They are just as interested in music and sport as Swiss young people. And yet the unaccompanied underage asylum seekers from the MNA Centre Lilienberg live in the shadows of the public. On Saturday, 23 August, a summer party gave the local population the opportunity to get to know the young people. And they also took advantage of this opportunity.
It is the second festival organised by the girls and boys of the MNA centre together with terre des hommes schweiz and the young people of imagine. "This time we wanted them to be able to bring their own wishes into the festival", says Sabin Müller, project manager of terre des hommes schweiz. The organisation of the festival posed challenges for all those involved. Since spring, new MNAs have been arriving continuously, among them many younger ones aged 11 to 13 years. The communication alone required creative solutions. "Once we spoke with one of the Syrians in German. He then told it to an Eritrean in Arabic, who in turn passed it on to his fellow countrymen in one of their national languages," says Alain Zoller of imagine. Finally, the MNA created collages according to their wishes. "They wanted something sporty and a stage," says Sabin Müller.
Colorful program attracts many visitors
That is why a volleyball tournament was held first. The team of Afghans and Syrians competed in specially organized red T-shirts with the Swiss cross. They later took second place behind the youngsters from Eritrea and Somalia. During the game breaks, the boys try their hand at the football goal wall.
The sporting part was followed by the musical program. With barbecue, salads, various cakes and drinks, the performances on stage can be enjoyed in a relaxed manner. Two young Syrians led almost professionally in German through the evening. No one would believe that they have only been in Switzerland for eight and ten months respectively. During the course of the evening there was Eritrean singing and dancing, the reggae band Dixkson from Lucerne provided a relaxed atmosphere with Bob Marley covers and the Afrodance group Café au lait from Zurich enchanted the mixed audience. In short, it was an atmospheric, successful party.
Living with the minimum
Isabelle and Donato Vallini from the region also found this. They came to Lilienberg with their two small children. "We only found out this week through an article in the Affoltener Anzeiger that this MNA centre even exists", Isabelle Vallini told us. They took part in one of the guided tours of the house, which was led by residents themselves. "They don't live in luxury here," Donato Vallini noted because of the sparse rooms and facilities. In view of the widespread claim that asylum seekers live in Switzerland like maggots in bacon, he reacted with indignation: "You can only say that if you don't deal with the fate of these people. When you see the young people who are so friendly and cheerful, it makes you think about what they have experienced on the way here. It's good that they can rest here."
The MNA Center Lilienberg
At the moment 78 young people are living in the MNA Centre Lilienberg near Affoltern am Albis. This is run by the AOZ on behalf of the Canton of Zurich. MNA stands for Mineurs non accompagnés. This means that they arrived in Switzerland alone, without being accompanied by their parents or adults.
