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Racism, insomnia the new realities of Syrian refugee family in Germany _ but
kindness abounds

   Published October 16, 2015
   Associated Press
   Facebook0 Twitter0 Email Print
     * In this Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 photo Syrian refugee Reem Habashieh
       poses for a photo during an interview with the Associated Press at
       a park in Pirna, Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
       In this Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 photo Syrian refugee Reem Habashieh
       poses for a photo during an interview with the Associated Press at
       a park in Pirna, Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) (The
       Associated Press)
     * In this Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 photo Syrian refugee Raghad
       Habashieh tests a bicycle organized by German volunteers for her
       family outside the refugee camp in Heidenau, Germany. The camp, run
       by the German Red Cross, is located in the hall of a former DIY
       store. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
       In this Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 photo Syrian refugee Raghad
       Habashieh tests a bicycle organized by German volunteers for her
       family outside the refugee camp in Heidenau, Germany. The camp, run
       by the German Red Cross, is located in the hall of a former DIY
       store. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) (The Associated Press)
     * In this Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 photo Syrian refugee Mohammed
       Habashieh poses for a photo during an interview with the Associated
       Press at a park in Pirna, Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
       In this Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 photo Syrian refugee Mohammed
       Habashieh poses for a photo during an interview with the Associated
       Press at a park in Pirna, Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) (The
       Associated Press)

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   volunteer from nearby Dresden has befriended the Habashiehs, who fled
   Syria's civil war and arrived in Germany last month after a perilous
   journey from Damascus.

   Julius Roennebeck helps the family — Khawla Kareem, 44; her 19-year-old
   daughter Reem; sons Mohammed, 17, and Yaman, 15; and 11-year-old
   daughter Raghad — with practical things such as getting warm blankets,
   juice and aspirin, and has bought them German-language books. More than
   anything, the family appreciates how Roennebeck, who plays French horn
   at Dresden's famed Semper Opera house, has driven the family to outings
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   sleep at night in the hall crammed with 700 other asylum seekers. Next
   to them is a new family with a little baby screaming for hours.
   Sometimes the young men get cabin fever so badly they start playing
   soccer inside the former home improvement center in the middle of the
   night. The officials turn off the light at 11 p.m., but the sounds of
   hundreds of people whispering in countless foreign languages echo
   through the building, creating a deafening buzz.

   When it finally quiets down in the early morning hours, most of the
--
   per person.

   The reason for the months-long delay in processing the asylum
   applications is the huge crush of people seeking refugee status. In
   September alone, some 164,000 people were pre-registered as asylum
   seekers; for all of 2015 the German government is expecting about a
   million newcomers. Despite the cold autumn weather, thousands are still
   trekking across the Balkans and entering Germany via the Austrian
   border.

--
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