Call for Support

Das Thema „Gutscheinsystem“ haben wir in der jüngeren Vergangenheit mehrfach aufgegriffen. So führten wir im Sommer 2018 ein Interview mit dem Antirassistischen Netzwerk Saalekreis, das einen Tausch von Gutscheinen organisiert, so dass Geflüchtete stattdessen mit Bargeld bezahlen können. Das Netzwerk kritisierte insbesondere die Praxis des Sozialamtes in Merseburg, welches seit dem Herbst 2017 vermehrt Gutscheine statt Bargeld ausgebe. Dieses Problem spitzte sich zu. Im Januar diesen Jahres führten wir ein weiteres Interview, dieses Mal mit dem Cafe‘ Internationale, dessen Mitglieder sich seit Jahren für die Rechte von Geflüchteten im Saalekreis einsetzen. Anlass war eine Mahnwache vor dem Ausländeramt im Saalekreis, die auf die menschenunwürdige Praxis der Behörde aufmerksam machen wollte. Die Kritik an der Behörde im Interview – der Leiter der Ausländerbehörde ist auch Leiter des Sozialamtes und nutze seine Macht dazu um besonders rigide vorzugehen – sowie die Kundgebung selbst, waren für die CDU-Fraktion im Kreistag Saalekreis ein Anlass, einen offenen Brief zu schreiben. Hierin stellte sie sich hinter die Ausländerbehörde und deren Praxis.

Vor einer Woche erreichte uns dann folgender Erfahrungsbericht, der eindrücklich beschreibt, wie das Leben mit der Abhängigkeit von Gutscheinen in einer mittelgroßen Stadt in Sachsen-Anhalt aussieht. Wir dokumentieren diesen ungekürzt und nur leicht redigiert.

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I live in Bernburg, what is between Magdeburg and Halle now for two years and since the beginning it was very difficult for me. There is only my Asylheim and a lot of people who don‘t like us. Only very few people get in contact with us refugees.

First I got some money for my cost of living, something like 320 Euro in a month, what was less than I would normally get. Besides it is also very unfair that Refugees get less money than Germans. Although we are not allowed to work or to do anything to get money ourselves with our Duldung!

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„It is very unfair that Refugees get less money than Germans. Although we are not allowed to work or to do anything to get money ourselves.“

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Than they started to cut my Sozialgeld, they give me only half of it and soon after this they decided to give me only Gutscheine for food and soap and nothing else (no coffee, no cigarettes, no alcohol, no chocolate). Now I have only 165 Euro only Gutscheine for one month.

The reasons for that are not always the same, but in most cases they tell you at the Ausländerbehörde to bring documents from your country. The problem is that a lot of people who agreed with this were deported. So me and everybody else is very scared to do this.

On the other hand you can hardly live with 165 Euro Gutscheine in a month. At the moment they started to cut even this 165 Euro Gutscheine. Some people have nothing left, they survive, because we help each other. Other people run away to find a work somewhere, but this is very dangerous too, because the law sees you as an illegal person and the worst thing that can happen to you is Abschiebehaft.

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„I went to Penny to give away my bottles to get some money for it but the cashier refuse to give me the money and throw away that little piece of paper.“

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Another problem in Bernburg is the racism everywhere. I went to Penny to give away my bottles to get some money for it but the cashier refuse to give me the money and throw away that little piece of paper, where it was written down how much money I should get. When I start to protest two men came to me and start to push me out of the store and threatened me with the police. At the end there was one other cashier who give me the money and told me to leave now. So I got my money but I was totally stressed and confused by the whole situation. I asked myself: „Why are these people acting like that?“

Gutscheine intensify stigmatisation and in many ways we suffer because of this system!

Another racist situation happend to my friend when he wanted to buy oranges in another supermarket in Bernburg. He was standing in the line and when the cashier saw the oranges, she started to say that he is not allowed to buy oranges with his Gutscheine. So in this Situation nobody helped and he had to leave the shop without oranges.

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This Gutscheinsystem is a way of stigmatising us.

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I could continue for hours to tell you stories like this. One Situation like this is not the problem, but when you experience this kind of stories every day it makes you weak and tired and angry.

Some Nazis call us „Gutschein“ when they see us in the streets or in the
supermarkets and a lot of people are annoyed when they realize that they have to wait until the cashier has checked our Gutscheine.

So I cannot say it enough this Gutscheinsystem is a way of stigmatising us.

And besides we have no chance to take a train and visit our friends or buy clothes and stuff we need like Internet or Credit to call our friends and family. We are just isolated and wait for nothing!

So if you want to support us write about this in the public, talk to your friends about it and spread the word or come to Bernburg and see what we can do together to stop this cruelty!