Walking with refugees III

a group of refugees during a walk from their camp to a church community for an afternoon coffee. This is a regular activity initiated by local volunteers when the first refugees arrived to Thalgau in summer 2015. At the beginning it was mainly Syrians, most of whom meanwhile got asylum and moved to other places, mainly Vienna. The ones remaining are mostly men from Afghanistan and Iraq, who recently got joined by a group from Northern Africa. According to Austria’s current asylum policy they barely have a chance to receive asylum, nevertheless the decision procedure including several interviews often takes more than a year. If they are lucky, though, they might receive subsidiary protection. Despite their everyday being dertermined by uncertainty concerning their future, they try to keep hope alive also for their families often waiting far away to join them some day. During the last year, the image of refugees walking at the roadside became sort of a commonplace in Austria. As their camps are often located at the margins of villages, and they don’t have the same mobility opportunities as locals, they simply walk to the next supermarket, doctor or cafe. They walk, just like they did during hundreds of kilometers on their long way to Austria. While walking the few kilometers today, most of the guys used the time to call or skype with relatives and friends, including discussions about possible flight routes to take. This provided a striking contrast to the idyllic village life we were passing through. Hear for yourself -