BOCK AUF KULTUR
Ute Bock – Austria
Ute Bock worked professionally for many years as a social worker and educator/teacher, before she became director of the Zohmanngasse Home in Vienna in 1976.. In the early 1990s, she started to take care of teenage immigrants. She also took in underage refugees from countries at war, who came to Austria on their own looking for asylum. Ute Bock was the last hope for many teenage immigrants for whom nobody else cared. Her small project has grown into a community of 50 apartments where over 200 people find a home. She has also provided a legal address and legal aid for more than 1000 immigrants so that they can pursue their asylum procedures.
She was born in Linz, Austria in 1942.
In the early 1990s, Ute Bock started to take care of teenage immigrants, who were sent to her by the youth welfare office. At first, they were mostly children of immigrant workers. But soon enough she also took in underage immigrants from countries at war, who came to Austria on their own looking for asylum. Zohmanngasse and Ute Bock were the last hope for many teenage immigrants for whom nobody else cared.
Any time a social or immigrant worker was at a loss, the teenagers were sent to Ute. At Zohmanngasse no youth was turned down, no matter where he or she came from. And when she ran out of space, Ute Bock organized and financed flat-sharing apartments for communal living.
During a police raid in September 1999 at her home, 30 youngsters and young adults from Africa were arrested on grounds of suspected drug dealing. Ute Bock was accused of dealing with drugs and supporting gangs. She was briefly suspended from her job. While the indictment and suspension were lifted, Ute Bock was not allowed to shelter African immigrants at her home any longer.
Ute Bock has won numerous awards for her social commitment. She was given the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Refugee Award in 2000, the Bruno Kreisky Award for Human Rights in 2002, the Dr. Karl Renner Award in 2003, the Humanity Award by the Red Cross and the Spin the Globe Award from Siemens Austria in 2004.
Ute Bock retired in August 2000 and since then she has been working full time taking care of African immigrants, who like to call her ‘Mama Africa’. Her original small project has grown into a community of 50 apartments, where over 200 people find a home. Apart from this, she has provided a legal address and legal aid for more than a thousand immigrants, so that they can pursue their asylum procedures.
Ute Bock has been financing her project with her own pension, her savings, financial awards and donations.
> VEREIN KETANI < > VEREIN ROMA <
WILLI RESETARITS, Founder of Integrationshaus
Wilhelm Resetarits (born 21 December 1948 in Stinatz, Austria), better known as > Willi Resetarits < and Dr. Kurt Ostbahn, is an Austrian singer, comedian and human rights activist.
Resetarits was born in the Austrian state Burgenland, but his family moved to Vienna when he was three. He studied sports and English studies intending to become a teacher, but his successful career as a musician intervened.
Resetarits is a human rights activist and one of the founders of the humanitarian organisations Asyl in Not and SOS Mitmensch. He is also one of the founders and chairman of the Integration House Vienna.
He has made frequent appearances on Austrian TV and in film productions.
Lukas Resetarits (cabaret artist and actor on TV) and Peter Resetarits (TV host at ORF) are his brothers. Karin Resetarits, a present member of the European Parliament, is his divorced sister-in-law.
> Meet Ute Bock, Bock auf Kultur, Friends at facebook <
> Meet Gitans, Gitanos, Gipsys, Zingari, Roma, Sintis …Friends at fb <
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