My greatest claim: enabling everyone to be good…
…for some it takes longer, for others it is very quick. It is a joint process in which all participants can grow together. This is something wonderful for me.
Margit Scherrer has been leading an integrative theater group in Rohrbach since 2007. Since 2018, asylum seekers have also been enthusiastically involved. In order to realize their desire to bring asylum seekers into the group, the “original group” had to be won over to the idea. Fortunately, the young people were enthusiastic about the joint rehearsals with the asylum seekers.
People with and without disabilities from different cultures have been playing together for a year now. The mother of the two brothers (Ali and Mehdi) in my group fascinates me in particular with her high standard on the behaviour of her sons. She demands absolute respect for women, the sons are very well brought up and eager to learn. I’m also fascinated by how great the effort is to practice “Solidarity” with me. A good basis of trust was created. The most difficult thing for the original group was to speak High German. A few found it easier, but a few found it very difficult. The agreement therefore applies: if you don’t understand something, you have to ask. Also on the stage when playing together, some speak dialect and the other High German. On April 12th In 2019 we will perform with our program “For what do I live for?” in Hofkirchen at 8:00 p.m., for which we also learned a song together. With my eldest daughter, the actress, and one of her colleagues, we have already been able to do acting workshops lasting several days.
A very important experience in working with asylum seekers was a conflict: A young person in the theater group no longer wanted to speak because one asylum seeker said that he did not understand her. She only spoke dialect. Others then told him what she meant. There was tension in the group. We talked about it and the conclusion from the conversation was very important for me. Why do locals find it so difficult to get in touch with asylum seekers? I became aware that this has to do with the fact that “many are afraid because they speak in dialect and are afraid that they have to speak written language in order to be understood.” Its not only the fear of the asylum seekers of speaking that makes communication more difficult, but the fear is also often much greater among the locals in relation to their own pronunciation. I experience this again and again. Language is something wonderful for me, but I notice how native people are when speaking. They often limit themselves to just a few sentences that they speak to migrants. I think people should become much more aware of that. Just as the asylum seeker has to overcome fear in order to speak, it is also important that you overcome your fear! Because encounters are only possible when we talk to each other.
Margit Scherrer, 2019