gotten a bit out of control. Foreign meddling caused this problem. Very simply.
    - dao- 11y ago
      > Most Syrians supported Assad. That's interesting. When exactly and according to what survey did most Syrians support Assad? Do they still support him today or if not, when did they stop?
      - deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
      - brl 11y ago
        Well there was this survey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_presidential_election,_2014 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_presidential_election,_... Also surveyed at that time were the million Syrian refugees living in Lebanon: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/05/28/this-is-what-the-syrian-election-looks-like-in-lebanon/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/05/28...
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
roymurdock 11y ago
I think this is a great idea. It's easy to hate the concept of immigration and, by extension, the thought of millions of immigrants pouring into your home country. In fact, we're hardwired to have an aversion to this idea. Humans have always formed small units such as families or tribes in order to compete with other humans for limited resources. Immigrants are easily lumped together into a menacing tribe of competitors. But when you host someone, they stop being "just another immigrant" and you can start to see them for what they were the whole time: a real person with a voice, a smile, sorrow, joy, tastes, quirks, humor, goals, and dreams. Empathy is crucial. It's not going to solve the larger problem of the millions of immigrants displaced by war or corrupt governance, but it probably will have a positive impact on thousands of lives, which is an awesome outcome for a small group of people looking to make a change through technology.
- d9h549f34w6 11y ago
  If humans are hardwired to be averse to "millions of immigrants pouring into your home country," why is that? Presumably you're referring to that aversion being chosen by natural selection. That suggests that we're less likely to have been descended from those who were more open to displacement by outside populations, and more likely to come from those who guarded their borders. Societies that don't keep barriers are less likely to pass on their genes or memes to the future. I'm assuming that the main difference between then and now is that an increase in resources means we can share freely with more "outsiders." Presumably resources aren't infinite, so what's the upper bound? How would we know?
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- Kalium 11y ago
  One thing to remember: there is a significant difference between feeling empathy for a person and being willing to devote resources to them I felt empathy for a beggar on the streets of San Francisco this morning. Yet my money stayed in my pocket. I have other uses for it.
powertower 11y ago
I really can't imagine anyone singing up for this except a few people. The recent waves or unchecked immigration has produced nothing but negative effects to the population, to such an extent that even recent immigrants themselves want the doors shut.
- masteryupa_ 11y ago
  "The recent waves or unchecked immigration has produced nothing but negative effects to the population..." Citation please.
  - dudul 11y ago
    Extremist/nationalist parties are on the rise pretty much everywhere in Europe. Isn't it usually a good indicator that people are greatly unhappy? Granted that immigration may not be the only factor it is the favorite theme of nationalist groups. Edit: I guess I'm being downvoted for not providing sources, my bad. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/20/world/europe/rise-of-far-right-party-in-denmark-reflects-europes-unease.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/20/world/europe/rise-of-far-r... http://wilsonquarterly.com/stories/what-explains-meteoric-rise-europes-radical-right/ http://wilsonquarterly.com/stories/what-explains-meteoric-ri... http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/15/far-right-threat-europe-integration http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/15/far-rig...
    - chki 11y ago
      I think it might be a good indicator that people are frightened, which is different.
      - dudul 11y ago
        Let's say unsatisfied then :) Either because they're unhappy or scared, in any case, they're not comfortable with the current immigration policies.
- rmxt 11y ago
jbssm 11y ago
Sincerely. I'm European, I'm from Euro zone. I walk in the streets in my country's capital at night and a see dozens of homeless hungry people just by walking a couple of Km. I just can't put my head around on why we should help the refugees before we help our own people. It just doesn't make any sense to me. We are giving millions to find houses for these refugees/migrants but we let our own live and die on the streets...
- mc32 11y ago
  Allowing refugees is a feel good band aid. Yes it does directly benefit those who gain asylum but it does nothing to help the majority left behind. The real solution is to make positive changes in their homelands, bg force if necessary. This dilly dallying helps no one except radicals bent on violence and the corrupt regimes and Russia's meddling. Europe needs to do something. Sometimes you do need violence to make things better, world war two has left a deep scar on Europe which has made it overly cautious and allergic to necessarily addressing unjust violence.
  - barrkel 11y ago
    Applied force in their homelands - often at our (the West's) hands - is exactly what is driving many of these migrants.
    - mc32 11y ago
      You're talking about past action. I mean at this moment. Assad and daesh are the ones which need to be addressed.
      - tomjakubowski 11y ago
        I'm reminded of that children's story, "The Girl Who Swallowed A Fly."
  - dba7dba 11y ago
    And the refugees would MUCH MUCH prefer to be in their own homeland with their family/friends/culture.
s3nnyy 11y ago
