HAYAT

HAYAT (Turkish and Arabic for “Life“) is the first German counselling program for persons involved in radical Salafist groups or on the path of a violent Jihadist radicalisation, including those traveling to Syria and other combat zones. Further, HAYAT is available to the relatives of a radicalized person as well.

Since January 2012, HAYAT has been the partner of the German Federal Office for Immigration and Refugee Affairs (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge BAMF), which established a national counselling hotline on radicalisation (‘Beratungsstelle Radikalisierung’). Taking calls from relatives and other concerned persons, the hotline provides a first line assessment to then redirect the calls to local, non-governmental partners like HAYAT.

HAYAT can also be contacted directly via Email or telephone. During the first contact, HAYAT experts will conduct an analysis and risk assessment of the respective situation to determine the counselling demand and to answer the most important questions in the beginning: Is the relative in danger of becoming (violently) radicalized? Or is it a harmless case of conversion to Islam?

Once the counsellor gained a clear picture of the concrete situation, an individual counselling process and step by step plan will be designed, including various measures to prevent further radicalisation or to stop and reverse the process. The counselling is conducted systematically, situationally and problem and solution oriented. Our services are free, confidential and available in German, English and Arabic.

With our experience and expertise we accompany persons, who don’t want to lose their radicalized relative or friend and try to understand and win him/her back.

• We counsel, provide contacts and listen.
• We make a clear differentiation between a strong, lived faith and an ideology of inequality that can result in violence and terrorism.
• We assist in identifying alarming signals and show limits of what is possible.
• We provide new perspectives and accompany the cases for as long as necessary.

Many relatives of persons who are about to travel abroad (e.g. to Syria), are already there or have even returned to their home countries, turn to HAYAT for advice. HAYAT thereby follows three main goals:

• Try everything possible to make them voluntarily refrain from traveling abroad.
• If they are abroad: Stop fighting and return.
• The persons are supposed to return to a safe and controlled positive social environment.

HAYAT can resort to a nationwide network of partners on various levels. HAYAT thereby understands itself as a bridge between the family and other relevant institutions such as schools, social services and, if applicable, prosecution, police or employer and assist in communicating with various parties with the primary goal of catering to the specific needs of the respective person and family.

Contact details:

Ebertystr.46
10249 Berlin
Germany

Claudia Dantschke
Project director
Email: claudia.dantschke@hayat-deutschland.de

Ahmad Mansour
Email: ahmad.mansour@hayat-deutschland.de

Julia Berczyk
Email: julia.berczyk@hayat-deutschland.de

Tel: (+49) (0) 3042018690
Tel: (+49) (0) 15778820645

For more information on this programme, click here, here, and here.