Daniel Comboni
Comboni Missionaries
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Multicultural picnic in Ellwangen (D)
Friday, August 28, 2015
It has now become a tradition in the German town of Ellwangen. On 22 August, the Reception Centre for asylum seekers and refugees have organized, once again, an “International picnic”, i.e., a meeting to socialize and exercise true hospitality. To the picnic were invited all asylum seekers and refugees who already have temporary residence in the city. In addition, the interaction was open to all people and in particular to those who are working with the refugees. The place chosen for the multicultural event was the enclosure of the house of the Comboni Missionaries in Ellwangen. Some Comboni joined in the picnic of about 120 people from various countries who were able to fraternize, despite the cultural and linguistic differences.
Young men
refugees from
Syria.
The picnic served to increase mutual understanding among people of different nationalities and cultures. The overall impression of this convivial meeting was that it is possible to make of it a feast-day when truly meeting one another. Some already knew one another from the party of last year.
Among the participants there were also some priests from the neighbouring parishes, the President of Ellwangen Chamber, Karl Hilsenbek, and the director of the local Shelter (Landes-Erstaufnahmestelle - LEA) Berthold Weiß. Currently, there is a considerable number of people in Ellwangen who are employed in looking after these asylum seekers and refugees. The Reception Centre was expected to host up to a thousand people. Today, it already houses two thousand and five hundred political asylum seekers and refugees.