>> Only then I realized that the way people live in Switzerland is not something you can take for granted and in the end made me move back. I agree. I lived in Germany for 20 years, now I live in Zurich and can't be any happier. Check out my post "Eight reasons why I moved to Switzerland" https://medium.com/@iwaninzurich/eight-reasons-why-i-moved-to-switzerland-to-work-in-it-c7ac18af4f90 https://medium.com/@iwaninzurich/eight-reasons-why-i-moved-t... btw.: Switzerland also takes refugees, but because they want to, not because they are forced by the EU.
- tobltobs 11y ago
  > Switzerland also takes refugees But only those with more than 10 Million $ in their pockets. But now seriously, Switzerland is NOT taking any noticeable number of refugees. In the current political situation a suggestion to take refuges would be suicide for every politican.
  - cylinder 11y ago
    Switzerland has been taking far more per-capita than other European nations. Understandably they recently tightened.
    - tobltobs 11y ago
      Could it be that you confuse refuges with expats and working immigrants? Similar to Mörgeli?
      - tormeh 11y ago
        Nah, according to http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/09/daily-chart http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/09/daily-c... Switzerland is exemplary on a per-capita basis.
        tobltobs 11y ago
        I think you should read this article again. It is talking about the acceptance rate. It means a country which would only take one refuge and accept his asylum request would be on the top of this list. But yeah, details and facts are not the most important thing for our friends from the SVP.
ausjke 11y ago
Is this the Arab-Spring ripple effect or should I say, aftermath? This is a good Humanitarianism move, it eventually will boil down to education, job, welfare however, the government needs to be prepared. Due to the huge inequality of birth rate among different races/religions, I foresee gradually the Arabic population will take over Europe, over probably one or two hundred years that is. Similar thing will happen in USA, with the Latino will become majority, over time that is. It's all math and physics, the entropy and chaos theory, it's nature force.
- jbssm 11y ago
  Latino don't live in closed communities. The often marry and have kids with the other local communities and there is very little prejudice about that from both parts. The real separation between communities in this case is socio-economic. With Muslims though, it's an all different story, so, yes, it will probably have social consequences in the future.
niggerbasher 11y ago
ooga booga
niggerbasher 11y ago
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niggerbasher 11y ago
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niggerbasher 11y ago
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niggerbasher 11y ago
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explorigin 11y ago
This seems potentially dangerous to me. As someone with experience dealing with refugees, they often go through untold horrors in their journey. They often need counselling, friendship, purpose (often in the form of employment). It's good that they have this "refugee buddy" concept but it's not clear to me from their website if there is adequate support for the volunteer if they have to deal with these needs. Each volunteer should consider carefully if they are able to meet these needs and fill these roles (triply so if you have children). If everything works out, this could be very rewarding for everyone. If not, it could be catastrophic.
theworstshill 11y ago
80% of these refugees should be accepted by the US, after all, if you give weaponry to various "free" syrian armies to cause havoc in the region, you should take responsibility to take care of the humanitarian disaster that results. The other 20% - UK, France and Germany, whoever dumped weapons on that region. Unpopular as it is - the middle east was doing much better under strong dictators. They had civilization going for thousands of years, and an attempt to change the regional order from the outside was a fatal mistake. Do the right thing and accept them, also don't forget build a couple of mosques near your house. At least in theory.
- michaelbuddy 11y ago
  Interesting idea. But the "U.S." isn't giving these countries weapons. Various people from the U.S. may be doing that, I know that U.S. citizens (those of which any refugees would suddenly be living next to) didn't vote to give weapons to Syrian armies. But if you have proof of it (and I'm not saying you don't) you've then got to find out how the deal was made. Also you want to blame the gun sellers and not the gun shooters. I get what you're trying to do. In your mind, before Europe and the U.S. (before white people) the middle east was paradise blah blah. And Western countries are intent to simply destabilize everything right, to some end. What I don't understand is the millions of refugees are somehow not able to form their own country. What army in the world now has as many as these of age male refugees? If we are to welcome these refugees, we'd be assuming that they can melt into the shared values of the culture, follow the rules, etc. And if we assume that, then we can assume they can cooperate amongst themselves. So why are they not doing so and forming a peaceful country? Hmm, well maybe we have been BUT it hasn't worked out well.
  - turar 11y ago
    It's not even about the weapons. The root cause of this situation is the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
    - jacobush 11y ago
      Yes. The invasion, if it had to be done, which could have been handled a lot better than it was. Which is to say, it was not handled at all. "We won. Now what."
lexcorvus 11y ago
What could possibly go wrong?
prodmerc 11y ago
It's a good thing they're doing here. I wish there was something like this for migrant workers, who often get treated as bad or even worse than refugees by their employers (yes, even in Germany)...
vishalzone2002 11y ago
related : http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/more-than-11000-icelanders-offer-to-house-syrian-refugees-to-help-european-crisis-10480505.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/more-than-110...

