Day 17 - Mohamad´s First Day At School - November 30th

Sunday night I started my second school cone. This time for Mohamad who was a few years older than Diar, he was 14 years old. I decided to make him the exact same school cone. All Rasoul children are precious to me and regardless of their age, I wanted them to receive the same school cone. Once a child, always a child. :)

There I was, rolling and cutting, sticking the cardboard together, adding some orange and yellow crepe paper as well as writing Mohamad´s name on the cardboard with a golden pen. I was excited and joyful about his first day at school.

When I was finally done tinkering the school cone, I started to fill it with candy when I suddenly realized that I did not have enough of it. I was mortified. I stared at the immense school cone for a while and there was way too much space left.

So far I had been so well organized even though my schedule was getting tighter, my to do list was  getting longer and the responsibilities heavier. This lack of candies was like a slap in my face. How on earth could I forget to buy more candy for Mohamad? I felt awful. I had a new pencil case for him too, filled with pens and yet I was beating myself up over tha lack of candies. I called my friend Agnes who lives nearby and asked her if she had some spare candy and she did. She saved me that night. I ran to her house in my sweatpants and ran back to my apartment to fill the school cone with candies. I was happy when it was filled all the way to the top.

I picked up the mother, Shamse, and Mohamad at 07:45am. Abdelaziz, the father, had already left to drop off the youngest, Diar, at school. I proudly handed the school cone to Mohamad who was thrilled. He laughed. I really wish I could have told him the story with the lack of candies but I could not. It was such a pity to not be able to talk to each other.

On our way to school, we bumped into Abdelaziz who was already on his way back from school. He decided to walk with us to school and to drop off Mohamad. Upon arrival, I took a picture of Mohamad with the school cone in front of the entrance of the school. Same procedure as with Diar. But Mohamad did not want to carry the cone in front of the school especially not for a picture. So he gave it to his father who is also on the picture. I kept handing him the cone for the picture and the moment I turned around, he would give it to his father. I started to enjoy to pull his leg with the school cone. He was turning red like a tomato. We had a great laugh. I had to stop at some point as I did not want him to be late for class. We walked upstairs to the principal´s office. I explained to Mohamad that he needed to excel at school because school was the stepping stone to a better future. The principal handed me the timetable before we were introduced to the headmaster who asked Mohamad to go with him.

I stayed a little longer and went through the timetable with the principal as I did not understand any of the Austrian abbreviations. I myself went to a French school and that was a very different school system. She was kind enough to sit with me and explained everything patiently even though her phone kept ringing and people would walk in with questions every other minute. In addition to regular school hours, both children would attend German courses after school in a different institution in the second district.

Shamse and Abdelaziz were able to find their way from home to school and back. But now I had to show them where to pick up the children after the German course as I was unable to pick them up due to my workschedule. I used Google maps and took a screenshot that I sent Shamse and kept my fingers crossed. As I never heard of any problems, not from school nor from Shamse, my guess was that everything turned out just fine.

Two out of three children were in school now and that was the most important task on my to do list.

And here´s the picture of Mohamad with his father.


                                             

Day 15 - Shopping - November 28th

I tried to make several phone calls on Friday. I found a long list of 8 pages online about German courses offered in Vienna. Alomst none of the courses stated the price, so I had to call each of them, one by one. You will find a complete list under "Pages" of this blog. I wanted to find a suitable course for Shamse and Helz. I figured it would be lovely to send them to the same course if possible so that they could also enjoy some mother-daughter time. As it was Friday in Vienna, most institutions didn´t even pick up the phone. Those who did, asked me to call back on Monday. 

I also called the Federal Ministry of Internal Affais to double check on the asylum status of the father and the three children. This was a phone call that was on my to do list every week. Yet no matter when I called and no matter to whom I spoke, the employees would always tell me that they were swamped with work and that I needed to be patient. The ministery urgently needed more employees.

