The idyllic Sundaycafé in Jabel

Dijwar checking on his birds

We want to talk to a participant of the Voluntary Year for Refugees and are driving to Heiligengrabe, Jabel. You can only get here by car. The idyllic town street is cobbled, a church is standing in the middle. Here, Petra Puls owns a café and a partly preserved farmhouse. When stepping on the premises, we immediately notice the endless flowers and plants.

Petra greets us warmly and introduces us to Dijwar, 30 years old and from Syria - or as he puts it - Kurdistan. First we have some tea and chitchat. We notice how well and fluent Dijwar already speaks German.

Then we are shown around the farmhouse with all its animals. Dijwar loves birds and has different cages for quails, chicken, doves and other birds. He also is breeding rabbits. Dijwar tells us with sparkling eyes about his homeland, where he also had many animals.

The atmosphere is relaxed and caring. Dijwar has become part of the family. At the same time Dijwar knows that his residency permit is only valid until May 2018. He emphasizes that he wants to stay in Germany, that he wants to work and that he feels at home here. He even has a job as a Arabic teacher at the school in Neuruppin. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hope that more people are interested in his story!