HSZG student Anass Halime likes to cross borders. He was the first Arab in Saxony's fire department - in Zittau. He is not intimidated by the AfD's success.
Anass Halime cannot understand why a party is campaigning with the slogan "No Islam in Upper Lusatia". The 22-year-old is a Muslim himself and doesn't understand why his religion is being targeted in this way. But he is not afraid of it. And he is not thinking of turning his back on Upper Lusatia, where the AfD was the strongest party in the recent election. "You can't hide at home," says the young Moroccan. "You have to talk to people, explain more about Islam and show them that Muslims are not bad people," he adds.
Anass Halime also takes unconventional approaches. He recently visited a Christian congregation. A friend from the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences had invited him there. And the 22-year-old went because he wanted to get to know the culture and religion of his host country better. While many Europeans have no inhibitions about visiting a mosque, it is not necessarily customary for Muslims to go to churches of other religions. "It's also a gathering of believers," says Anass Halime, adding: "You can also talk there about wrong thoughts about Islam or about religiosity itself."
A few days ago, he also took part in an event at the university on the topic of "Religion as a resource for integration". He was the only Muslim there to talk about faith with many Christians.
The young Moroccan is making every effort to integrate in Germany. He is sometimes a pioneer. Like with the fire department. Last year, he joined the Zittau fire department and was the first Arab to serve in a Saxon fire department at the time. There are now other comrades who come from Arab backgrounds - such as the Iraqi Mustafa Abdullah, who has been a member of the Ostritz fire department since October 2018.
Anass Halime passed his firefighter exam last November. He has now also successfully completed the radiotelephony course. He will soon be training to become a breathing apparatus operator. He has already completed the necessary medical examinations and will begin the actual training course in the next few months. A few days ago, he received his own beeper, which he can use to raise the alarm at any time. Like on June 12 after the heavy storm. Although he didn't go on the call-out, he was on duty at the station to provide support.
Although he completed his initial training as a member of the Zittau fire department, the 22-year-old is now a member of the Görlitz fire brigade. This is because he moved to the city on the Neisse last year - because of his studies. He has been studying computer science at the HSZG since the fall. As the computer scientists are based in Görlitz, he naturally moved there too. If he lives in Görlitz, he should also get involved in the local fire department, recommended Uwe Kahlert, head of the Zittau fire department. The young Moroccan got to know him as a very nice person and is very grateful for his openness. This motivated him to stay with the fire department.
He met many friendly people, but also experienced the darker side. Sometimes there was a stupid remark - but that has rarely been the case so far, explains Anass Halime. One woman didn't want to talk to him at all. That surprised him. At first, the 22-year-old thought it was a joke, but the woman was serious. The young Moroccan speaks casually about such experiences. Anass Halime knows that other foreigners are afraid after bad experiences and want to leave the region. He, on the other hand, openly confronts prejudices. He has done well with the fire department - it has become like a family to him.
And yet it only comes third. Studying is now the most important thing, explains the 22-year-old. He has been attending the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences for a year now, and the course, which includes a Master's degree, takes a total of five years. "I'll definitely be staying here for another four years," says Anass Halime. He had already studied computer science for three years in his home country of Morocco. He has found a small one-room apartment just a few steps away from the university in Görlitz. He feels at home here, says the young Moroccan, which is one of the reasons why he does not want to capitulate to the AfD's good election results.
His studies also helped him to find a part-time job. He regularly comes to Zittau for this - at RTT Robotertechnik, he works an average of 10 to 12 hours a week, spread over three days. He works more hours during the vacations and fewer during the lecture period. As if that wasn't enough, he also works in a snack bar in Zittau at weekends - for the third month now.
Many thanks to Anass Halime for providing this article.