I met the Rasoul´s at 09am on Saturday and decided to take them to Carla which is a thrift store of Caritas. Refugees but also Austrian´s who live of a minimum income, are able to get free clothes up to four times a year. One needs to bring a valid ID as well as the residence registration form. Unfortunately the Rasoul´s didn´t find much. I decided to take them to Mariahilferstrasse, the main shopping street in Vienna. On our way they explained to me that what they really needed was one pair of shoes for their oldest son Mohamad. I took them to a shop at Gerngross which offers low priced sneakers amongst other sports goods. Mohamad found a pair of  skater shoes. I tried to explain that he needed some gym shoes for school too as he was starting school on Monday. We were talking with hand and feet as I was unable to reach one of my translators. I understood very well when Mohamad tried to tell me that he would wear his skater shoes at the school gym. I shook my head and grabbed a pair of proper gym shoes and I showed him the soles and the difference between one shoe and the other. I also made drastic hand gestures to show that he would probably slip during gym class when wearing the skater shoes. The rest of the family was standing next to us, watching us trying to have a conversation. It felt like a little theater play.  

At some point, Mohamad showed me the sneakers he was wearing. I looked down. Yes, those were proper gym shoes but I looked at him and made sure that he understood that he had to clean them inside out. It felt good to know that we were able to understand each other without words. Shamse purchased the pair of skater shoes and we left. 

Even though I tried to persuade them to go to other shops and take a look at sweaters - the Rasoul´s wanted to go home. It was a cold Saturday morning after all and I knew that they were tired. Being able to stay with Eva and Stephan lifted a huge pressure off their shoulders. They slowly but surely started to have time to digest the past years of fear and uncertainty. A very long journey seemed to have come to an end. And it was just the beginning.

Day 12 - Diar´s first day at school - November 25th

It was an exciting morning for all of us. I woke up around 6:30am and got ready. On my way out, I grabbed the school cone I had made for Diar the night before. Diar arrived in Vienna nearly two weeks ago and I was so proud to be able to send him to school already. It was only possible because Eva and Stephan offered them a room in their home which then allowed me to have the family registered at the residence and with the residence registration I was able to register Diar and Mohamad at school. 

I picked up Shamse, the mother, Abdelaziz, the father and Diar at 07:45am. I handed Diar the school cone and used Google translate to explain that it this was custom in Austria. I also explained that he was gifted with a school cone because it was his first day at an Austrian school. Diar´s mother offered him to carry the cone for him as it was an icy cold morning and Diar forgot his gloves in the apartment. But Diar didn´t let her carry the cone, he held on to it and it made my heart jump. 

School was a rough 10 minutes walk away. I had printed out the map from their apartment to school for all of them so that they could learn how to get there by themselves. I had also printed out a map of nearby supermarkets and pharmacies including their opening hours. Upon arrival at school, I had to take a picture of Diar with his school cone. Some day, he will be fluent in German and hopefully in English too and he will be reminded of all our memories through this blog.

We walked upstairs to the principal´s office who introduced us to the headmaster of his class. Everybody was so friendly and open minded - it was a joy to see him at such a good place. We entered class and the headmaster introduced Diar also to some children who spoke Arabic and German and who could help him along the way. She assigned him a seat and I asked him to open up the cone as I had bought a brand new pencil case for him with everything he would need for his first day at school. 

Shamse and Abdelaziz were very happy too. We said goodbye and left. I dropped them off at their place via the same route we had taken earlier and headed back to work - joyfully. 

 

Day 11 - Registration 3 in 1 - November 24th

Now that the Rasoul´s were staying with Eva and Stephan, a whole new world of possibilities opened up to them. My morning started at 06:20 am. I picked up the parents as well as Diar and Mohamad, the two youngest children who are school-aged, at 7:30 am and we walked together to the nearby authorities.

The "Magistrat" office opened at 08 am and we were the first one´s to enter. Shamse had all the necessary documents on her. I had already printed out the registration forms online, one for each family member, and had Stephan, who owned the apartment, and the Rasoul´s sign them. The lady at the responsible department however told me that children under age 18 would only need their parents signature. She then worked a few minutes and printed out the registration forms for the family. The residence registration is connected to the postal services which means that the ministery for asylum for example would be able to send the Rasoul´s a notification about their status right away. 

With the registration form, we proceeded upstairs to the school department where I handed out Diar and Mohamad´s white cards as well as their freshly printed residence registrations. The department for school assigned both children to a school nearby in the second district. The school principal was called and informed right away. She was expecting us. 

