Kurdish woman receives German federal award for supporting refugees
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish woman from northeast Syria (Rojava) on Friday received a prestigious federal award in Germany for her support to female refugees.
Bjeen Alhassan, 29, is from the Kurdish city of Qamishli in Rojava. She received the Bundeskanzlerin award in October 2020 for her project to teach people foreign languages on Facebook. The award was presented by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
On Friday, she was presented the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the country’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
“The Federal President of Germany honors my merits in the support of "Engagement in the Immigration Society“. It is a great honor for me to receive the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany,” the Kurdish woman said in a tweet late Friday.
Germany’s Integration Office said in a tweet that Alhassan received the award because she “supports female refugees when they arrive in Germany.”
Alhassan arrived in Germany in 2014 after completing her college in the Syrian capital city of Damascus. Like millions of other Syrians, she fled the unrest in the country which arose in 2011.
She said in a tweet on Friday that she arrived in Germany only with a suitcase but “now I am receiving the Order of Merit as a German Kurd in my new home! What an honor and what a moment in life.”
She has founded the Transfer of Knowledge association to help female refugees in Germany.
“I would especially like to dedicate this award to women from northeast Syria who are affected by war and terror. I hope that I can make the path a little easier for them because after a war nothing is easy anymore,” said the Kurdish woman.
The Order of Merit, established in 1951, is the only federal decoration of Germany. It “may be awarded to Germans as well as foreigners for achievements in the political, economic, social or intellectual realm and for all kinds of outstanding services to the nation in the field of social, charitable or philanthropic work,” according to the award’s official website.
Bjeen Alhassan, 29, is from the Kurdish city of Qamishli in Rojava. She received the Bundeskanzlerin award in October 2020 for her project to teach people foreign languages on Facebook. The award was presented by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
On Friday, she was presented the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the country’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
“The Federal President of Germany honors my merits in the support of "Engagement in the Immigration Society“. It is a great honor for me to receive the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany,” the Kurdish woman said in a tweet late Friday.
Germany’s Integration Office said in a tweet that Alhassan received the award because she “supports female refugees when they arrive in Germany.”
Alhassan arrived in Germany in 2014 after completing her college in the Syrian capital city of Damascus. Like millions of other Syrians, she fled the unrest in the country which arose in 2011.
She said in a tweet on Friday that she arrived in Germany only with a suitcase but “now I am receiving the Order of Merit as a German Kurd in my new home! What an honor and what a moment in life.”
She has founded the Transfer of Knowledge association to help female refugees in Germany.
“I would especially like to dedicate this award to women from northeast Syria who are affected by war and terror. I hope that I can make the path a little easier for them because after a war nothing is easy anymore,” said the Kurdish woman.
The Order of Merit, established in 1951, is the only federal decoration of Germany. It “may be awarded to Germans as well as foreigners for achievements in the political, economic, social or intellectual realm and for all kinds of outstanding services to the nation in the field of social, charitable or philanthropic work,” according to the award’s official website.