208 points by rolux 11y ago

rolux 11y ago

Guardian article: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/01/berlin-group-behind-airbnb-for-refugees-overwhelmed-by-offers-of-help http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/01/berlin-group-be...

rolux 11y ago
And just for the record: I submitted this story under the title "Airbnb for refugees", with the quotes -- which I think might have yielded a more insightful discussion than the question of "Refugees welcome" (or not), to which the title was changed after an hour or so.

an4rchy 11y ago

Awesome idea! It would be great if airbnb did something like this... They already have the infrastructure in place, they could support NGOs etc and probably get a tax break!

eadz 11y ago
They have done something similar. In Australia they partnered with a local government to provide accommodation in an emergency. Press release: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/press/news/airbnb-partners-with-victorian-government-to-prepare-for-emergencies https://www.airbnb.co.uk/press/news/airbnb-partners-with-vic... But seeing AirBnB do something for refugees would be great.

estefan 11y ago

Bloody good luck getting them out again.

djm_ 11y ago
Thankfully, I don't think people with an attitude like that would take them in the first place.
- estefan 11y ago
  Part of my job is contingency planning... The obvious thought is how nice and kind this all is, but what if after the 2 week honeymoon period you want the person to move out? It can happen with friends when someone needs to crash for a few weeks/month or so and people get tired of not living their normal lives, so why not with a stranger? If that person has literally nowhere else to go and no money, are you really going to kick them out on the street? If you ever let out a property or room in a property without a contract you're up the creek if you ever want to make them leave. But of course, people don't think about that at the start... So in that case, good luck getting them out.
  - gambiting 11y ago
    Well, unless you are 10 years old, you need to know how to accept responsibility. If you accept someone to live under your roof, you need to plan for a situation when they can't/won't move out. Similar to adopting a child - if you get tired of being a parent after two weeks, you can't just give the child back. I know some people who would be ok with living with a refugee. I know some people who wouldn't. I'm one of them too. But I think it's alright either way.
  - chki 11y ago
    The website gives at least some insight to that problem: >What happens if we don't get along? In this case the same will happen as in any other shared flat: You try to find a solution together - if necessary we will help out. A buddy accompanies each placement process as an additional contact person (more information sign up as a buddy). If this does not work, there is the possibility to dissolve the housing situation.
DasIch 11y ago
Why would anyone want to? Germany desperately needs immigration to keep up the economy and welfare system and overall immigrants pay more to Germany than they get out of it.
- mrdodge 11y ago
  These people will not be net contributors to the system.
  - jacobush 11y ago
    I don't know about Germany but the average immigrant coming to Sweden currently has more education than the general population in Sweden. (11.5 years vs 11)
    - mrdodge 11y ago
      They are also unemployed at a far higher rate than the natives and cause many times for crime. Equating education levels from a broken state to Western European education levels is a false equivalency as well.
    - progx 11y ago
      People that emigrate to Sweden or fleeing People? And how good is the education, the study time give no conclusion about that?
    - dudul 11y ago
      Not sure what study you're referring to, but if it uses the term "immigrant" it probably merges refugees with "regular immigrants" - that is other EU citizens immigrating for work for example. Plus, going to school 6 more months doesn't mean that they are more employed. What are the numbers regarding refugees and unemployment for example?
    - draugadrotten 11y ago
      > I don't know about Germany but the average immigrant coming to Sweden currently has more education than the general population in Sweden. (11.5 years vs 11) reply This is simply false. Please provide a source for this claim, preferably SCB. Official statistics claim that Syrian refugees have 3 year university degree in 10% of cases, and the Swedish population have 24% a degree. Official statistics: http://www.scb.se/sv_/Hitta-statistik/Publiceringskalender/Visa-detaljerad-information/?publobjid=24489+ http://www.scb.se/sv_/Hitta-statistik/Publiceringskalender/V... Google translate can tell you more http://www.tino.us/2015/04/onsketankande-av-stefan-lofven-att-30-procent-av-syrier-har-hogskoleutbildning/ http://www.tino.us/2015/04/onsketankande-av-stefan-lofven-at... Please back this book - it will give some valuable insights. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2079803541/moral-superpower-a-book-on-immigration-by-tino-san/comments https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2079803541/moral-superp...