The Rasoul´s and I walked quickly to the school. It was the first time that I was at a principal´s office in ages. The principal made copies of the registration forms, handed us the class schedule for both children and informed us about a few things that the children would need right away such as slippers for school and gym clothes. Diar was able to start the very next day, Mohamad could start on Monday. 

When we left school, Shamse ran to a nearby supermarket and got me chocolate. They were so thankful and excited and so was I. On our way back to Eva and Stephan´s home, Shamse and Abdelaziz were laughing with the children and would joke around. I didn´t understand a word of what they would say but I could tell from the way they were looking at each other and from their body language that they were genuinely happy. My heart was filled with joy. 

At work I had to contact a company called Securitas that was employed by the Wiener Lokalbahnen (a form of transportation). The day the Rasoul family and I met in Vienna, was the day the Rasoul´s were denied access to the Traiskirchen camp. They took a train, one of the Wiener Lokalbahnen trains, from Traiskirchen to Vienna. As they did not understand a word in German nor in English they were fined for not having a valid train ticket - 100 Euro each! The Caritas caregiver of the family told me that she had already sent out a fax to the company who would handle the fines. That fax however did not go through. I scanned the letter of full power I had from Shamse and sent the ticket information including a brief description of the situation to Securitas, asking for a gesture of goodwill. I did not hear back from them for two weeks so I sent out another email asking for an update. This time I promptly received a reply: the request to pay a fine of 100 Euro each was cancelled.

I also called the ministery for asylum. I was hoping to get an update on the status of the father and the three children but they had no news for me. Their paper work was on its way from Graz to Vienna and I should call again in a week or so. I also asked about Shamse´s white card. During my online research, I had found an article that mentioned that white cards needed to be returned to the ministery of asylum once the person had a grey passport, which was the case with Shamse. I added it to my to do-list. 

After work I decided to go to a an arts and craft store. It is Austrian custom to present kids who attend their first day at school upon entering first grade with a school cone - a cardboard cone filled with plenty of lovely candies, chocolate and other goodies. Even though Diar was not entering first grade, I decided to make him a school cone as tomorrow would be his first day at an Austrian school. I gooogled how to make school cones and purchased enough blue cardboard for both children. I also bought yellow and orange crepe paper and, needless to say, plenty of candy but also little school supplies such as nice pens, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners etc and a brand new pencil case. 

Back home, I started to build my first school cone ever. The best part was to fill it which also happened to be the easiest part of the procedure. I was a little bit nervous as I really wanted it to look fun and cool at the same time. Tony mentioned that the kids might be embarassed to take the cones to class, after all they were teenagers already. Now that had not crossed my mind. I almost felt offended but decided to give it a try anyways as I was proud of my work. ;) I used a golden coloured pen to write Diar´s name on the cone and drew a few hearts, peace signs and suns on it. It looked pretty good but it turned out bigger than expected. Tony was thrilled too. I wrote Shamse that I would pick them up the next day at 07:30 am to get Diar to school.

Day 8 - A day at the museum - November 21st

Mo, my right hand, friend and translator, went back to Jordan. His stay in Vienna was not really a vacation as he helped me everyday to support the refugee family. He was already greatly missed. 

It was Saturday and I had planned a trip to the Natural History Museum in Vienna. Jamil, another friend of mine who is from Syria and Ali, one of his friends who would be able to translate, picked up the Iraqi family from the shelter while I picked up the Rasoul´s. Helz and Mohamad unfortunately did not join us but Shamse, Abdelaziz and Diar, the youngest, were ready to go. At their new temporary home, I handed them five print outs of the subway system in Vienna as well as self-made mini ID´s for each of them with their new home address, their names and the phone numbers of Eva, Stephan and me as well as the regular emergency phone numbers. I asked them to carry it with them at all times just in case if they should ever get lost, in case of an emergency or if problems should arise. My worst fear was for any of them to get lost in Vienna and that was something I wanted to prevent as good as possible.

We all met in front of the Volkstheater at 2:30 pm. Both families who used to live together in the Diakonie shelter for a week were happy to see each other again. We were a large group of nine people. 

Upon arrival at the museum I asked if there was a reduced entry fee for refugees but there was none and Jamil and I payed for the entire group. Even though Children get free access to the museum, we ended up paying 75 Euros for all the tickets. I realized that I needed to write cultural institutions as refugees could not afford to pay 15 Euros per person for a visit to the museum and cultural activities were extremely important for a positive integration. 

