The election for the Migration Advisory Board in Munich recently took place and I was very happy with the result. My friend Olga Dub-Büssenschütt, who was born in Ukraine, secured the best result with 5232 votes. The Migration Advisory Board represents the political interests of Munich residents without a German passport on a voluntary basis and also advises the city council. 402,044 people were allowed to vote, that’s almost a quarter of the city’s population. Only 12,508 people went to the polls.
Before that, it was exciting for me to observe the election campaign of the Munich Migrants Alliance (AMM), for which Olga ran as the top candidate. Many Ukrainians were allowed to vote in such an election for the first time, so it took a long time to explain the importance of the Migration Advisory Council and why it is important to vote. There was no commercial election advertising with posters, radio spots or the like, but direct exchange with the voters. These included speeches at flash mobs, talks in Ukrainian cultural centers and of course a lot of persuasion in the media, including the social ones. All of this can only work if the work of the candidates is also visible. That’s exactly what happened.
Olga Dub-Büssenschütt, re-elected migration advisor with Ukrainian roots.
(Photo: private)
Olga Dub-Büssenschütt, for example, has helped many of my compatriots who have fled to Munich since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, as a representative of the migration advisory board and as a private person. I have also benefited from it. Many of my compatriots shared their positive experiences on social media and recommended Olga as a candidate, of course with her team, which also includes numerous representatives from other nations. I myself have also spoken up for them on my Facebook page, although I’ve never done anything like this before.
But the war against my country clearly showed me how important it is who represents the people at the various political levels – locally as well as nationally. I am also thinking of the Ukrainian President. Volodymyr Zelenskyy used to be a comedian, but now his values and beliefs help him to effectively defend my country against Russia. Who would have thought this possible before? Also in many Ukrainian cities one can see mayors who don’t let their residents down and represent their interests at all times. For us Ukrainians in Munich it is important that there are people here who represent our interests.
We expect support from the AMM team in the further integration of the refugees. Personally, I also expect that the AMM will of course look after the interests of other migrants in Munich. But the biggest challenge, at least Olga believes, will probably come next year: Because then the residence permits for Ukrainians will end, although not many believe that the war will also be over.
Emiliia Dieniezhna, 34, fled from Kiev to Pullach near Munich with her then four-year-old daughter Ewa. She works voluntarily for the non-governmental organization NAKO, which aims to fight corruption in Ukraine. She also teaches German to Ukrainian refugee children. Once a week she writes a column for the SZ about her view from Munich on the events in her home country.