spindex 11y ago

This could be interesting. How much does a refugee cost? Will this refugee clean my house, cook dinner and tend to my garden? Do I need to interact with it or can I put my refugee in a separate part of the mansion?

dombili 11y ago
It's sad that you've created an account just to make this comment.
ins0 11y ago
We don't have space for this kind of sh*t you're posting
dao- 11y ago
If you're trying to say that the site's concept humiliates refugees, please be more specific as I don't see where it does that. If you're just trying to be funny, try harder, or better yet, just leave it alone.

sschueller 11y ago

I would like to see the US step up its process to accept refugees. Currently it takes 18 to 24 months for refuges to be able to get on a plane the US. The US has agreed to accept up to 70k refugees yet at this rate it will take for ever while Germany has hundreds of new refuges per day. [1] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/11/us-accept-thousands-syrian-refugees http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/11/us-accept-thous...

bpodgursky 11y ago
Your comment annoyed me enough that I looked through your history to find > That is what it was for me when I moved to the US from Switzerland. > Only then I realized that the way people live in Switzerland is not something you can take for granted and in the end made me move back. Since you don't live in the US anymore, please stick to trying to influence Swiss policy. Since you aren't going to have to deal with the consequences of a widely expanded US refugee policy.
- 542458 11y ago
  That's an ad hominem. Rather than debating the merits of his suggestion, you're attacking his person. Furthermore, it's not unreasonable for people living in one country to have opinions on the policies of others, especially when it's something like taking in refugees which has strong influences on a global scale.
  - dropit_sphere 11y ago
    I don't think ad hominem is necessarily a bad thing in this case; we practice it as a society by not counting votes from 17-yr-olds based not on the merits of their ideas, but their persons. And in this specific case: citizenship and residency ought to give one's voice more weight.
    - 542458 11y ago
      For sure, but we're not counting votes, we discussing policy. In the case of discussion the goal is to hear many sides and opinions of the merits and drawbacks of an issue. Just like how in an election non-voting minors can still participate in debate, in a discussion of policy I think we should still hear the opinions of others.

imahboob 11y ago

This is brilliant!!

arxpoetica 11y ago

I love this.

dudul 11y ago

"However, we want to encourage you also to welcome irregular refugees." I know that in some countries this would be illegal, not sure about Germany though TBH. Edit: No sure why this got downvoted, especially considering the response by mtrn.

mtrn 11y ago
According to § 96 AufenthG it is illegal to aid people, who have no permit of residence and whose application for asylum has been denied. However, this is not as clear as it sounds, since emergency relief and humanitarian support is encouraged in general. However, as I read § 96 (I am no lawyer), it is slightly biased toward trafficking and the commercial aspect of the facilitation of illegal entry.
ashleyp 11y ago
Germany have already relaxed their restrictions and welcomed them.

zerolinesofcode 11y ago

The fact that skin color is used to represent refugees is a disappointment. Otherwise, it would be a great idea.

jerf 11y ago
Sorry, did you just complain that pictures of the refugees is properly representative of the real refugees in question? Should it be white? Japanese maybe? No pictures at all? Pretty sure you'd complain then too.