We spent a few hours in the museum. I showed them all the animals that one would eat in Austria: the pig, the deer, the octopus and many more and they showed me all the animals that were common to land on the dining table in Syria or in Iraq. We explored animals that would live in Iran and in Syria. It was fun to look for similarities. The children were extremely excited and ran around the museum. Both families were curious and explored everything with great interest. The architecture of the museum was awe-inspiring and the experience itself priceless. 

After the museum, the Iraqi family, the Rasoul´s, Jamil, Ali and I took pictures. Jamil and Ali had to leave and get to work. I was unsure of how to handle the way home with both families living on opposite sides of the city but I was certain I would be able to come up with some solution. Worst case scenario I could always pay for a cab fare to get one family home and take the othe one by subway. Taking them by car at all times was not ideal as I wanted to encourage them to learn the subway system and be more independent. 

We strolled through the Christmas market in front of the museum, glanced at the stallholders who offered handcrafted goods and inhaled the Christmas spirit. Shamse and Abdelaziz suddenly gave me a little bag with a gift. I told them that I could not accept any gifts but they insisted. The intensity with which a Middle Eastern national can insist is something one should not resist. I was afraid of insulting them by not accepting it and this was the least thing I wanted to do. I received a wonderful candle that they had purchased from the Christmas market. When and how remains a mystery. 

We left the market and walked towards the subway station at our starting point Volkstheater. The Iraqis, who speak English, reassured me that they could find their way back to the shelter by subway. I gave them a subway plan, bought tickets for the transportation and we split. The Iraqis went one way and the Rasoul´s and I the other. I dropped the Rasoul´s off and received a message by the Iraqi´s that they had indeed arrived safe and sound. 

We had a marvelous Saturday together and I was already planning future excursions with both families. 

 

Day 7 - The move - November 20th

I woke up excited. Today was the last day of the Rasoul´s at the Diakonie shelter. It was thanks to the generous offer of Eva and Stephan that the Rasoul´s didn´t have to move to a camp as the lovely couple was happy to invite them to their own home for a full month. 

I scheduled the move together with Mo who luckily had the car of his brother at his disposal. After work, I rushed to the shelter. The Rasoul´s were ready to go. Petra from the Diakonie shelter was kind enough to take me to the storage room and offered me to take some food with me. I packed everything I could. 

We put the few bags the Rasoul´s had into Mo´s car. Helz and Mohamad, the two teens, were out with the acquaintance of their parents and would meet us at the apartment. Eva and Stephan were excited and Eva was already planning their first dinner for the night. 

The couple´s apartment was beautiful, a truly warm and welcoming home reflecting the couple´s spirits. The room was already prepared with the mattresses that had arrived the night before. We dropped off all the bags in the room and I took the extra food upstairs to the kitchen. 

Eva and Stephan showed the Rasoul´s around and mentioned that they could use anything in the apartment and that they should help themselves in the kitchen. My heart melted seeing that their intention was for the Rasoul´s to feel at home. 

We went upstairs, sat down, had tea and coffee and were able to chat thanks to Mo was translating patiently. Mohamad and Helz arrived too.

I could see that the Rasoul´s really didn´t want to be a burden to anyone but I mentioned that Eva and Stephan would have never agreed to this if they were not certain that they could pull it off. In Austrian mentality a "yes" can be taken as a "yes" and the same rule applies to a "no".

I decided to leave with Mo before dinner as I wanted to give Eva, Stephan and the family some time by themselves to get a feeling for each other. We exchanged phone numbers, email addresses and some more information about the next steps I would take. I was planning on coming back the next day to visit and to pick the Rasoul´s up to go to the museum. I also contacted the Iraqi family who was living at the shelter with Rasoul´s and invited them to join us. Culture to me is a crucial part of positive integration, just as much as a social network. It was my goal to not only find the Rasoul´s a permanent home but to also make Vienna their hometown by showing them all the beautiful things that make it one of a kind so that they could learn to love it even though I knew that nothing could ever replace their original hometown in Syria. It was a new beginning and it was difficult on many levels but I was confident that I could provide them with everything they needed for a good, steady start. Hope and Love were on my side. 

