Spectrum: Sport connects. This thesis is supported by many independent studies, and the federal government repeatedly emphasizes its importance for integration. With this in mind, five refugees from Syria did a few laps on the track in the Berlin Velodrom last week together with Maximilian Beyer (rad-net ROSE). The five friends were already active together in a cycling club in their war-torn homeland.
“Two weeks ago, the guys showed up at our door, trying to ask, with gestures and all, if they could join us for training,” reports Klaus Böger, president of the Berlin State Sports Federation. The five men, all in their mid-twenties, had been fleeing for two months – they have since applied for asylum and are now living in a refugee shelter in Berlin-Reinickendorf. In their Syrian homeland, they were all active members of a small cycling club and would love to continue practicing the sport here in Germany.
“We want to train every day, every single day. We don’t have anything else to do right now. We want to train and learn,” says 20-year-old Niam. After the five friends expressed their wish a few weeks ago in front of the velodrome, Böger, together with Dieter Stein, the sports director of the Berlin Six-Day Race and Berlin state coach, pulled out all the stops to fulfill the Syrians’ wish. “We took care of the insurance issues, and the state coach provided the equipment,” Böger explains. Clothing and equipment came from the U23 team KED-Stevens, where Stein is also active as sports director.
To give the refugees, who are still very inexperienced on the track, a little help getting started, World Championship bronze medalist and rad-net ROSE professional Max Beyer also agreed to train with them. None of them had ever ridden on a track before: "This is something completely new, but above all, a nice change," says Niam with a smile. If the organizers have their way, this won't be a one-off training session – "Starting tomorrow, I'll be back on the road – they're welcome to join me," says Max Beyer.