candl 11y ago

It "amazes" me why these "refugees" flock to Germany or Great Britain and not to their very wealthy brethren in countries such as Kuwaii, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Arab Emirates, etc... Same culture, same religion and they are much closer! It also amazes me why the EU leaders insist for other European countries to accept these "refugees" when the majority of EU countries is not responsible for this situation at all. Luckily there are some leaders out there that are not afraid of this stupid political correctness and they build fences on their borders because they know what this might lead to.

ashleyp 11y ago
Why cares who's responsible? They're humans. Arn't we all responsible for all humans on the planet?
- jqm 11y ago
  I don't think we can be. Sadly.
- gyardley 11y ago
  Whether we should be is up for debate, but no, I'm pretty sure we're not.
  - ashleyp 11y ago
    Who says we're not?
    - gyardley 11y ago
      The legal codes we're subject to, whether we are or we aren't. I believe in most locales people are responsible for their own children, but - and correct me if I'm wrong, happy to learn something - I don't think there's anything in there that makes anyone responsible for random strangers on the other side of the planet. Again, this doesn't have anything to do with whether we should be responsible for random strangers on the other side of the planet.

kcbanner 11y ago

Your strange scrolling webpage makes it hard to read the actual content without scrolling past. Why do people insist on using this broken scrolling behaviour.

erikb 11y ago
Scrolling works totally fine for me here.
chbrown 11y ago
I'm sure they did a lot of user testing and decided that their Javascript-powered scrolling mechanism was a better user experience than the default browser behavior of just moving up and down proportionally to your mouse wheel.

werber 11y ago

Cool idea, but is this a non profit?

dao- 11y ago
Yes, see http://www.refugees-welcome.net/#faq http://www.refugees-welcome.net/#faq 'Does this project make money with putting refugees in touch with flats?' 'No, “Refugees Welcome“ is a non-profit organisation. However, you can support our work with a donation to the association Mensch Mensch Mensch which carries this project. Our bank details are: Mensch Mensch Mensch e.V. IBAN: DE88430609671167120500 BIC: GENODEM1GLS We can provide donation receipts.'
- werber 11y ago
  Awesome!

domrdy 11y ago

This is cool! Another interesting project I came across is workeer.de, which is a job board for refugees. It's interesting because refugees in Germany do not have a work permit. Great way to help people with technology.

jqm 11y ago

Maybe if the great powers weren't so busy playing geo-political chess by proxy there wouldn't be so many refugees. Syria was fairly stable before the west decided Assad should go. Syria was fairly stable before the west destabilized Iraq. This is the problem.

dao- 11y ago
edit: accidentally submitted too early, sorry. Syria was fairly stable until its people made demands and their leader responded with gun fire. Not sure where you see the role of "the West" in that escalation. Do you think the problem was that the West sneakily infected Syrian people with the absurd idea that they could have the same rights as people elsewhere? Or maybe that the West failed to support Syrian rebels when they begged for it, allowing Assad to go on fighting his people for years and IS and other jihadist groups to gain ground in the country?
- jqm 11y ago
  Most Syrians supported Assad. Also, many of the militant revolutionaries were imported from other countries and supported/trained by foreign powers including the gulf states. Now we have ISIS which is simply an extension of that program that has maybe gotten a bit out of control. Foreign meddling caused this problem. Very simply.
  - dao- 11y ago
    > Most Syrians supported Assad. That's interesting. When exactly and according to what survey did most Syrians support Assad? Do they still support him today or if not, when did they stop?
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
    - brl 11y ago
      Well there was this survey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_presidential_election,_2014 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_presidential_election,_... Also surveyed at that time were the million Syrian refugees living in Lebanon: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/05/28/this-is-what-the-syrian-election-looks-like-in-lebanon/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/05/28...