Day 6 - Last night at the shelter - November 19th

It was an icy cold, sunny winter morning and I was supposed to meet the parents, Shamse and Abdelaziz, at 7 am in front of one the Caritas Offices in Vienna's 9th district. Mohammad "Mo", my translator friend, had offered to pick up the Rasoul's by car from their shelter in Schoenbrunn, unfortunately he overslept. How could I be mad at him? This sweet person showed up out of nowhere in my life again and even though he was on vacation, he offered to help wherever he could. I ordered a cab for the Rasoul's.
 

While i was waiting for the Rasoul´s and Mo to arrive, I looked around me. It was my first time here and even though the Caritas office was opening its doors only at 08 am, there was a line down the entire block with no end in sight. I saw hundreds of refugees wrapped in layers of old clothes, women and men alike, children, many of them sitting on the cold floor waiting. Some seemed cheerful, some not. I found out that some refugees had slept in front of the office to get a number and to get in.  

Shamse and Abdelaziz arrived and so did Mo. At 08 am some Caritas workers stepped out and joined us on the street. They checked whether or not people in line had certain documents with them. Those who didn´t have their documents, had to leave and return some other day. Shamse had ALL her documents with her. All documents of every person in her family. The Caritas lady checked certain documents and gave us a number. 

We entered the Caritas office and sat in the waiting area. In the midst of all the people I suddenly made eye contact with a Caucasian man, probably in his late 50´s, dressed in fine clothes, with a lovely groomed white beard. He was sitting with a refugee family he was taking care of. We smiled at each other. It was lovely to meet another guardian and to know that we found in each others smile complete understanding of the situation regarding the refugees we would take care of but also for understanding for each other. 

It was finally our turn to get in. I was not able to stay any longer as I had to get to work before 09:30 am. I introduced myself quickly to the Caritas lady who was assigned to take on the case of the Rasoul's. She would submit their documents for insurance amongst other things. I left the letter of power with her and my contact information. We also exchanged email address as the Caritas office was always busy, the staff was overworked and therefore there was no time to pick up the phone. Mo stayed with the Rasoul's.

I tried to contact several people I knew who worked in hotels. I thought that perhaps I could get a room for the Rasoul's at a discount rate for a month until finding some other place. I had to admit to myself that this was my last resource.I had tried everything from regular apartments to churches, to calling NGO´s, to asking around, to contacting officials, online groups and more...No doors opened up. 

It was around noon when I received fantastic news for the family: Eva and Stephan had contacted me, offering the entire family of five a room in their lovely home for a full month. This was the only option beside going to one of the overcrowded camps. Only 24 hours were left before the Rasoul's had to vacate the shelter. My heart was relieved beyond words. 

I had met Eva and Stephan only a few times in my life and yet, they trusted me when I vouched for the Rasoul´s and I trusted them. I contacted Shamse via Whatsapp, using Google translate. Shamse and Abdelaziz did not want to be a burden to Eva and Stephan. There was a big difference between two people living together in an apartment and seven people. Eva was kind enough to send me pictures of her and her partner Stephan, of the apartment and about what their profession was, that they had no children or pets. The latter got lost in translation and apparently I sent Shamse a message saying that the virgin Mary was coming. I am not sure how that happened and I didn't know about it until I called Mo and mentioned that it was difficult to persuade the family to move in with Eva and Stephan. Mo checked my messages and after the misunderstanding was spotted and solved we had a great laugh. I was able to convince the Rasoul's pretty quickly as I explained to them that sleeping in a camp, where they had no privacy at all, was the only other option. They would not receive a certificate of residency in a camp and the children would not be able to go to school. It was around 1 pm that I finally received their OK via Whatsapp. 

I contacted Petra Wasserbauer from the shelter and scheduled the pick up time for the next day. Mo offered his help again. We would pick up the family together by car and help them move. As I was knew that Eva had one spare mattress and I asked Petra from the Diakonie shelter if they could spare four mattresses. Not only did she provide me with four mattresses but also with bed sheets, blankets and pillows. She also offered me the services of her truck driver who would drive around all day to move the shelter. I was incredibly thankful for the help. Eva and Petra from the Diakonie exchanged contact and they scheduled the delivery for the very same evening. 


