Iraqi Layali Jamil Jaafar arrived in Germany years ago after a long and arduous journey, so she got the right to asylum and residency there, and with the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, she decided to return the favor to the country that hosted her and provided her with help and service, as she, along with a working team consisting of Germans and 9 other nationalities, provided meals Hot to feed homeless people in the capital, Berlin.
Her team works more than 6 hours a day to prepare hundreds of meals and distribute them to the homeless as part of the "Be an Angel" initiative.
The initiative team prepares hundreds of meals daily to feed the homeless (Al-Jazeera)
Asylum trip
"My road to Germany was dangerous and not easy, as I crossed the sea with my child and that was 5 years ago," says Layali Jaafar.
She added to Al-Jazeera Net that her journey began from Turkey, then the sea to Greece, then Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Austria, Germany, then Sweden and even Finland, and then returned to Germany, due to the claims of the German embassy because it is the first country to take its fingerprints.
About her journey, Layali says it was arduous for 15 days, pointing out that families in the countries she passed through used to open their doors and provide food, juices and service to refugees, especially in the streets of Croatia and Greece, and that affected her greatly.
Before entering Germany, the Iraqi refugee remembers the day she arrived in Austria, when she entered the home of an Austrian family, received her and provided clothes, food and even games for children.
New life
Layali points out that upon her entry to Germany, she faced a new beginning, a language, and laws, in a country she did not know and did not know how to coexist with its inhabitants, but she had the help of a German family called "French Type" in the official and other reviews, which alleviated many of her difficulties.
And she praises the humanity of the German family that helped her and considered her like her daughter, and she continued with her to enroll her child in school and reunited her with her husband, and she continues to communicate with her and share the joys with her on all occasions.
The "Be an Angel" team includes different nationalities and aims to feed hundreds of homeless people (Al Jazeera)
Arabic dishes
Layali says she got a job at Kreuzberger Himmel, a German restaurant that serves various Arabic dishes. The founder of the restaurant is a German called Andreas Tollke, who has been in the press for 30 years.
And she continues, through her work, she is trying to present her Arab culture to the Germans, as the restaurant has received a very wide turnout, and it is rated 5 stars, and its employees come from 9 nationalities, most notably Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Ghana and other African countries.
For his part, former Syrian lawyer Bakri Kamurji - who is a partner in managing the restaurant - praised the efforts made by Layali Jaafar since she started working in 2018.
Kamorji confirmed that the initiative includes all homeless people, regardless of their nationality or religion (Al-Jazeera)
Be an angel
When restaurants closed due to the Corona crisis, the conditions of the street homeless became more difficult, and they need food and help according to Layali, so I started thinking about doing something to help them, until the employer met with the team members and decided to launch the "Be an angel" initiative to feed the needy, so everyone agreed immediately.
She continued by saying, "I do not know how to reward the people of this country, for I received free education and medical services, and I also got free housing the first year I entered Germany, and I feel that I must do something for this people."
Kamurji explains to Al Jazeera Net that the "Be an Angel" initiative was a collaboration between the restaurant and the "Be An Angel" Association, which has been working to help refugees since 2015.
He adds that this idea came as a humanitarian initiative at this difficult time, to help these people get warm food after restaurants closed as a result of the Corona outbreak.
Kamorji points out that despite the seriousness of their contact with many in light of this epidemic, seeing people enjoying this warm meal makes him forget these risks.
Layali: I feel happy because I am responsible for cooking and preparing meals for the needy (Al Jazeera)
Hot meals
Layali expresses her happiness as being responsible for cooking and preparing meals in this initiative, which started since March 2020 and continues until now.
She says, "We used to cook 150 to 300 meals at first, but since last December 19, and after the complete closure due to Corona, the German Senate has ensured the support and we cook daily between 500 to 850 meals, and sometimes we exceed a thousand meals."
In addition to the German homeless, Layali revealed that the initiative includes displaced Arabs, Balkan countries, Turks and other nationalities.
Regarding the target groups, Kamurji says that it includes all the poor and the homeless, regardless of their nationality or religion.
Al-Nouri: We are used to cooking food and distributing it on occasions (Al-Jazeera)
Usually inherited
Regarding his participation in the initiative, Layali’s husband, Muhammad Jabbar al-Nuri, says, “I used to go at 11 am to take food in boxes, and after that we transport the meals in the car and arrange them according to the area, details and number, and then provide me with addresses, the hour of reception, the place and the name of the person who will receive, and every hour there is a place for delivery and distribution. ".
He adds to Al-Jazeera Net that his work takes about 6 hours a day, during which he delivers food to approximately 10 places, all of which are within the capital, Berlin.
Al-Nouri shows his happiness with this charitable work in helping the poor, indicating that in Iraq they are used to cooking food and distributing it on occasions, and these are customs inherited from parents and grandparents.