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

roymurdock 11y ago

I think this is a great idea. It's easy to hate the concept of immigration and, by extension, the thought of millions of immigrants pouring into your home country. In fact, we're hardwired to have an aversion to this idea. Humans have always formed small units such as families or tribes in order to compete with other humans for limited resources. Immigrants are easily lumped together into a menacing tribe of competitors. But when you host someone, they stop being "just another immigrant" and you can start to see them for what they were the whole time: a real person with a voice, a smile, sorrow, joy, tastes, quirks, humor, goals, and dreams. Empathy is crucial. It's not going to solve the larger problem of the millions of immigrants displaced by war or corrupt governance, but it probably will have a positive impact on thousands of lives, which is an awesome outcome for a small group of people looking to make a change through technology.

d9h549f34w6 11y ago
If humans are hardwired to be averse to "millions of immigrants pouring into your home country," why is that? Presumably you're referring to that aversion being chosen by natural selection. That suggests that we're less likely to have been descended from those who were more open to displacement by outside populations, and more likely to come from those who guarded their borders. Societies that don't keep barriers are less likely to pass on their genes or memes to the future. I'm assuming that the main difference between then and now is that an increase in resources means we can share freely with more "outsiders." Presumably resources aren't infinite, so what's the upper bound? How would we know?
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
Kalium 11y ago
One thing to remember: there is a significant difference between feeling empathy for a person and being willing to devote resources to them I felt empathy for a beggar on the streets of San Francisco this morning. Yet my money stayed in my pocket. I have other uses for it.

powertower 11y ago

I really can't imagine anyone singing up for this except a few people. The recent waves or unchecked immigration has produced nothing but negative effects to the population, to such an extent that even recent immigrants themselves want the doors shut.

masteryupa_ 11y ago
"The recent waves or unchecked immigration has produced nothing but negative effects to the population..." Citation please.
- dudul 11y ago
  Extremist/nationalist parties are on the rise pretty much everywhere in Europe. Isn't it usually a good indicator that people are greatly unhappy? Granted that immigration may not be the only factor it is the favorite theme of nationalist groups. Edit: I guess I'm being downvoted for not providing sources, my bad. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/20/world/europe/rise-of-far-right-party-in-denmark-reflects-europes-unease.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/20/world/europe/rise-of-far-r... http://wilsonquarterly.com/stories/what-explains-meteoric-rise-europes-radical-right/ http://wilsonquarterly.com/stories/what-explains-meteoric-ri... http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/15/far-right-threat-europe-integration http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/15/far-rig...
  - chki 11y ago
    I think it might be a good indicator that people are frightened, which is different.
    - dudul 11y ago
      Let's say unsatisfied then :) Either because they're unhappy or scared, in any case, they're not comfortable with the current immigration policies.
rmxt 11y ago

jbssm 11y ago

Sincerely. I'm European, I'm from Euro zone. I walk in the streets in my country's capital at night and a see dozens of homeless hungry people just by walking a couple of Km. I just can't put my head around on why we should help the refugees before we help our own people. It just doesn't make any sense to me. We are giving millions to find houses for these refugees/migrants but we let our own live and die on the streets...

mc32 11y ago
Allowing refugees is a feel good band aid. Yes it does directly benefit those who gain asylum but it does nothing to help the majority left behind. The real solution is to make positive changes in their homelands, bg force if necessary. This dilly dallying helps no one except radicals bent on violence and the corrupt regimes and Russia's meddling. Europe needs to do something. Sometimes you do need violence to make things better, world war two has left a deep scar on Europe which has made it overly cautious and allergic to necessarily addressing unjust violence.
- barrkel 11y ago
  Applied force in their homelands - often at our (the West's) hands - is exactly what is driving many of these migrants.
  - mc32 11y ago
    You're talking about past action. I mean at this moment. Assad and daesh are the ones which need to be addressed.
    - tomjakubowski 11y ago
      I'm reminded of that children's story, "The Girl Who Swallowed A Fly."
- dba7dba 11y ago
  And the refugees would MUCH MUCH prefer to be in their own homeland with their family/friends/culture.

s3nnyy 11y ago

>> Only then I realized that the way people live in Switzerland is not something you can take for granted and in the end made me move back. I agree. I lived in Germany for 20 years, now I live in Zurich and can't be any happier. Check out my post "Eight reasons why I moved to Switzerland" https://medium.com/@iwaninzurich/eight-reasons-why-i-moved-to-switzerland-to-work-in-it-c7ac18af4f90 https://medium.com/@iwaninzurich/eight-reasons-why-i-moved-t... btw.: Switzerland also takes refugees, but because they want to, not because they are forced by the EU.