 
 

Day 5 - Let´s eat on Groundhog Day - November 18th

By now, I felt like Phil Connors in Groundhog Day. As I had not received a single response regarding apartments, let alone positive ones, I felt as if I would live the same day over and over again. The difference between Phil Connors and me? I was not stuck on one date, time did not do me the favor to stand still. On the contrary, I had one more day to find the Rasoul family a place to stay. I was worried, stressed out and I didn´t know how to pull off the great host when expecting them for dinner at my place that very same evening, knowing I had no good news to offer at all.

Tony and I decided on a menu: Oven grilled herb roasted turkey breast with a side of roasted bell peppers and zucchini, basmati rice and mixed greens. Dessert: mini ice creams.
I decided I would do the grocery shopping and cook while Tony was at work. My middle eastern heritage was proven by cooking for 16 people instead of 8 and I ended up buying nearly 5 lbs of turkey breast, 4,5 lbs of veggies, 2,5 lbs of rice and one huge salad, tomatoes, cucumbers and ice creams. 

Before I knew it, I found myself back in the kitchen cooking. I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn´t even notice how three hours flew by. I picked the Rasoul´s up from the shelter and we took a cab to my place. The Rasoul´s thanked me so many times on any day that it would make me blush. I would always reply the same: Family.

Life knows how to pull you out of your thoughts. Upon entering the entrance hall of my building with the Rasoul´s, I noticed a horrendous smell and I was not the only one. Someone was bathing in cooked cabbage and it wasn´t me. I was terribly embarrassed. Here I was, helping them to find a new place and the entrance hall of mine smelled like cabbage. We laughed as soon as we arrived in my apartment. I have no idea what they were thinking as Mo, my translator friend, was running late. I tried to use Google translate German- English whenever Mo was not around. Short, simple sentences, I thought would be translated well. How wrong I was with that assumption is another story. 

Helz, the eldest, a teenage girl, was not able to attend dinner as she was not feeling well. Tony offered Diar and Mohamad, the two boys, to play with the X Box. I turned on my laptop and entered youtube. I let Abdelaziz choose the music and he chose some Kurdish songs. So there we were, sitting and trying to communicate with hand and feet and Google translate. 

We were relieved when Mo arrived. We could finally have a conversation! Dinner was delicious and yes, it was way too much. After dinner, Shamse snuck into the kitchen and started to do the dishes. I got up quickly and when I was about to run into the kitchen to stop her, Abdelaziz pulled a chair and blocked the entrance. I laughed while running around the chair. I couldn´t believe how hard they were trying to keep me out of my own kitchen only to help me. Once in the kitchen i begged Shamse to stop. Any Middle Eastern knows that this procedure of going back and forth can take hours. The first one to give in looses. So I kept telling her to stop doing the dishes and she kept telling me it was OK. And at some point she grabbed my hand, looked at me and said "Family". That was it. She had me there. :)

After dinner, they told us a bit about their hometown. Abdelaziz, the father said: "We were not able to find bread in Aleppo. There were only weapons." Shamse could only shake her head. While I was listening, I looked over to Diar, the youngest, the one who had not spoken to me ever since we had met. He was sitting by himself in a corner of the room, listening to his father, thoughtful and quiet. I pulled his chair next to mine. He looked at me and smiled and said his first word that i will never forget: "Daesh". 

I was so happy that he finally said something that I didn´t realize right away WHAT he was actually saying. I smiled at him for a split second before it hit me really hard... It broke my heart that the first word Diar told me was "Daesh". That memory alone will keep me going forever. 

Mo was kind enough to drive them back to the shelter. I went back online, heavy-hearted. I had received a Facebook message. Eva, a friend of Tony´s sister who had shared my posts, wrote me that she had a friend in Upper Austria who would love to provide refugees with a home but that her idea of offering her house to refugees was failing currently due to the officials. There were plenty of housing options outside of Vienna, but according to several sources, those refugees who were waiting for their application for asylum to be approved by the government, would need to remain in the city they started the application process. In this case, the Rasoul´s had to stay in Vienna. 

