Having reached the top of the small German village of Zapfendorf, two German pensioners begin to look for a hotel in order to regain their energy. They are exhausted and hungry after a long outing in kayak (canoe) on the river Meno. The couple, originating from Karlsruhe, who is on a holiday in the region, feels surprised on seeing that the entrance of the old hotel in which they were going is walled up. «But there was a man who indicated that the entrance was at the back. We therefore passed across the yard » explains Gabriel, who is 72 years old.
Inside the hotel, the couple is welcomed by the one who could be the owner. In reality, he is a young Syrian lawyer, Kawa Suliman, who arrived in Germany in 2014. He is one of the rare refugees who live in this old and traditional hotels that has been recently transformed into a welcoming centre for those who ask for shelter and know German. On seeing that the two pensioners look very tired and exhausted, the young owner suggests for them to take a seat. But both of them ask for some food.
Kawa Suliman explains to his friends that the couple needs to eat. Mohammed Ali goes to look for the apple marmalade which he had prepared two days before, the others have some eggs, tomatoes, cheese and yoghurt.
“Touched by so much generosity”
Gabriel and his companion are surprised on seeing that there was no tablecloth, no warm plates and that the tables and the chairs are unpaired. But at the beginning they thought to be in a restaurant:
«I thought they had just opened. That’s why they had to be tolerant if not everything was yet perfectly organised.[…] The young man who asked us what we wanted was cordial: with such cordial restaurant owners, one cannot fail to offer encouragement.
It was only at the moment when they asked for the bill, when Kawa Suliman said that they didn’t have to pay because they were in a welcoming centre for refugees, that they became aware of the misunderstang. Touched by the generosity of those who demanded shelter and who spontaneously prepared the meal, Gabriel began to cry.
This touching history, worth of a Christmas narration, has circulated around half the Country (Germany). On being interwiewed by a newspaper, Kawa Suliman recalls this amusing episode.
«Our two guests were highly surprised. They wanted to pay at all costs. «You are our guests, we answered and here the guests don’t pay… we are glad that you have been our guests». And therefore we rejoiced. We exchanged our addresses. They wrote to us and sent us a gift.
«Give something in exchange»
Recently, another witnessing of solidarity has touched the Germans again. It’s about a Syrian refugee who lives in Berlin. He cooks and distributes soup to the Homeless several times a week in the centre of the German capital. He wants to give something in exchange to Germany for having welcomed him!
You surely know about similar cases which tell us that generosity begets generosity and that fraternity is possible.
« Every day is Christmas on earth,
because Christmas is Love!»
