Ute Bock

Ute Bock (* June 27, 1942 in Linz) is an Austrian educator and was known for her commitment to asylum seekers and refugees, providing them with the Vienna-based club Ute Bock refugee project with housing, clothing, courses and the provision of legal and medical support help.

Biography

After high school, she applied at the request of her father in the city of Vienna for a job where the jobs were traditionally considered safe. Without further training, she was offered as the only way to work as a governess. From 1962 to 1969 she worked in an urban home in the village Biedermann, after she became the "home mother " in the journeyman Zohmanngasse home in the 10th district of Vienna. In a 2012 interview, she told about this period: "It was not easy. It certainly was not all right, what I've done, I've also Detschn [ slaps ] dealt. That was so common [ ... ] Not only in homes but also in the families. Terrible, but it was. " In 1976 she became head of the home, which is increasingly a" last stop was for difficult cases. " With the beginning of the 1990s, the Youth Office sent more foreign young people, refugees initially the Yugoslav wars, and later also from Africa, in the home in the Zohmanngasse. Often the young people who care about no federal were, so no government support during their asylum procedure, received more. Bock made ​​an effort to teach them German courses, odd jobs and sleeps outside the crowded home. This was accompanied by growing involvement of asylum seekers. In autumn 1999, a few days before the national election in Austria, was carried out by the police as part of the controversial Operation Spring in the house in the Zohmanngasse a raid. About 30 young people of African origin were arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and Bock displayed for banding and drug trafficking and temporarily suspended from duty. The charges were later dropped, but it was forbidden to accommodate more African asylum seekers in the Zohmanngasse.

Ute Bock refugee project

In 2000, Bock retired and took care of from that point to honorary constantly initiated by her project to help refugees and asylum seekers. On 21 May 2002, the club was Ute Bock - established residential and integration project. The self-understanding of the association is based on four principles: It is non-denominational and politically independent, wants the rights and responsibilities of refugees strengthen (empowerment ), joins the fight against all forms of racism and discrimination and provides its clients with a low-threshold access to assistance services. Soon arose around the club a number of initiatives to encash donations. 2003, there were 70 in Vienna local action " Bock beer " (2007 "reloaded Bock beer " as repeated), in which a charge of 10 cents to the price of beer earmarked went to the club. Also in 2003, which has since been repeated yearly event series " Bock on culture " with numerous benefit concerts and lectures and other famous cultural actions took place for the first time. In Upper Austria the Cultural Association Social Forum Deblocker held for several years the charity Cultural Festival " Bock Ma's .", In Vienna organize the fans of the Wiener Sport Club each year the football tournament " Ute Bock Cup".

Supported by a network of volunteers organized mainly Bock now private residential communities and family apartments, which they financed with the help of donations and out of pocket and looked after. In its residential project soon she put around 100 homes for more than 300 people from more than 20 countries ready that would, without support from the state, otherwise homeless. The concept also includes " to convey the feeling of being able to live in your own home after a long time of flight and often accommodated in refugee camps and people's homes again," the residents. Have more around 1,000 homeless asylum seekers in the context of a post and reporting services their delivery address, a prerequisite for such correspondence with authorities, from our club Ute Bock. In addition, the association helps, also in cooperation with NGOs, to organize legal services for the refugees, operates a free clothing issue and attending an educational program different courses ( German, literacy, information literacy, etc.).

2005 got the club promoted from the Vienna Social Fund of the Municipal Council of the City of Vienna, the first time a private office. With the support also of several companies ( bene, GEA, etc.), which provided as sponsors in kind, was established in early 2006, a counseling center in the Great Sperlgasse in the 2nd district of Vienna. 2008 was Bocks club financially on the brink of, but was substantially supported by the entrepreneur Hans Peter Haselsteiner. Haselsteiner bought about his private foundation Concordia in 2011 the building of the former journeyman 's home in the Zohmanngasse of the City of Vienna and funded renovation and remodeling, to put it Bocks club as a dormitory available. In May 2012, the club moved into the house with a living space of about 70 refugees and space for counseling services, where now Bock himself lives in a small apartment.

End of 2012, the real estate entrepreneur Hansjörg Ulrey existing since 2005 collaboration with Bock announced because the questions it by Prekariumsvertrag available apartments were unlimited sublet by the association to the detainees there. The Vienna Social Fund presented due to the Courier article about the short-term rent subsidies to the residential project, but continued after a review of the facts to work with the club away again, because there is no misuse of funds was present.

Movies

The Austrian filmmaker Houchang Allahyari accompanied with his son Tom - Dariusch Allahyari Ute Bock in the years 2008 and 2009, with the camera in their daily work. The documentary Bock for President was shown in a cooperation of city cinema and Viennale during the student protests in winter 2009 in the occupied lecture hall of the University of Vienna as a preview for the first time on October 31. The official premiere took place on November 1 at the Viennale at Künstlerhaus cinema, theatrical release in Austria was on January 15, 2010.

2010 devoted Houchang Allahyari again with a film project to life Ute Bock. In the movie The crazy world of Ute Bock, among others, Josef Hader, Karl Markovic, Viktor Gernot, Andreas Vitasek, Julia Stemberger, Dolores Schmidinger, Peter Kern and Alexander Pschill interact with. Shown are the work Bocks, also known as she is to be seen in, and the stories of the people with whom she will meet here, the refugees, the play itself, up to the police. The start in Austrian cinemas took place in November 2010.

Awards

For their social commitment Bock has already won several awards:

Publications

• With Cornelia Krebs ( ed.): Ute Bock. The story of a refugee assistant. Molden Verlag, Wien 2010, ISBN 978-3-85485-268-1.