Eva also wrote me that if I were not able to find them shelter by Friday, she and her partner would be happy to offer a room in their own home. I couldn´t belive what i was reading. I called her right away, my heart beating like a hamster on the run. We spoke for a while. I explained the situation and told her a bit more about the family and what I have learned so far. I told her about how the government would support people who would invite families to their homes by for example paying part of the rent. Furthermore I assured her that I would keep taking care of them. All I asked her to do was to speak to her partner once more and to think about how long they would be willing to have the Rasoul´s over. I was already extremely excited as this was the first time a possible opportunity was provided. Ten people fell asleep that night, praying to wake up to good news for the Rasoul´s.

Clockwise from top: Tony, Mo, Mohamad, Diar, Abdelaziz and Shamse.

Day 4 - Apartment hunting - November 17th

Mohammad, "Mo", my translator friend who was on vacation in Vienna, borrowed his brother's car. He picked me up first and then the Rasoul parents, Shamse and Abdelaziz from the shelter in Schoenbrunn. It was still dark out, yet both, Shamse, the mother, and Abdelaziz, the father, were ready on time. 

We drove to the 16th district, to one of the Caritas offices that is able to assist with finding a suitable apartment for refugees. Refugees would need to register for an apartment and the size of the apartment would be determined by the amount of people living there. 
Upon arrival, we were told that the rules had changed. A family could only register for an apartment once the every member was granted asylum. We asked if it would be possible for Shamse, the mother, who was already granted asylum, to register for a one bedroom or studio so that the family could live there until all of them had the documents that were required but that was not an option. We spent some more time there, even spoke to the person in charge, but no doors opened up for us. 

We left and Mo was kind enough to drop me off at work. I would usually schedule all appointments with government officials as early as possible, considering waiting times and my commute to work. Everything needed to be done by 09 am latest -  always.  

Mo dropped the Rasoul's off at the shelter. We would meet again at 2:30 pm at another Caritas office in the 9th district. I had been trying to reach that office by phone for days as I had several questions that no one was able to answer but them and I prefer in general to make sure I am at the right place before appearing unannounced in person. I didn't understand back then why I was unable to reach anyone. The phone kept ringing but no one ever picked up. Not once.

I went to work. During my time at work, I would use every free minute to keep looking for apartments, send more emails, gather more information, learn about the asylum process and more.... I found so many apartments that would have been a perfect fit for the Rasoul's budget, yet whenever I reached a real estate agent, I kept hearing "No" - "No refugees" - "No Syrian". I spoke softly with the real estate agents, urged them to do the right thing, explained the situation and that there were thousands on the streets finding themselves in the very same tricky situation as the Rasoul's - most of them were waiting. Waiting for the right documents to arrive. With the large amount of refugees that had arrived and the ones that were still arriving, it was extremely difficult for government officials as well as NGO´s to keep up with paper work, work permits, apartments, insurance, school etc. And that was the reason why at the Caritas office in the 9th district no one was even able to pick up the phone. 
I asked every real estate agent I spoke to, to help and to at least try to make a change, yet every real estate agent told me that the owners of the apartments didn't want refugees and that there was nothing they could do. I couldn't believe them. How could I believe that there was NOTHING a person could do? It was mind numbing. It was unacceptable.

I left work a little earlier in order to be on time for the appointment at the Caritas office in the 9th district.  We entered a medium sized waiting area that was packed. I went straight for the ticket machine to get a number. But the ticket machine had no numbers to give away. Ever. 
We waited around for someone to come out of one of the offices. And when finally someone did, we approached the gentleman and asked him what the process was like. We were told that we needed an appointment in order to speak to someone. In order to get an appointment, we needed a number. And in order to get a number, we needed to come very early in the morning. Wednesdays were closed. Thursday morning was the next possibility to get a number.

Shamse, Abdelaziz, Mo and I scheduled to meet two days later in front of the very same Caritas office at 07 am. I decided to invite the family and Mo over to my place for a relaxing dinner on Wednesday as we were all getting tired - not so much from running around, but probably from worrying about the uncertainty of the near future...

I went back home. I didn't feel at ease. Thursday was the day before the Rasoul's had to vacate the shelter. I doubted they would get an apartment by the Caritas right away. I tried to keep my head up but when I went to bed I couldn't stop thinking that I had only 2 full days left to find them a new place to stay.