As millions of refugees flee embattled Syria and Iraq from violence of ISIS, they find themselves with little to nothing of what they once called home. While refugees struggle to regain some sort of normalcy and establish themselves in new countries, they also wrestle with maintaining their cultural identity. Now some museums in Germany have stepped in with a small but admirable way to help bridge a tiny piece of that gap.
About two months ago, Berlin’s Museum of Islamic Art started a program to train and hire refugees from Syria and Iraq to lead tours of the Middle Eastern artifacts, something that would allow refugees to both earn a wage and allow them to stay connected with their history and culture. The refugees learn more about the intricacies of their own ancient cultures and share the story of their homeland with foreigners, something that could also pave the way for mutual understanding as Germans adjust to the influx of immigrants.
Officials at the museum quickly began the search for funding for the project and found it in state sponsorship and private funds. Robert Winkler, the product manager for the initiative, told Modern Notion that the program was specifically designed to give refugees a new career trajectory, but also pay them equal wages as any other worker. The workers’ status as refugees made it complicated for the museum to pay them, but after a brief stint navigating German bureaucracy, the museum found a way to make it work.
Right now the program is in its fifth week, and out of a total of 25 people initially interested in the program, there is a team of 19 people at the Berlin museum, 18 from Syria and one from Iraq. They come from a whole host of backgrounds, from classically trained experts you’d expect in a museum, like archeologists and historians, to lawyers, artists, architects and engineers. Winkler told Modern Notion that so far the program has been a success, “They all have a very unique way of seeing and talking about the museums objects, and we all learn from each other. It’s great.”
Though a new initiative four museums in Germany have already committed to the training program. As Stefan Weber, the Museum of Islamic Art’s director, told the AP, “They have to start right at the bottom rung of the ladder to find a way into Germany society. When you’ve lost everything, you shouldn’t lose your cultural identity as well.”
Hopefully, it’s the first of many initiatives that will help the millions of refugees adjust to a new life in a new land.
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