Center survival

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Center survival
legal form Profit company
founding 1992
Seat Berlin
purpose Working for survivors of torture and war violence
Managing directors Carsten Völz
owner Survival Foundation for Victims of Torture
sales 7,856,571 euros (2018)
Website www.ueberleben.org

Center Survival is a gGmbH based in Berlin, which works nationally and internationally for survivors of torture and war violence and offers help seekers from around 50 countries support in the medical, psychotherapeutic, social work and integrative areas.

Since 2016, the organization has continued the operational activities of the Treatment Center for Torture Victims (bzfo). Previously, since 2008, the bzfo, the Center for Refugee Aid and Migration Services (zfm), the Survival Foundation for Victims of Torture and the Catania Help for Traumatized Victims had bundled their competencies under the umbrella brand Zentrum Surleben.

History and tasks

It was founded in 1992 by doctors and journalists. The focus of the work is on "medical, psychotherapeutic and social rehabilitation of persecuted persons and their family members from countries in which people are oppressed, arrested or tortured for political, ethnic and religious reasons or where human rights violations are committed".

In addition to the rehabilitation of traumatized refugees , the tasks of the center also include the integration and professional qualification of people with different flight and migration  experiences.

Every year around 600 children, adolescents and adults from over 40 countries are cared for in the departments of the SURVIVAL center. The patients receive outpatient or day clinic treatment in the general medical, psychiatric, psychotherapeutic and psychosocial areas as required. In addition to rehabilitation, over 300 clients with different refugee and migration backgrounds are accompanied in psychological and social work on their way to social and professional integration.

Educational work is carried out through a large number of publications, our own specialist publications and lectures, through participation in conferences and congresses, networking in national and international organizations and committees, and through active press and public relations work. The center is a member of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims and the nationwide working group of psychosocial centers for refugees and victims of torture . The center is also a signatory to the Transparent Civil Society Initiative .

Research department

The SURVIVAL center (formerly bzfo) has had a research department since 1998 that works in close collaboration with the therapeutic team. The focus is on basic research , intervention- related research, as well as studies of social reappraisal measures after collective violence and its connection with individual mental health. Intervention-related research includes a. the projects Ilajnafsy, an internet-based writing therapy for the Arabic-speaking world and the life diary. The completed and ongoing research projects are carried out in national and international cooperation with u. a. the Free University of Berlin , the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich , the Medical School Berlin , and the Icahn School of Medicine of Mt. Sinai, New York.

Library

The special library is a reference library and records over 31,000 information carriers dealing with the consequences of torture , persecution and extreme trauma. In addition to books and magazines, gray literature and audio-visual media on the subject are also collected and made accessible. The following main topics can be found there:

The library holdings are available to everyone by arrangement. The library also has a publicly accessible online catalog ( OPAC ).

International projects

Cambodia

As part of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal , the bzfo, in cooperation with the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Cambodia, has been carrying out investigations into psychological trauma-related illnesses, processing and reconciliation in Cambodia since 2008 . Over 2000 survivors of the violent regime of the Khmer Rouge and their relatives were interviewed in Cambodia.

Colombia

In 2012, the bzfo and the Colombian human rights organization Tierra y Vida carried out a project with internally displaced people in Colombia for the first time . Victims were asked about the psychological effects of displacement in the context of the armed conflict in Colombia. In addition, they were interviewed about their individual willingness to reconcile and their personal attitudes towards the current reparation measures of the Colombian state. 454 internally displaced persons in four regions of Colombia were interviewed between September and December 2012. The project was financially supported by the Federal Foreign Office.

UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture, Project "Monitoring for the Prevention of Torture"

As part of the mandate of the German member in the United Nations subcommittee on the prevention of torture, facilities for mentally ill people and disabled adults and children are monitored in order to collect and exchange knowledge and experience. The subcommittee tries to establish an international system for inspecting places of detention.

financing

The center finances its work to about 50% from public funds. a. the European Commission , the Foreign Office , the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth and the Berlin Senate . Other non-public and private supporters include: a. the German Red Cross , Misereor , Aktion Mensch , the Hamburg Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Culture , the German Lottery Foundation and numerous private donors. The center is also the main benefactor of the “Survival Foundation for Victims of Torture”, the main purpose of which is to provide financial support to the Center for Survival through fundraising measures.

recognition

Supporters and advocates include: a. Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger , Herta Däubler-Gmelin , Heiner Geißler , Wolfgang Thierse , Markus Löning , Jan-Philipp Reemtsma , Hilde Schramm , Werner Gegenbauer , Bernhard Schlink , Johannes Heisig , Peter Raue , Angelika Graf , Frank Ulrich Montgomery and Benno Fürmann . Richard von Weizsäcker (1920–2015) was one of the supporters and advocates .

Claudia Roth has been the patron since 2014 .

