Welcome to the hotel in Vienna run by refugees indy100 indy100 Indy100 logoNewsletter sign upRegister/Sign inTop 100NewsViralPoliticsCelebritiesScience & TechVideoWishlistWishlistBooksFashion & BeautyFood & DrinkHome & GardenKidsSports & FitnessTechTravel & OutdoorsMoreScience & techVideoConversationsSportIdentitiesLifestyleShowbizTVSearchxNews
Welcome to the hotel in Vienna run by refugees
Bethan McKernanMay 22, 2015 Stefan Joham Most hotels welcome people from all over the world - but one hotel in Vienna has opened its doors to asylum seekers as well as tourists. Twenty of the 26 staff members at Magdas Hotel first arrived in Austria as refugees, and the hotel is helping them get their lives back on track. In Austria, like many countries, asylum seekers have very limited access to the job market and sustainable, rewarding work is just a dream, even when people have the right to stay. Anna Radl, a spokesperson for Caritas, the charity which funded the idea, told i100.co.uk that the ethos underlying the hotel is: Refugees are welcomed here. We want to show that these people want and can live a self-determined and self-confident life. Dinis from Guinea-Bissau, pictured above, is Magdas’ receptionist. Despite fleeing his home country as a teenager because of political persecution, he spent a decade negotiating the Austrian legal system, which couldn’t decide whether he could stay or not. Ten years on, Dinis can use his seven languages working with hotel guests. Twenty-five year-old Majid, a Yazidi from Iraq, came to Austria from Turkey three years ago. He works at the hotel bar, and is slowly rebuilding his life and prospects. The chic 50s-style boutique hotel has 78 rooms and is located near Prater Park in the heart of the city. Magdas is a play on the German words “mag” and “das”, which means you should “like this.” And the hotel really is well-liked - since opening earlier this year it has seen a steady increase in bookings and has been warmly reviewed. “We also notice that there are more conversations between the guests and the staff than in other hotels,” Radl said. It’s not like other hotels... It is a hotel with a social impact - a place of exchange and encounter. All pictures: Stefan Joham More: Tony Abbott on whether Australia will take in Rohingya refugees: 'Nope, nope, nope' Foster carer says statue in her honour represents all carers and volunteers
Just Stop Oil protester praised for ' great' explanation of soup stunt
Who is Anna May Wong the first Asian American on US currency
Please log in or register to upvote this article Top 100
Just Stop Oil protester praised for ' great' explanation of soup stunt
just stop oilvan goghprotestclimate activistsjust stop oil2h Elon Musk reportedly thought that Grimes was not real
elon muskgrimescelebritiesspacexteslaelon musk2h Who is Owen Gray and why are people obsessed with him
owen grayviralowen graypornporn startiktok15m Who is Corpse Husband and has he shown his face
corpse husbandviralcorpse husbandcelebritiesexplaineryoutuberyoutubetwitchtwittertiktok53m Man endures ' 29 hour flight' with screaming kids for the entire trip
flightplanechildflightOct 12, 2022 Lorraine Kelly hits out at Madonna' s ' boiled egg' face
madonnamadonnalorraine kellygmbshowbizplastic surgeryOct 11, 2022 Elon Musk is actually selling a ' Burnt Hair' fragrance
elon muskthe boring companyperfumeelon muskburnt hairOct 12, 2022 Couple spark debate for ' scandalous' wedding cake topper
wedding caketiktokwedding cakeviralOct 12, 2022 Love Island star shows extent of how far influencers edit photos
Love IslandOct 11, 2022 Jon Stewart slams Arkansas attorney general for her ' anti-trans law'
lgbt+Oct 11, 2022 Steven Seagal describes Putin as one of ' greatest world leaders'
steven seagalOct 10, 2022 Lizzo wears empowering shirt after being fat-shamed by Kanye West
lizzoOct 10, 2022 14 of the worst things the Tories did this week
liz trussOct 08, 2022 M People' s Mike Pickering was ' appalled' hearing Liz Truss used song
Liz TrussOct 06, 2022The Conversation (0)