tobltobs 11y ago
> Switzerland also takes refugees But only those with more than 10 Million $ in their pockets. But now seriously, Switzerland is NOT taking any noticeable number of refugees. In the current political situation a suggestion to take refuges would be suicide for every politican.
- cylinder 11y ago
  Switzerland has been taking far more per-capita than other European nations. Understandably they recently tightened.
  - tobltobs 11y ago
    Could it be that you confuse refuges with expats and working immigrants? Similar to Mörgeli?
    - tormeh 11y ago
      Nah, according to http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/09/daily-chart http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/09/daily-c... Switzerland is exemplary on a per-capita basis.
      - tobltobs 11y ago
        I think you should read this article again. It is talking about the acceptance rate. It means a country which would only take one refuge and accept his asylum request would be on the top of this list. But yeah, details and facts are not the most important thing for our friends from the SVP.

ausjke 11y ago

Is this the Arab-Spring ripple effect or should I say, aftermath? This is a good Humanitarianism move, it eventually will boil down to education, job, welfare however, the government needs to be prepared. Due to the huge inequality of birth rate among different races/religions, I foresee gradually the Arabic population will take over Europe, over probably one or two hundred years that is. Similar thing will happen in USA, with the Latino will become majority, over time that is. It's all math and physics, the entropy and chaos theory, it's nature force.

jbssm 11y ago
Latino don't live in closed communities. The often marry and have kids with the other local communities and there is very little prejudice about that from both parts. The real separation between communities in this case is socio-economic. With Muslims though, it's an all different story, so, yes, it will probably have social consequences in the future.

niggerbasher 11y ago

ooga booga

niggerbasher 11y ago

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niggerbasher 11y ago

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niggerbasher 11y ago

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niggerbasher 11y ago

http://imgchili.net/show/66103/66103729_xxq9vc2.jpg http://imgchili.net/show/66103/66103729_xxq9vc2.jpg

explorigin 11y ago

This seems potentially dangerous to me. As someone with experience dealing with refugees, they often go through untold horrors in their journey. They often need counselling, friendship, purpose (often in the form of employment). It's good that they have this "refugee buddy" concept but it's not clear to me from their website if there is adequate support for the volunteer if they have to deal with these needs. Each volunteer should consider carefully if they are able to meet these needs and fill these roles (triply so if you have children). If everything works out, this could be very rewarding for everyone. If not, it could be catastrophic.

theworstshill 11y ago

80% of these refugees should be accepted by the US, after all, if you give weaponry to various "free" syrian armies to cause havoc in the region, you should take responsibility to take care of the humanitarian disaster that results. The other 20% - UK, France and Germany, whoever dumped weapons on that region. Unpopular as it is - the middle east was doing much better under strong dictators. They had civilization going for thousands of years, and an attempt to change the regional order from the outside was a fatal mistake. Do the right thing and accept them, also don't forget build a couple of mosques near your house. At least in theory.

michaelbuddy 11y ago
Interesting idea. But the "U.S." isn't giving these countries weapons. Various people from the U.S. may be doing that, I know that U.S. citizens (those of which any refugees would suddenly be living next to) didn't vote to give weapons to Syrian armies. But if you have proof of it (and I'm not saying you don't) you've then got to find out how the deal was made. Also you want to blame the gun sellers and not the gun shooters. I get what you're trying to do. In your mind, before Europe and the U.S. (before white people) the middle east was paradise blah blah. And Western countries are intent to simply destabilize everything right, to some end. What I don't understand is the millions of refugees are somehow not able to form their own country. What army in the world now has as many as these of age male refugees? If we are to welcome these refugees, we'd be assuming that they can melt into the shared values of the culture, follow the rules, etc. And if we assume that, then we can assume they can cooperate amongst themselves. So why are they not doing so and forming a peaceful country? Hmm, well maybe we have been BUT it hasn't worked out well.
- turar 11y ago
  It's not even about the weapons. The root cause of this situation is the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
  - jacobush 11y ago
    Yes. The invasion, if it had to be done, which could have been handled a lot better than it was. Which is to say, it was not handled at all. "We won. Now what."

lexcorvus 11y ago

What could possibly go wrong?

prodmerc 11y ago

It's a good thing they're doing here. I wish there was something like this for migrant workers, who often get treated as bad or even worse than refugees by their employers (yes, even in Germany)...

vishalzone2002 11y ago

related : http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/more-than-11000-icelanders-offer-to-house-syrian-refugees-to-help-european-crisis-10480505.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/more-than-110...