The co-founder and long-time director of the bzfo, Christian Pross, was honored with the Federal Cross of Merit in 2009 for his services in the psychosocial and medical care of refugees and the politically persecuted .

The project was awarded the Capital Prize for Integration and Tolerance (third prize) in 2017 .

Publications

  • Alexandra Liedl , Ute Schäfer, Christine Knaevelsrud : Psychoeducation for post-traumatic disorders. Manual for individual and group settings . Schattauer - Verlag for medicine and natural sciences, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-7945-2727-4 .
  • Christian Pross : Injured helpers. Dealing with trauma: risks and ways to protect yourself . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-608-89090-7 .
  • Ferdinand Haenel and Mechthild Wenk-Ansohns: Assessment of the psychologically reactive consequences of trauma in legal residence proceedings. Beltz, Weinheim 2005, ISBN 3-621-27571-1 .
  • OHCHR : Istanbul Protocol-Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment . United Nations, New York 2004 ( ohchr.org [PDF]).
  • Angelika Birck, Christian Pross, Johann Lansen: The unspeakable. Working with traumatized people in the treatment center for torture victims in Berlin . Springer, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-540-43856-4 .
  • Survival Foundation for Torture Victims (ed.): Stranger Views. An art therapeutic photo project of survival . Survival Foundation for Victims of Torture, Berlin 2002 ( bzfo.de ).
  • Angelika Birck : Traumatized Refugees. How credible are your statements? Asanger, Heidelberg 2002, ISBN 3-89334-376-8 .
  • Angelika Birck : The processing of a sexual abuse experience in childhood in women in psychotherapy. Treatment center for victims of torture, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-9806790-2-0 .
  • Sepp Graessner, Norbert Gurris, Christian Pross (eds.): At the side of torture survivors. Treating a terrible assault on human dignity . Johns Hopkins, Baltimore 2001, ISBN 0-8018-6627-8 .
  • Christian Pross: Making amends. The guerrilla war against the victims . Philo Verlag-Ges., Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-8257-0132-8 .
  • Sepp Graessner, Mechthild Wenk-Ansohn: The traces of torture - a handout . Treatment Center for Victims of Torture, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-9806790-1-2 .
  • Ralf Weber: Extremely traumatized refugees in Germany. Asylum law and asylum procedure . Campus Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1998, ISBN 3-593-36118-3 .
  • Sepp Graessner, Norbert Gurris, Christian Pross: Torture. At the side of the survivors: support and therapy . Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-406-39283-0 .
  • Ralf Weber: Medicine betrayed. Doctors' involvement in human rights abuses . Ed. Hentrich, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-89468-155-1 .
  • Treatment Center for Victims of Torture (Ed.): Medicine betrayed. Participation of doctors in human rights violations . Ed. Hentrich, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-89468-155-1 .
  • Schiwan Bamdad: Lost Stars. Experience report of a patient from Iran . Treatment center for torture victims, Berlin 1994.
  • Timo Zilli: Torture Cell 36 Berlin-Pankow. Experience report of a Stasi detention . with an introduction by Christian Pross. Ed. Hentrich, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-89468-060-1 .
  • Christian Pross, Götz Aly: The value of people. Medicine in Germany 1918–1945 . Ed. Hentrich, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-926175-62-1 .
  • Christian Pross, Rolf Winau: Don't abuse. Moabit Hospital . Ed. Hentrich, Berlin 1984, ISBN 3-926175-20-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Imprint. In: ueberleben.org. Retrieved December 25, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Transparency. In: ueberleben.org. Retrieved December 25, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Survival Center
  4. ^ International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims
  5. ↑ www.transparency.de ( Memento from September 5, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 4, 2014.
  6. ↑ https://www.ueberleben.org/unsere-arbeit/forschung/
  7. ↑ Link to the research department's website Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / bzfo.de
  8. ↑ Ilajnafsy homepage http://ilajnafsy.bzfo.de/www/Ilajnafsy.org/
  9. ↑ Link to the life diary http://www.lebenstagebuch.de/
  10. ↑ Link to the bzfo library: Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bzfo.de
  11. ↑ About the Archived Copy project ( Memento of the original from April 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bzfo.de
  12. ↑ Commitment in Colombia Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bzfo.de
  13. ^ Project "Monitoring for the Prevention of Torture". Treatment center for torture victims in Berlin (bzfo), archived from the original on February 25, 2014 ; Retrieved February 25, 2014 .
  14. ^ Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. UNHCR, accessed January 20, 2019 .
  15. ↑ https://www.ueberleben.org/ueber-uns/schirmherrschaft/
  16. ↑ Press release  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.bzfo.de  
  17. ↑ 10. Capital city prizes award 50,000 euros for integration and tolerance. In: Der Tagesspiegel. November 14, 2017, accessed August 30, 2018 .