On Monday, September 2nd, STP organized a Havendiner at Rowing Club De Amstel in Amsterdam. Refugees from the shelter location MS Galaxy were invited to this Havendiner.
What is a Havendiner?
Amsterdam is hosting a large number of refugees: asylum seekers and Ukrainians. They face many challenges during the long days in (emergency) shelters.
Asylum seekers are mostly not allowed to work and must wait a long time for their asylum procedures, family reunifications, and housing. They worry about their loved ones back home and their future in the Netherlands. Ukrainians, on the other hand, are allowed to work and often do so, but they worry about the horrific war and their loved ones in Ukraine, sometimes even on the front lines. When will they be able to return home, if their homes still stand?
To offer these people some distraction, give them a warm welcome to Amsterdam, and allow them to meet locals (and vice versa), volunteers from the Havenstraat Foundation have been organizing weekly dinners since the end of 2015. Each week, 80 asylum seekers or 80 Ukrainians, along with 20 to 30 guests from the evening’s donor (usually a company), are invited. This year started with the 270th harbor dinner, and another one is added every week.
The harbor dinners are cheerful, inspiring evenings featuring non-alcoholic beverages, halal food from international cuisines, Ukrainian, Arabic, and African dances, and meaningful human connections. Prejudices dissolve, and new relationships are formed. By the end of the evening, everyone goes home fulfilled, joyful, enriched, and with a greater sense of integration.
Be sure to visit: www.havendiners.nl
September 2nd, 2024
For STP, this was a wonderful and educational experience. We hope all the invitees had a great evening, and we highly recommend everyone to experience such an evening at least once.
