On Sep. 9, Aytekin Yilmazer, a marketing specialist, invited refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan now living in Austria to celebrate his 37th birthday. The big celebration was hosted around Austria’s main refugee center in Traiskirchen, in southern Vienna. The feast offered invitees a variety of foods, such as lamb stew, lentil soup and desserts.
Many people opposed his idea of throwing a birthday party with migrants and expressed their concerns when he first shared his plan on Facebook. But, the number of people that supported his idea increased rapidly. Many volunteers prepared food, washed dishes, and offered translation services. Yilmazer was not sure how many invitees would come, but the party place was soon filled. The guests were delighted, saying that no comparison could be made between the food there and that at the camp.
Though no one sang the “Happy Birthday” song to him, the Turkish-born host said that sharing his annual birthday dinner with this many people was wonderful. “This year I found 3,000 new friends at the refugee camp.” He achieved his goal: Yilmazer wanted to help welcome the refugees and he actually did it.