Integration Minister Özoğuz at Fasihi: Impressed by Success Story
"It is a really impressive success story," said Aydan Özoğuz, Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration during her visit at our company on Friday 27 May. Chief executive Saeid Fasihi himself fled the Iran and came to Germany as a political refugee in 1986. Mr Fasihi first told her his own story and then the story of his company, which started as a one-man business in 1990 and has evolved into a SME with currently 70 staff members. The member of the German Parliament from the SPD party Doris Barnett also praised Mr Fasihi for his perseverance: "Eventually, this resulted in becoming a figurehead for the town of Ludwigshafen," she remarked.
Saeid Fasihi illustrated his own concept and ideas regarding a successful integration of refugees. Fasihi's vision as a basis for integration delineates a Welcome City where schools, streets, houses, sporting fields, restaurants and the like are made available to asylum seekers. He is convinced that the integration process would work very well in this "Digital Integration and Mentoring Town" (DIMT). According to Fasihi, Welcome Cities could be supported by mentors from the region. These mentors could comprise communities, associations or voluntary helpers. Example: a baker from the area could run one of his shops in the Welcome City by providing work to refugees. At first, they would receive cashless payments for their work. However, within the Welcome City, refugees would be able to buy everything they need in their daily life via an identification chip.
In order to organise the integration process successfully, Saeid Fasihi's concept indispensably requires the usage of state-of-the-art internet technology. This starts by instructing refugees (lessons, videos, brochures...) in their native language: most importantly, a top priority should be to explain the definition of "integration" to them. Moreover, respective information on the values of a free and democratic society should follow, including human rights and constitutionality as well as freedom and democracy.
The Minister for Integration is principally interested in Mr Fasihi's ideas and proposed solutions and she offered further talks.