"You are always in the right place"
Vesna has been living
in Germany for two years. She is from Sarajevo, Bosnia. Four 19 years ago the
war in Bosnia ended, making things very different. She became a woman with a
strong conscience.
She is a 37 year old
kindergarten teacher. Her passion is to work with children. Living in another
country is not easy because she is surrounded by poverty but she always has a
smile on her face and lives with a positive attitude.
Vesna arrived
in Stuttgart in 2013, her financial situation isn’t the best since she came here as a volunteer. Now
she is unemployed but she would still like to live here..."In Germany you can be a normal person and
have a normal life, It is not like in my
own country. I am not a rich person so I must to work to live ".
Her family
came to join her the last summer and now they are looking at options to start a
new life in Germany together. At the moment she has some problems with
documentation and she is waiting for this to be resolved. Her husband and
daughter have Croatian passports, so they can stay easier than she can. The
problem is also that her husband can’t speak German and so is really difficult for
him to find a job.
"When I
arrived here in Stuttgart, I realized that I wanted to work and live here
because you can live a "normal" life. You can work here! And I also
want that my daughter and my husband have more skills for their future. "
As volunteer,
Vesna receives just 360 euros per Month and this isn’t enough for her family,
she is waiting to get permission to work here because her country is not part
of EU. Her situation makes her poor in
the Germanstate even she has help from her Organization, International Bund
(IB). She has a small flat, health insurance plus this “pocket money”. But for
her this is better than the situation in Bosnian.
Perspective...
What thinks Vesna Filipovic about this topic:
The gap between the rich and the poor.
What does Poverty mean to you?
I am coming
from a Country where there was a War, it finished over 19 years ago and I was
so relieved, all of that poverty without food, electricity, basic possessions
and so many other awful things.
The last thing
I witnessed of poverty was during the war, when I was outside walking on the
street one mother was trying to find some food and some drink for her baby. The
child was really hungry and I just heard him cry all the time. She didn't find
food , just a little water but this contained algae or chemicals that could be
really dangerous for the child’s health. It was really sad because even after
seeing that, the mother tried to clean it a little and drink a little so she
could give it to her baby.This was shocking for me and I think in my country we
have a really high rate of poverty.
The war in Bosnia
happened 19 years ago...And even now the situation is getting worse and worse
every day, this is the reason I think that poverty is when you don't have work!
To have a work is everything for humans! Work is everything!
Does Germany have a poverty problem?
The first
thing what I think of about poor people here are people on the street, begging
for money or people with alcohol issues, but actually I really don't know the percentage
of poor people here in Germany. In the other way I think, if you are poor
person in Germany that’s bad because you have other kinds of problems with
health and education. They don´t know how to find a good job or they have a
health problem (mental or physical). But I also think they have a good system
for these kind of people too. So I think they don't have Poor people! It's just
if they don't have enough money that could also mean that they don't want to
work!
They even have
this well developed social system which take care about it. It is always some
choice whether they work or not.
Which kind of people do you think are poor here?
People with
health problems but I think the government has some kind of social help for
them.
During my
seminars in my volunteer year in Stuttgart I visited a place where poor people
can live but I saw people have problems with drugs and alcohol, or people who
are not educated enough or unable torealize how their system works or how the
system can work for them. If they can change their mentality or fix their
personal problems I believe in Germany poverty will no longer exist here.
What do you think about German Economic Model?
The system is
excellent! If someone doesn't work they have social help in money for food a
place to sleep, their own flat, but if we considered that they are poor people
than we have so many of them.
But if they
are living on social benefits I can´t understand how they can be poor.
Does everyone have the same opportunities in the German society?
I think in
Germany everyone have the same opportunities! The system makes you more involved
in education, and then jobs are hopefully more available to you. It is not only
that they help you with food, if you are part of the system, it doesn't matter
if you don't ask for help, the government system ask you and try to find a job
for you.
And that counts even for me or other people from
overseas. Now I am here and I have opportunities to finish my paperwork to work
so there is always a way if you want it!
The German economic system is good and gives everyone the
same chances in society.
What
does money mean to you?
Money means work. It is an opportunity to earn money
for basic things in live. You need money for basic things in your life, to buy
food to pay your rent, to help your relatives....but I think in Germany people
obsess around the idea of how much money your earn!
