We support refugees in Berlin
The volunteer refugee coordinators of the Technology Park Adlershof
Kezban Saritas und Ralph Langanke have made a great team and have been supporting the integration of refugees in Adlershof for more than six months. They host the monthly “International Evening”, a platform for bringing people together, coordinate support, and promote sponsorships for refugees. Both tackle this vast undertaking next to their full-time jobs at WISTA-MANAGEMENT GMBH (WISTA). Saritas is an economist by training and runs the Centre for Photovoltaics and Renewable Energies, Langanke is the project director of InkuLab, an incubator laboratory for chemistry start-ups. Giving hope and trying to motivate the refugees is a matter of the heart for Saritas, who is working to become even more multilingual, and Ralph Langanke, who is mechanical engineer who loves to shake a leg after work.
Do you remember your first encounter with immigrants?
Saritas: I’m a Turkish-born immigrant myself. I came to Dortmund through family reunification when I was nine and was part of a “welcome class” at school where I quickly learned German. Nevertheless, the feeling of being different was part of me for a long time.
Langanke: In the mid-1990s, I was curious and went to a camp organized by a foundation called Stiftung Weltethos. A multi-religious group of Jews, Christians, and Muslims got together in the mountains of Tyrol. We had long discussions on the concept of tolerance which changed my perspective on people and religions. Immigration was also an issue when I studied educational science at the Technical University Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
When did you have the idea to host the “International Evening“?
Saritas: It was in November 2015 at the Lunch Club hosted by Forum Adlershof. We wanted to tackle the refugee issue proactively and so we asked ourselves: how can the people of Adlershof come together and help? We also wanted to show our colours as the operating company of the site. Several members of Forum Adlershof co-initiated the project and are helping to run it. The core team includes the attorney Ulrich Zacharias, Ralph Langanke, and me.
Langanke: At the beginning we looked around and gathered information: which emergency shelters are located in and around the Technology Park? Are there other support initiatives already in place?
What is the aim of the “International Evening“?
Langanke: Our focus is on the integration of refugees into the job and education market. We invite refugees from shelters in the Treptow-Köpenick district and potential employers from the Technology Park and facilitate networking activities. We have developed a questionnaire which helps to ascertain the applicants’ qualifications, language skills, and the jobs they want.
Has this been successful so far?
Saritas: The networking efforts have been fruitful, but a number of requirements have to be met before a refugee can be employed. Patience is one of them. The Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft and the company AEMtec GmbH have already been successful. I know several Adlershof-based companies are planning to take on refugees this year. The WISTA company cluster is also determined to take on two refugees as trainees.
Langanke: The project is increasingly attracting attention: we are getting many inquiries for cooperation and a lot of people from other areas are joining in.
What have you gained from working with refugees?
Saritas: It is a lot of work, but I want to leave marks in the now for the future and give the people motivation and optimism.
Langanke: We are living in a time of great upheavals. I find our approach intriguing, because we are opening up new pathways for people. This includes being open-minded towards different cultures and to learn from one another.
What do you do in your free time?
Saritas: I have been doing a crash course to become an energy manager on the side and didn’t have time for anything else. Whenever I did have time, I spent it with my 7-year-old daughter. I still have many hobbies including learning languages. Apart from Turkish, German, and English, I speak some Italian and Spanish. Now I’m teaching myself French. Languages connect people – that’s important to me.
Langanke: I play a lot of beach volleyball and love dancing, especially tango and salsa. I am also passionate about photography.
By Sylvia Nitschke for Adlershof Journal